The Final Score

Just another UB Blogs weblog

Sad ‘Slap Shot’ sequel

It seems the inspiration for one of the classic sports movies of all time is once again dying “a slow death.”

The Johnstown Jets were given tribute in the 1977 movie “Slap Shot” by the fictional Charlestown Chiefs. But the Jets folded that same year.

In 1988, the Johnstown Chiefs were formed in honor of the movie, but are moving to Greenville, S.C., due to low attendance.

On the bright side, a new league is planned with a new team in Johnstown. I’d figure they’d be named the Chiefs.

Safer slopes

California lawmakers are tackling the effort to keep skiers and snowboarders in helmets with new bills.

Should government need to get involved with what many perceive to be a personal choice? It did with motorcycle helmets and seatbelts in cars. Helmets don’t always prevent serious injury and even death on the slopes, but there’s no doubt they are safer.

But when I used to spend every Saturday during ski season on the slopes, I remember loving the freedom of the cold winter air whipping through my hair (yes, I had hair back then).

Here’s a story on the California bills:

CA bills push rules for ski, snowboard industry

By CATHY BUSSEWITZ
Associated Press Writer
ALPINE MEADOWS, Calif. — On a ridge near the 8,600-foot summit of Alpine Meadows ski resort, 17-year-old snowboarder Lucas Fuller scopes out the many chutes and bowls that radiate out from Ward Peak.

A snowboarder slides out of control after attempting a jump at the Alpine Meadows Ski Resort in Alpine Meadows, Calif.

It’s a perfect powder day, with clear skies and fresh snow delivered to the Lake Tahoe area the day before. The teenager from Reno, Nev., likes the resort because it has numerous ungroomed, expert-level slopes that approximate the back-country.
For this run, the teenager from Reno, Nev., is looking for a route that will provide cliffs and bumps so he can catch some air. Despite warning signs at the base of the lift, Fuller is not wearing a helmet.
“I stopped wearing a helmet a long time ago, and it just feels better,” he says. “I’ve been riding for a long time, and I’m pretty confident.”
But if some California lawmakers have their way, the decision to wear a helmet will no longer be a personal choice.
Two bills introduced by Democratic lawmakers from Northern California would require minors to wear a helmet while skiing or snowboarding. One of them also would extend to resort operations, requiring extensive injury reporting, sign posting and safety planning.
If the bills pass and are signed into law, they would give California the nation’s most restrictive helmet laws for skiers and snowboarders and the most stringent requirements for ski resorts.
Lawmakers in New York and New Jersey also are pushing mandates for ski helmets. One of six New York bills, and the only one to advance out of committee, would require skiers under 15 to wear a helmet. A New Jersey bill, if passed would require helmets for skiers and snowboarders under 14.

Devon Ashburne,7, gets helps putting on a ski helmet she rented at the Alpine Meadows Ski Resort in Alpine Meadows, Calif.

Quebec lawmakers considered requiring helmet use after actress Natasha Richardson died after a fall in 2009, but no legislation was introduced.
Even without legislative action, the use of helmets has gained in popularity. A survey by the National Ski Areas Association found that 48 percent of all skiers and snowboarders wore helmets during the 2007-08 season.
One of the California bills, by Democratic state Sen. Leland Yee of San Francisco, would require all skiers and snowboarders under age 18 to wear helmets. It would place the enforcement burden on parents, who would face a fine of up to $25 if their children didn’t comply.
A bill by Democratic state Assemblyman Dave Jones of Sacramento is more far-reaching.
It has a similar helmet mandate for minors but would require ski resorts, not parents, to enforce it. The Jones bill also would force all California ski resorts to report every injury and fatality on the slopes, coordinate with other resorts to adopt standardized safety signs and equipment, prepare annual safety plans and make all that information available to the public.

Isabella Pier, 5, wears a helmet as she gets skiing intructions from her mother, Marisa Pier, who uses a tether while teaching her daughter how to ski at the Alpine Meadows Ski Resort.

Such requirements are “extreme and unnecessary,” said Geraldine Link, director of public policy for the National Ski Areas Association.
“Not only are no other resorts in other ski states subject to these kind of requirements, no other recreational activity is subject to this kind of record-keeping,” she said.
Link said her group, which is based in Colorado, would support the Senate bill dealing solely with helmets if it’s made clear that the resorts don’t have to enforce it.
Blaise Carrig, co-president of the mountain division for Colorado-based Vail Resorts, agreed.
“If you’re going to have legislation, at least have it be the right legislation,” he said.
Vail Resorts, which operates Heavenly on the California-Nevada border and several ski areas in Colorado, has tried to encourage youngsters to wear helmets by setting an example: All employees are required to wear them while skiing or snowboarding.
In 2005, the British Medical Journal reported that wearing a helmet reduced the risk of head injuries among skiers and snowboarders by 29 percent.

Julia Kozberg holds a picture of her and her sister, Olga Stepakova, during an interview in her home in Concord, Calif. Stephakova was killed in Jan. 2008 after she crashed into a snow covered rock while skiing without a helmet. Two bills introduced by Democratic lawmakers from Northern California would require minors to wear a helmet while skiing or snowboarding. One of them also would extend to resort operations requiring extensive injury reporting, sign posting and safety planning.

All the head trauma cases from Lake Tahoe-area resorts are sent to Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno. On average, the hospital admits one head injury patient from the slopes a day during ski season.
Dr. John Swanson, an emergency physician at the hospital, said that without helmets, “Their brain suffers more trauma, and they are more likely to have slower recovery time and permanent brain damage.”
Despite evidence that wearing helmets reduces the risk of severe injury, Jones said many children and teenagers will not ask for them on their own. He said it was not easy persuading his own children to wear helmets.
“I think for many parents who have the fight with their kids, which some of us have had, it’s actually not a bad thing to be able to say, ’Look, you know what? Not only is this the right thing to do and not only would I insist that you do it, but it’s also a legal requirement,”’ he said.
California already has a law requiring minors to wear a helmet while riding a bicycle.
In expanding his bill to include wide-ranging regulations for resorts, Jones worked closely with Dan Gregorie, whose daughter died at Alpine Meadows in 2006, even though she was wearing a helmet.
Jessica Gregorie fell while hiking to an expert slope. She slid roughly 100 yards down the side of a mountain. Alpine said the woman, who was 24, was outside its boundaries.
After his daughter’s death, Dan Gregorie said he asked for additional information about the resort’s injury statistics and safety plans but hit a wall.
“It became very clear to me as I began to look at it that the industry has no standards or practices that they share with each other or that they advocate within the industry,” said Gregorie.
The majority of ski resorts in California operate on U.S. Forest Service land and are required to report fatalities to that agency. The Forest Service did not respond to a request for more information about injury reporting and safety plans.
The National Ski Areas Association compiles information on a national level but does not make it available by individual resort. Its most recent report, for the 2008-09 season, shows 39 deaths nationwide.
Those who work the slopes say there is no way for resorts to accurately track injuries. Ski patrol members are trained to deliver quick, outdoor emergency care but are not emergency medical technicians.
“Our purpose is to stabilize people,” said Stewart Foreman, a lawyer and volunteer member of the Alpine Meadows ski patrol. “In that process, actually diagnosing a medical condition doesn’t happen.”
Federal privacy laws prevent ski resort employees from following a patient’s progress at the hospital.
Jones’ office amended his bill to remove the requirement that the injury and death information be retained in a state database because the cost is too high. Instead, resorts would collect the information and make it available to anyone who requests it.
Even with such alterations to the bills, ski industry officials said they were wary of any attempt to impose a lengthy list of rules and regulations, in part because skiers and snowboarders accept a certain amount of risk when they decide to head down a mountain.
“This is a sport. We’re not Disneyland,” said Bob Roberts, executive director of the California Ski Industry Association. “When you’re above 7,000 feet in the winter in the Sierra, you’re in a very different kind of environment.”

Pants pulled down

The public outcry after Facebook accidently removed a page dedicated to the Norwegians’ men’s curling team’s colorful pants led Facebook to restore the page. Norway must be a unique kind of place, if 435,000 people have signed up to follow these pants.

Norwegian pants pulled down, briefly

By JANIE McCAULEY
AP Sports Writer
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — The Norwegians’ pants were pulled down. Briefly.
Not to worry, curling fans — they were back up after a 2 1/2-hour scare.

Members of the Norway mens curling team wear colorful pants during a practice session at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Feb. 14.

A Facebook page dedicated to the funky, diamond-print pants worn by the Olympic men’s curlers was mistakenly taken down Wednesday, making it temporarily inaccessible to its 435,000 followers.
Norway has become a sensation at the Vancouver Games as much for its pants as its strong performance on the ice. The Norwegians play in the semifinals Thursday against Switzerland.
Facebook initially sent a notice to Tony D’Orazio, who manages the page, saying it had violated the site’s terms of use. He alerted the page’s followers from his home in Rochester, N.Y.: “It is a sad day for the pants.”
Outraged comments piled up before Facebook restored the page. A spokeswoman said it actually had not broken any of the social networking site’s rules.
“Some technical issues rendered the page inaccessible for a short time this evening, but the Page is once again up and running,” Facebook said in a statement to The Associated Press.
Otherwise, King Harald V himself might have had to step in. He received a pair of the pants from the curlers after watching their win over Britain on Tuesday and giving the team a pep talk.
Norway curler Christoffer Svae found the loud golf trousers after searching unsuccessfully for red ones for the Olympics.
D’Orazio, 37, is a curler himself who works in information technology for a plastics company. He said he was happy to have the problem fixed and was confused when Facebook first told him the site violated its terms of use.
“I had gotten support from everywhere,” he said. “The Norwegian Curling Association actually invited me over to one of their tournaments next year, so that was a nice invitation. And Chris Svae’s girlfriend, who said: ’The guys really appreciate the support. They’re well aware of the group and I think they even joined in. Keep up the good work.”’
When D’Orazio started the page, he figured maybe 20 of his friends would sign up. He said he can’t believe the popularity of the page now.
“In about 20 minutes I had about 200 fans and it grew very quickly from there. It’s overwhelming a little bit,” he said. “I’m not only a fan of the pants, but I’m also a curling fan. I’ve been called by a couple of people the undisputed No. 1 fan of Norwegian curling.”
———
AP Sports Writer Joseph White and Associated Press Writer Lila Ibrahim contributed to this story in Vancouver.

A good reason to run dog pics

Sadie the Scottish terrier is the favorite at the Westminster Dog Sbow, which will be shown tonight at 8 p.m. on USA, and finishes up Tuesday at 3 p.m.

Beam her up: Scottie is the hot dog at Westminster

By BEN WALKER
AP National Writer
NEW YORK — She is a hot dog, this little Sadie.

In this Dec.13, 2009, file photo, judge Robert J. Moore, left, handler Gabriel Rangel and U.S. Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson pose for photographers with Sadie, a Scottish terrier, which won "Best in Show" at the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship in Long Beach, Calif.

Tongue out and wagging tail up, the perky, 4-year-old Scottish terrier has won more than 100 best in show ribbons and is the overwhelping favorite to complete dogdom’s Triple Crown this week at Westminster. She’s already charmed the judge, in fact.
What in the show world could go wrong for America’s top dog at America’s top pooch pageant?
Well, plenty.
Two years ago, she got spooked at Madison Square Garden. Her handler’s new shoes were too squeaky, the wooden boards covering the ice hockey rink thumped too loudly. There was a stray TV monitor that threw her, too.

Basset hounds Gladiator, left, and his cousin Lola, touch noses in the lobby of the Pennsylvania Hotel, Sunday in New York.

Then last February, she had a potty accident on the green carpet while coming out to take her place in the final ring.
Come Tuesday night, it could be Sadie’s turn. Or not. Because inside those purple and gold ropes, the show world revolves around one guiding principle.
Dog on the day.

Rufus, a colored bull terrier, winner of Best in Show at the 130th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show looks on before a fundraiser for Angel on a Leash, a therapy dog organization, Saturday.

“That’s what we always say,” said David Frei, longtime host of the Westminster telecast on the USA Network and CNBC. “It doesn’t matter what you’ve done in the past. It’s what you do inside that ring on any given day.”
So maybe there’s room for another contender, perhaps a prize Doberman pinscher, a familiar puli or a sweet golden retriever.

Dogs from 173 breeds and varieties begin competing Monday morning, with three newcomers to Westminster: the Irish red and white setter, the Norwegian buhund and the Pyrenean shepherd.

Uno the beagle, winner of Best in Show at the 132nd Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show looks on before a fundraiser for Angel on a Leash, a therapy dog organization, Saturday.

There are a full 2,500 entries — up from last year, when a slow economy took a bite out of the show — including a 12-year-old shiba inu and 10-month-old miniature bull terrier. Australian shepherds are the most popular with 44 while there were just two kuvaszok.

Sassy, an America Eskimo dog, is bathed by owner Cathy Hammer at the Pennsylvania Hotel before the Westminster dog show Saturday.

The hound, toy and nonsporting groups will be judged Monday. The sporting, working and terrier groups go Tuesday. Then shortly before 11 p.m., judge Elliott Weiss will make his pick for best in show.
Chances are, Weiss will see Sadie among the final seven — oddsmaker John Avello playfully lists her as the easy 8-to-1 favorite at the Wynn Las Vegas casino.

Penny Lane, a 2-year-old King Charles Cavalier from Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., shakes out his fur in the doggie spa at the Pennsylvania Hotel, Friday.

Weiss chose Sadie as best in show at an event in North Carolina in September. It’s common for top judges to see the best dogs at competitions around the country during the year.
Plenty of judges have picked the coal-black Sadie, whose registered name is Roundtown Mercedes of Maryscot. She won the prestigious National Dog Show in November and the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship in December.

Zack, left, and Heather Helmer, display Harvey's 14 inch ears at the Pennsylvania Hotel, Friday, Feb. 12, 2010 in New York. Harvey, a 3-year-old Bloodhound is in contention for the Guinness Book of World Records for longest dog ears.

“Incredible,” praised Clint Livingston, handler of a golden retriever called Treasure who is the country’s No. 4-ranked show dog.
Sadie got rankled during terrier judging at Westminster in 2008 and was the runner-up. Trying to prepare her for all sorts of future distractions in the big ring, handler Gabriel Rangel took to having strangers feed her treats.

Trouble, a 2-year-old Pug, works out on a treadmill at the doggie spa at the Pennsylvania Hotel, Friday.

Last year at the Garden, Sadie won the terrier group. “Maybe I should take a Scotch,” Rangel said.
An underdog, so to speak, wound up winning best in show. Crowd favorite Stump, a 10-year-old Sussex spaniel, took the ribbon and silver bowl. He’s now retired, living a dog’s life in Texas.
Scotties have won best in show at Westminster seven times, surpassed only by 13 wins for wire fox terriers. Then again, not since a perfectly primped bichon frise called J.R. in 2001 has America’s reigning No. 1 show dog won Westminster.
“Dog on the day,” Frei said.

Lombardi Gras

New Orleans got to add to the Mardi Gras celebration with the parade for the Super Bowl champion Saints Tuesday. Much nicer scene than the aftermath of Katrina.

Beads for everybody.

Good times roll at Saints victory parade

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN
Associated Press Writer
NEW ORLEANS — Only a Super Bowl victory parade could upstage Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

The Marine Corps Color Band marches through a sea of New Orleans Saints fans during a parade through the central business district of New Orleans Tuesday.

Carnival floats carrying Saints players, coaches and team owner Tom Benson rolled past tens of thousands of jubilant fans in downtown New Orleans on Tuesday, two days after the 43-year-old franchise won its first NFL championship.
Players, wearing team jerseys instead of traditional Carnival masks and costumes, tossed beads into the crowd and signed autographs for throngs of screaming fans. Benson shouted “Who Dat!” into a microphone from his perch atop a float. Head coach Sean Payton blew kisses and held the Lombardi Trophy over his head.
“Here’s to the best Mardi Gras week in the history of this city,” Payton said, raising a glass of champagne during a toast outside the city’s historic Gallier Hall.

A giant version of the Vince Lombardi Trophy stands on one of the floats that carried members of the New Orleans Saints NFL football team during a parade through the central business district of New Orleans.

The parade, a week before the city’s signature Fat Tuesday celebration, started outside their home turf at the Louisiana Superdome. Black, gold and white confetti floated over the crowd and a man wearing a Saints jacket held aloft a sign that read, “Happy Lombardi Gras!”
The floats stopped at a reviewing stand so elected officials, including Mayor Ray Nagin, Gov. Bobby Jindal and Sens. Mary Landrieu and David Vitter, could toast the team’s 31-17 win over the Indianapolis Colts.
“How’s the ’Who Dat’ nation feel tonight?” Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees yelled when his float stopped at the reviewing stand. “This toast goes out to you. We love you and we won that championship for you.”
Ten Carnival krewes lent floats for the team to ride. More than a dozen marching bands joined the team on its route, which passed by the edge of the French Quarter and ended at the city’s convention center. An official crowd estimate wasn’t immediately available, but many fans said the gathering seemed larger than any during Mardi Gras.
“This is wilder than Mardi Gras,” said Frank V. Smith, 55, a lifelong New Orleans resident who shot photographs of players from the rear of a pickup truck. “I’ve never seen so many people out here like this. This is beautiful, man.”
Shannon Cobb, 28, of Metairie, said the parade was a party with a purpose.
“Everybody is here for one reason: their love for the city and their love for the Saints and to show our appreciation for what they’ve done for us,” she said.
The Super Bowl win, which capped just the ninth winning season in franchise history, was a stunning reversal of fortunes for a team once derided as the “Aints.” Few players could appreciate that better than fan favorite Deuce McAllister, the team’s retired all-time leading rusher who joined the team on the sidelines for the Super Bowl.
“It’s been pretty crazy,” he said Tuesday. “Everywhere you go, you can see the pride in the fans.”
Fans are grateful for more than just the team’s on-field performance. Many members of “Who Dat” nation credit the team with uniting a city that has struggled with racial divisions and labored to rebuild in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which left about 85 percent of the city underwater in August 2005.
“After the hurricane, people were more willing to come back when they realized the Saints were coming back,” said Scott Catalanotto, 35, whose 7-year-old son sat on a ladder and yelled for beads.
In the French Quarter, thousands streamed toward the parade route, turning Bourbon Street into a river of black and gold.
Will Kaplan, 28, stood out in a billowing white toga with a gold-colored halo and the word “Breesus” on his back.
His Jesus-inspired costume, he said, was made from sheets he had in a FEMA trailer he stayed in after Hurricane Katrina on the University of New Orleans campus.
“I’m the spirit of the party,” he said.
Enduring chilly, windy weather under overcast skies, fans started staking out spots along the parade route more than seven hours before the floats rolled.
Tim Thorn, a 35-year-old landscaper, drove in from Baton Rouge to be among the early birds. He said he gave his daughters, Cameron and Carson, the day off school because the event was too big to miss.
“It’s probably the biggest party in the world,” he said.

Live Winter Olympics galore

NBC decided on a new approach to the Vancouver Winter Olympics after the low viewing numbers from Turin in 2006 — they’re planning to show events LIVE. Granted, it’s easier having the Olympics in North America without drastic time differences, but even if events are live at odd hours, people will watch more if shown live. NBC plans 835 hours of Olympic coverage, almost 50 hours daily with coverage on sister stations like CNBC and MSNBC. And almost all if it will be live. As a sports fan, tape delay of any event just isn’t the same as live. Good move.

NBC aims for gold as Olympics return to North America

By Rick Bentley
McClatchy Newspapers

PASADENA, Calif. — NBC executives have as much interest in earning gold as any athlete competing in the 2010 Winter Olympics starting Friday in Vancouver.
The network needs the Games to generate high viewing numbers and big financial returns because it paid $2.2 billion for the rights to televise the 2010 and 2012 Olympic Games in the U.S.
There is reason to be concerned, considering how poorly the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, did in the ratings. According to A.C. Nielsen, which tracks viewership numbers, that was the least-watched Winter Olympics in prime time. The average of 20.2 million viewers wasn’t enough to surpass “Dancing With the Stars,” “Lost,” “Survivor,” “CSI” and the juggernaut “American Idol.”
Everything from tape-delayed coverage to American apathy with the Winter Olympics was blamed. Whatever the reason, NBC needs to finish on the winner’s podium this year.
Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC Universal Sports and Olympics and executive producer of the Vancouver Olympics, is confident this year will be different.
“Torino showed that the Winter Olympics can be pretty vulnerable to strong reality programming when the Olympics are on tape,” he says.
Some Turin events were tape delayed by as many as 18 hours for the West Coast. In Vancouver, almost all of the coverage will be live.

In this Jan. 9, 2010, file photo, Tim Burke of the USA prepares for shooting during the men's 10 km Sprint at the Biathlon World Cup in Oberhof, Germany. Biathlon and Nordic combined are usually relegated to some cable channel, with brief mentions during prime time. But with Americans in contention for what would be historic medals in the events, NBC has two more sports to try to squeeze into its high-profile slots.

NBC is getting some help from the other networks, which shifted some competitive programming. The Games will still face “American Idol” on Fox, but CBS moved the Grammys from February to January, and ABC shifted the Oscar telecast from February to March. ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” won’t start until after the last medal has been handed out.
“I do think we will do much better against ’Idol’ those four nights than we did from Torino because we are live,” Ebersol says.
Coverage also has been expanded to sister stations, such as CNBC and MSNBC. Between NBC, its cable channels and online package, 835 hours of the Winter Games will be shown. That’s more than Turin (419) and Salt Lake City (375.5) combined (794.5). Almost 50 hours of coverage will be available daily.
One thing that can help boost ratings is strong story lines from the athletes.
Figure skating has always been one of the big draws of the Winter Olympics. Bob Costas, the 20-time Emmy Award-winner who will be this year’s primetime host, expects figure skating to be a big draw this year.
Early advertising by NBC has promoted speedskating, skiing and snowboarding.
The drama of the Games, Costas says, is that the Olympics are like no other sport. Fans can watch their favorite football, basketball or baseball player in multiple games that cover months of a season. The Olympics come down to one moment every four years.
“They labor and practice and prime themselves for this in relative obscurity, and then they step out of the shadows and into the biggest spotlight in all of international sports. If it works out for them, it can be something that people remember for a lifetime,” Costas says. “If it doesn’t, often in the blink of an eye, that might be their only chance or, at best, they have to wait a full four years to have another chance.”
Despite that drama, advertisers haven’t been overwhelmingly excited. Commercial sales were slow the first half of 2009, blamed mostly on the economic recession, but have picked up in recent months.
Ebersol says advertising sales should equal those for the past two Winter Olympics.
But, that’s not good enough. With rights fees so high, NBC could end up about $200 million short—making this the first time the network will lose money on the Games. NBC placed the winning bid in 2003 when the economy and its schedule was much stronger.
In one way NBC is already a winner.
Even if the telecasts have fewer viewers than such shows as “American Idol,” the ratings will likely be higher than the network’s regular lineup. Except for its “Sunday Night Football” telecasts, NBC programs rarely crack the ratings top 20.

Here’s a quick look at NBC’s planned 835 hours of coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics on the network, cable channels and Internet.

NBC

Times: 3-5 p.m., 8-11:30 p.m., 12:35-5 a.m. PST
Coverage: The network will air 193.5 hours of coverage over 17 days, starting with the opening ceremony on Friday and ending with the closing ceremonies on Feb. 28.
Men’s and women’s figure skating and alpine skiing will dominate the prime-time lineup. Reports on free-style skiing, speed skating, snowboarding, and short track also are planned.

USA Network

Times: 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m. PST
Coverage: The cable channel will air 41 hours of coverage. The USA men’s and women’s curling and ice hockey teams will be the primary focus, with all men’s and women’s USA hockey games to be broadcast live.
A curling match will be shown nine of the 12 days of the Olympic curling tournament.

MSNBC

Times: 2:30 p.m.-5 p.m., midnight-2:30 a.m. PST
Coverage: A majority of the cable channel’s 100 hours of Olympic coverage will include live quarterfinal, semifinal and medal round hockey competition.
Curling, speed skating and figure skating also will be featured.

CNBC

Times: CNBC: 2 p.m.-2 a.m. PST
Coverage: Long-form reporting of Olympic curling, ice hockey and biathlon will dominate the cable channel’s 100.5 hours of programming.

Other coverage

More than 400 hours of live event coverage will be available at NBCOlympics.com plus more than 1,000 hours of on-demand full-event replays. There also will be some coverage on Universal HD.

He must be in the front row

Bob Uecker’s name brings back fond memories of beer commercials and baseball movies. But for this women, it must mean a lot more. She does come up with some interesting ways to stay involved with Uecker. It’s good to see the whack-job’s not getting anywhere with her court moves. And her mug shot is one for the files.

Court dismisses case against Uecker, Brewers

By RYAN J. FOLEY
Associated Press Writer
MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin appeals court on Wednesday rejected a defamation lawsuit filed against the Milwaukee Brewers and the team’s radio announcer Bob Uecker.
The District 2 Court of Appeals dismissed the lawsuit filed by Ann Ladd of Prospect Heights, Ill., who claims she has been unfairly portrayed as Uecker’s stalker. In so doing, the court adopted a new legal standard in Wisconsin that will limit lawsuits over allegedly defamatory communications.
Uecker alleged in 2006 that Ladd had harassed and stalked him for years. He said she repeatedly sought his autograph, sent him unwanted gifts and appeared at ballparks to see him and even one hotel where he was staying for a road series.
Ladd was charged with felony stalking, but the case was dropped after a court commissioner granted a four-year restraining order requiring her to not contact him or attend games where he is working.
Ladd sued in 2008 alleging she was defamed by Uecker’s legal affidavit spelling out the stalking allegations and its publication on a Web site called The Smoking Gun, among other things. She has contended her behavior never rose to the level of criminal stalking, and the “stalker” label has damaged her reputation.
The Brewers and Uecker argued the case must be dismissed because Ladd waited past the two-year statute of limitations before she sued. She responded that, because the statements were still widely available on the Internet, the information is republished each time someone visits the site or others that contain them.
The three-judge appeals court rejected her argument, saying Uecker and the Brewers have no control over information once its on the Internet.
“We reject the notion that each ’hit’ or viewing of the information should be considered a new publication that retriggers the statute of limitations,” Judge Harry G. Snyder wrote for the panel, which did not consider the merits of Ladd’s claims.
With the ruling, the court adopted the “single-publication rule” that says people can sue for defamation only over an original publication but not each time something is republished. In other words, the statute of limitations starts running when an article is published or a statement is made and not each time they are reprinted or read.
The standard had been widely adopted across the country to govern lawsuits over traditional media publications, but never in Wisconsin, said Madison attorney Robert Dreps, who often represents news media clients. The court not only adopted the standard Wednesday but said it extended to the Internet.
“This is a wonderful decision. It’s very good for the press,” Dreps said. “It’s surprising it’s taken this long to get adopted here, but it’s of good value.”
Peter Fox, executive director of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association, said allowing defamation lawsuits each time an article was reprinted on the Internet would have “wreaked havoc.” Because information spreads from site to site and is always available online, a statute of limitations never would have existed for defamation cases without the rule, he said.
“It would have created a nightmare,” he said. “From our point of view, this is a good and timely recognition of modern technology and modern printing.”
Ladd, who represented herself, did not immediately return a phone message. Neither did the attorney representing Uecker and the Brewers.
Last month, a separate Wisconsin appeals court upheld the restraining order against Ladd. She argued that preventing her from attending Brewers games violated her constitutional right to travel, but the court disagreed.

Benefit to help Haiti

Fundraising efforts for Haiti have brought in millions to help out after the earthquake last week.

South Dakota State basketball coach Scott Nagy takes a little different approach to fundraising, and will coach his games this weekend barefoot to raise money and awareness of the country’s turmoil. You can text “shoes” to help raise the money Nagy hopes will buy 2,000 shoes for a child in need and earthquake relief.

Anything to help out the effort.

S. Dakota State coach will go barefoot for Haiti

By CLIFF BRUNT
AP Sports Writer
INDIANAPOLIS — The earthquake in Haiti has personal resonance for South Dakota State basketball coach Scott Nagy, and he plans to coach barefoot this weekend to raise money and awareness for the deadly disaster.

South Dakota State head basketball coach Scott Nagy sits barefoot with his daughter, Naika, at the school in Brookings, S.D, on Dec. 6, 2008. The earthquake in Haiti has personal resonance for Nagy, and he plans to coach barefoot this weekend to raise money and awareness for the deadly disaster. Nagy's adopted daughter is from Petionville, near the quake's epicenter, and he hasn't been able to contact the girl's birth mother since the disaster last Tuesday. Nagy said 6-year-old Naika is aware of what happened, and he struggled to explain the situation to her.

Nagy’s adopted daughter is from Petionville, near the quake’s epicenter, and he hasn’t been able to contact the girl’s birth mother since the disaster last Tuesday. Nagy said 6-year-old Naika is aware of what happened, and he struggled to explain the situation to her.
“She’s very intelligent and very bright,” he said. “She doesn’t say a whole lot, but I know it’s heavy on her heart.”
Nagy said he has tried not to burden Naika with too many details, but she heard about the events at school the next day. He had no choice but to explain further after images of the destruction were shown during a televised NBA game.
“At first, she thought everybody was dead in Haiti,” Nagy said. “I told her that most of the people lived. She said ’so, four people died?’ I said ’more than that.”’
On Saturday, Nagy will coach barefoot as part of his effort to help collect shoes and money for earthquake relief in Haiti through Samaritan’s Feet, a charitable organization based in Charlotte, N.C. The Jackrabbits will play Oakland (Mich.) in Brookings, S.D., and Nagy’s goal is to help collect $30,000 and 2,000 pairs of shoes.
Nagy has encouraged fans to text “shoes” to 85944 so $5 can be added to each person’s cell phone bill to buy a pair of shoes for a child in need. Donations also can be made at Finish Line stores, or at the organization’s Web site.
Members of the South Dakota High School Coaches Association also will coach barefoot this weekend in Naika’s honor.

South Dakota State head basketball coach Scott Nagy.

Nagy said he visited Naika at her orphanage in Haiti in May 2005 and left overwhelmed by the struggles the people there endured. Four months later, the Nagys adopted her. He said it will be a challenge to rebuild a nation that already was extremely poor.
“This is a news story now, and I know it will go away, but this is going to be a long, long term thing for the Haitian people to recover from this,” he said.
Samaritan’s Feet has had operations in Haiti for more than four years, said spokesman Todd Melloh. The organization first became involved with college basketball when IUPUI coach Ron Hunter coached barefoot two years ago. More than 300 coaches, including Nagy, joined the cause last year.
Now, Nagy is even more motivated to participate. He said going shoeless for a few hours will be a minor inconvenience.
“I like to stomp,” he said. “I can’t do that. My feet hurt bad enough after games. Honestly, once the game gets going, you don’t spend a whole lot of time thinking about it. It’s a good way to remind people that there’s other things going on that are a heck of a lot more important than just basketball games.”
The text number 85944 is a general number for Samaritan’s Feet, but donations from the 605 area code specifically will go to Haiti.
————
On the Net:

http://www.samaritansfeet.org

Here we go again

It seems to be the latest fad for pro athletes, retiring, un-retiring, retiring, un-retiring, etc., etc.

Michael Jordan famously couldn’t make up his mind, retiring from the NBA to play minor league baseball and then starting his yo-yo’ing from playing to retirement.

Brett Favre’s soap opera sage over the last few offseason is the latest prime example. With any luck, we don’t have to watch another tear-soaked press conference this offseason.

But, whether Favre once again joins the fray,  it looks like linebacker Junior Seau is the latest to join the ranks of those that just can’t stick with a decision. He says he’s again retiring after coming out of retirement to rejoin the Patriots six games into this season. Seau retired in August 2006 after playing in San Diego and Miami, only to un-retire four days later to head to New England.

So, if the money’s right, you might see Seau once again on the field. But, at 41, maybe his soap opera is finally over.

Patriots LB Junior Seau retires again

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Junior Seau is retiring again and looking ahead to more time on his surfboard.
The 12-time Pro Bowl linebacker, who came out of retirement to rejoin the New England Patriots in their sixth game this season, said in remarks taped for broadcast Wednesday night on Showtime that he’s ending his career.

Junior Seau says he's once again retiring from pro football.

Seau played eight games for the Patriots this season, all as a backup, finishing with last Sunday’s 33-14 playoff loss to Baltimore in which he made a season-high five tackles.
“That’s going to be my last game,” he said during the interview taped on Wednesday.
That was more definitive than comments earlier in the interview when he said, “I’m going to go surf. … Whatever happens, I can say, honestly say, that that probably was my last game.”
Seau first left football briefly in August 2006 after 13 seasons with San Diego and three with Miami.
“I’m not retiring. I am graduating. Today is my graduation day,” he said then. “Retirement means that you’ll just go ahead and live on your laurels and surf all day in Oceanside (Calif.). It ain’t going to happen.”
He signed with the Patriots four days later and started 14 of the 27 games he played for them over two seasons. He retired after the 2007 season, then came out of retirement for the final four games in 2008 before retiring after that season.
Seau, who turns 41 on Tuesday, played seven regular-season games this season, all as a backup, and made 15 tackles. New England finished 10-6 and won the AFC East.
The Patriots fell behind 24-0 in the first quarter Sunday and allowed the Ravens to rush for 234 yards. Tom Brady threw three interceptions and lost a fumble.
“You have to be accountable,” Seau said in the interview on Showtime’s Inside the NFL. “He’s going to be accountable to what he did, but there’s no one, no one can be exempt in that locker room as to what happened to us against the Baltimore Ravens. And that’s talking the coaches, offense, defense and special teams. So, we lost to the Baltimore Ravens because they are a better team.”
Seau first played this season in wins over Tennessee and Tampa Bay. But he didn’t play in the next three games and was inactive the following week despite being healthy for a 22-21 loss at Miami on Dec. 6. Then he played the remaining five regular-season games.
His return to the Patriots this season had been announced by Versus, the television network on which he has a show, “Sports Jobs with Junior Seau,” in which he does jobs in other sports, including riding a hockey Zamboni and working as a ballboy for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

New England Patriots linebacker Junior Seau, left, argues with hosts Chris Collinsworth, center, and Phil Simms during a taping of Showtime's "Inside the NFL."

On the day of the Versus announcement, the club did not announce his return, but team owner Robert Kraft said, “He’s a unique individual. I’d love to have him part of our team for as long as he wants to.”
Seau was known for his passion and leadership, two qualities the Patriots needed after Rodney Harrison and Tedy Bruschi retired and Mike Vrabel and Richard Seymour were traded before the season.
“I’m too old to be excited,” Seau said when he signed on Oct. 14. “I’m too old to jump up for joy. I know that the only way this is all going to be exciting to anyone, (is) if it works.”

The best part of the job (?)

There are many things about covering sports that are enticing for a lifelong sports fan. I’d much rather be at a couple prep or college basketball games than sitting at, say, a city council or parks department meeting. I know that, because I spent six years covering meetings like that, and nothing against city council member or parks department commissioners, but there’s a lot of boring stuff they have to attend to that I’d rather not be a part of.

Of course, a daily sports section has its drawbacks, such as having to be in the office and ready to take coaches’ calls by 6 a.m. weekdays, and writing, editing and paginating until after midnight on many Friday and Saturday nights.

And of course there’s the pain of covering a 71-16 prep football blowout, and having to talk to the humiliated coach afterwards.

But perhaps the best part of my job over majority of the last decade has been my weekly duties editing Don Davis’ Outdoors column. Don takes readers on a weekly journey that can be to the Oregon Coast, the Montana wilderness, the Eagle Cap area, or as close to home as a stroll along Mill Creek. A big part of each column is his intrepid canine companion, first Sadie the Dalmation and now, of course, Nora the Schnauzer. I look forward to each week’s column and edit, choose photos and paginate each week for the U-B’s Diversions section. And his pictures are a highlight each week. He often apologizes for having a stack I have to choose from, knowing there’s limited space in the paper. But it’s a labor of love that I enjoy each week.

This week his column is on his Top 10 (or so) trips of 2009. Here’s a selection of photos, some of which ran in this week’s paper, and some that didn’t.

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