- Follow the example of the news teams in “Anchorman.” Take
your street fight to a neutral location. That’s is the philosophy being
followed by officials at Cincinnati and Xavier for future editions of their
basketball rivalry after a massive basket-brawl during this past season’s
revival of the intra-city rivalry. Following a massive brawl incited largely by
the taunting and antics of Xavier guard Tu Holloway that led to tough talk from
both coaches, Cincinnati’s Mick Cronin and Xavier’s Chris Mack, about ending
players’ seasons based on their thuggery. Of course, both coaches whiffed
completely and let their players off the hooked with short suspensions, but
that’s another argument for another day. For now, the focus is on the location
of this street fight going forward and starting next season, the contest. Instead of keeping the festivities in
one of the schools’ arenas, both sides agreed to move the game to U.S. Bank
Arena. Sources close to the decision said it was a direct result of the highly
publicized Dec. 10 brawl between the two schools that threatened to end the
series all together. Instead, school officials from both universities decided
to move the game away from its alternating home-and-home fixtures for the next
two seasons. Following the two-year trial, they will revisit the subject and evaluate
the behavior of players and fans before renewing the series or scheduling
venues. The series was actually played U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati from 1976
to 1983, when it was known as Riverfront Coliseum, but has alternated between
Cincinnati's and Xavier's home courts since 1989. The date for next season’s
brawl, er, game is expected to be Dec. 18, 19 or 20………..
- Just because Rhode Island is small doesn’t mean it doesn’t
have big ideas and officials there are seeking to be at the forefront of beach
safety by making their shores the first on the East Coast to feature state of the
art technology: a robotic lifeguard called EMILY, an acronym for Emergency
Integrated Lifesaving Lanyard. "This is a project we are behind,"
says Lisa Konicki, executive director of the Westerly-Pawcatuck Area Chamber of
Commerce, which led the effort to purchase two EMILYS from Arizona-based
business Hyrdonalix. EMILY is a 4-foot-long buoy that can travel 24 miles per
hour and can be deployed when a swimmer is in distress. It still requires a
lifeguard to operate it with a remote control from the beach while his partner
follows behind. Upon reaching the distressed swimmer, EMILY acts as a flotation
device until the lifeguard catches up. "All of our first responders will
be trained," Konicki promised. These robotic aquatic heroes are not cheap,
as purchasing two EMILYS plus training in California for lifeguards will cost
$23,000, to be paid by the Chamber Foundation, the Rotary Club and a few
private donors. The town of Westerly is also chipping in $10,000, which includes some taxpayer
money. Citizens have expressed concerns about the untested nature and high cost
of the device and wondered if purchasing a jet ski or two for lifeguards wouldn’t
be cheaper and just as effective. Konicki contends that crowded beaches and
water settings make the small, agile life buoy a better option. "I think
it's a relatively small investment when you consider the potential impact it
has on public safety," she said. If Emily works well, Westerley could
become a model for other towns along the East Coast………
- He’s been a symbol of rock and roll excess as a member of
British rock bands the Libertines and Babyshambles (and made some decent music
along the way), but Pete Doherty isn't a two-sport athlete, so to speak, if
critics who have seen his acting debut in “Confession of a Child of the Century” are to be believed.
The film, which
also stars Charlotte Gainsbourg and Lily Cole, was screened for the press at
the Cannes film festival over the weekend both Doherty and the movie received
extremely negative reviews across the board. Doherty’s acting in partciular was
given scathing reviews, with his efforts being labeled "shambling
amateurisim,” and critics saying he delivers "a wooden performance"
in "a turgid adaptation.” Some critics were kinder in that they directed
their rage toward director Sylvie Verheyde rather than Doherty. Several noted
how uncomfortable Doherty seemed on screen and suggested that Vergeyde may have
given a little bit too big of a role to a first-timer. In the film, Doherty
plays Octave, a young romantic who falls into depression and debauchery after
learning the shocking news about his lady love’s (Cole) infidelity. A few
critics seemed to have an agenda in their criticism of Doherty, so severe and
harsh were their reviews. Calling him "a sixth former who hasn't learnt
his lines for drama class" and suggesting he now "joins a long line
of successful musicians and pop stars who have become truly awful actors” comes
across as a bit mean-spirited. It might even be enough to drive Doherty back to
drugs……again……..
- While slightly creepy at first glance, news that
scientists have discovered a way to turn patients' own
skin cells into healthy heart muscle is still encouraging. Israeli researchers
led by professor Lior Gepstein believe their success in a lab setting could
ultimately lead to this type of stem cell therapy being used to treat heart
failure patients. Because the transplanted cells are from the individual
patient, the possible issue of tissue rejection could be avoided. Obviously,
the concept is still fairly new and despite successful testing on animals, the
process is still years from being used in humans. Stem cells have proven
extremely effective in treating other conditions like diabetes, Parkinsons
disease or Alzheimer's, so heart problems were a logical next step. They are
vital because they have the ability to become different cell types and
scientists have begun using them in their efforts to develop new means of
repairing or regenerating damaged organs or tissues. Heart failure simply means
the heart is not pumping blood around the body as well as it used to due to
damaged heart muscle. In this study, a research team took skin cells from two
men with heart failure and mixed the cells up with a cocktail of genes and
chemicals in the lab to create the stem cell treatment. The resulting cells
were identical to healthy heart muscle cells and when they were transplanted
into a rat, they started to make connections with the surrounding heart tissue.
"What is new and exciting about our research is that we have shown that
it's possible to take skin cells from an elderly patient with advanced heart
failure and end up with his own beating cells in a laboratory dish that are
healthy and young - the equivalent to the stage of his heart cells when just
born," Gepstein said. With more work, Gepstein and his team hope to be
ready for human trials soon…………
- No surrender……and NO MERCY! Tim Robbins uttered that line
in his cameo in “Anchorman” and it could just as well have been shouted by demonstrators
forced their way into the office of Mali's interim president on Monday and
attacked the elderly leader, leaving him battered and unconscious. Dioncounda Traore
was taken to the Point G Hospital unconscious and was treated for an injury to
the head, said Sekou Yattara, a medical student there. Traore later regained
consciousness and sources said his life is not believe to be in danger even
though protestors were apparently looking to end him. The scene at the
presidential palace in Bamako on Monday morning was jaw-dropping, as thousands
of rioters descended on the property, angry over a deal brokered by regional
powers that extended the time Traore would stay in power. Armed with sticks and
branches from trees with which they hit portraits of Traore, rioters also carried
a dummy wrapped in cloth lying on two long sticks, meant to represent
Dioncounda's dead body. They kicked the doors down and looked to turn their
crude art into reality. Mali has been in a perpetual state of chaos since March
21, when soldiers staged a coup, driving the country's democratically elected
leader into exile and reversing two decades of democratic rule in one of the
only stable countries in a tumultuous corner of Africa. Neighboring countries
reactly swifty and the Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS,
imposed strict sanctions until the junta agreed to restore the country's
constitution in early April. Under the constitution, Traore was to become
interim president for a 40-day period, before new elections could be held. That
window expired Tuesday, but ECOWAS wanted Traore's term extended for another
year so elections could be properly planned. When the junta agreed to allow
Traore's term to be extended in return for receiving a lifetime salary and the
status of a former head of state, riots ensued. Demonstrators marched up the
steep hill, known as Koulouba, where the presidential palace sits. They broke
into the palace with apparent help from soldiers and the beating was on. Now,
an already jacked-up government in which the military junta remained the de
facto leader and an interim president attempted to rule has been plunged into
further chaos and the black cloud won't be lifting any time soon……….
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