Key to the Game: A Look Back at the Key Play from UCLA vs. Washington State

The seventh installment in a series looking at the key play from each UCLA Pac-12 game from the 2012 season. This week looks at the Bruins' 44-36 victory over the Washington State Cougars.

UCLA followed their 66-10 win over Arizona with a first half against Washington State ending with a 37-7 UCLA lead.

After that enjoyable first half, this was the longest game of the year. Having to sit through and watch the second half was total agony. The was no explanation for what happened on either side of the ball in the late third and entire fourth quarter.

The Washington State Cougars came into the game a complete mess of a team. Their best player had just been kicked off the team earlier in the week, their coach Mike Leach was publicly calling out his upperclassmen for being embarrassing to the program and they were also just 2-7 overall and 0-6 in the Pac-12.

Despite being a tough place to play and being very cold and being played unusually late, UCLA was big favorites in this game, having a 7-2 (4-2) record and riding a 4-game winning streak.

Setup:

UCLA scored to go up 44-14 at the 4 minute mark on a short touchdown run by Jordon James. From there, the game completely unraveled. Washington State, who had done next to nothing on offense the whole game, scored quickly after back-to-back 30-yard gains. The Cougars ended the drive with a 4-yard TD pass to make it 44-21. At that point, the game is still comfortable. There is less than a quarter for a team with a mostly ineffective offense to score 3 times.

All the UCLA offense needed to do was get a couple of first downs and the game is actually over. Run three or four minutes off the clock. After a sack, a stuffed run and a draw, UCLA lost a yard and used 2 minutes of clock. After one of Jeff Locke's worst punts of the year, the Bruins defense needed a stop. Up to the task, the Bruins defense forced a three-and-out in :52 seconds and UCLA got the ball back with 12:51 to go in the game and a 44-21 lead.

On the first play of the drive, Jordon James gained 11 on a stretch to give UCLA a first down. The offense managed to completely cancel this out by losing 13 yards on the next two plays, a stuffed run and another sack where Brett Hundley held the ball for 7 seconds without a throw. A 20-yard gain by Joseph Fauria on 3rd-down gave Jeff Locke a chance to redeem himself with a 57-yard punt that was downed at the 4-yard line.

On the Cougars' next drive they tried so hard to give UCLA the game, but the penalty bug emerged once more. A substitution infraction (#10 on the game) on a 4th and 5 gave Wazzu a first down and a 15-yard personal foul (#11 on the game) on Stan McKay gave them another after a 31-yard pass. To be fair, McKay's penalty was total BS, he got pushed into a defender after the whistle and the SPTRs only saw the incidental contact by Stan. The Cougars would score a few plays later to make the game 44-28 with 6:25 left.

It is damn near impossible to blow a 16-point lead in 6 minutes. The only way it can happen is with a turnover or unexpected play. Both happened on the ensuing kickoff. Kenny Walker catches the kick, runs 17 yards and gets his head sandwiched between two defenders. He fumbles and Washington State recovers on the UCLA 27-yard line.

A 1-yard completion on first down set up a 2nd and 9 from the UCLA 26 with 6:01 remaining. A quick score here and a 2-point conversion makes a game that was 44-14 with 1:30 left in the 3rd quarter a one possession game with more than 5 minutes left.

Positioning and Execution:

(The play here is at 11:06. Thanks to Aaron Aloysius for uploading this.)

Washington State lines up in a 4 wide receiver set out of Shotgun on this play. The single running back is offset to Halliday's left side.

OL vs. Pass Rushers:

The alignment of both the offensive and defensive line here are pretty normal. Washington State has slightly larger splits than a normal offensive line, but that has always been a trademark of Leach's offense. It is part of the reason why the lineman at Texas Tech used to be so massive, so that those splits could be closed by length easily.

UCLA counters this with, from left to right, Jordan Zumwalt at OLB outside-eye of the right tackle, Datone Jones head-up with the right guard, Cassius Marsh in the A-gap between the left guard and center, and Anthony Barr standing up outside of the left tackle.

As a pre-snap read, it looks like there is no blitz threat for UCLA. They are just going to try to get pressure with 4 rushers against 5 lineman, something they'd been successful at all game.

Receivers/QB vs. Coverage:

As I said before, Washington State lines up with 4 wideouts on this play. A single receiver is at the bottom of the screen, matched up with Aaron Hester. Hester is in man-coverage on an island on this play. This is very interesting and says a great deal about the level of trust Coach Mora, Coach Martin and Coach Spanos had in Hester as a cover corner. If he gets beat on this play over the top, there is no immediate safety help because of where Abbott is.

Andrew Abbott is the safety to the bottom of the screen. Pre-snap, he moves from 8-10 yards directly behind Barr to inside of the hashmarks, shading to the trips side. As I said, this isolates Hester on the flanker to the bottom of the screen.

Eric Kendricks is the only real linebacker here, as this is a Dime formation by UCLA, even if the Nickel Linebacker is on the field. Kendricks is lined up even without the running back, showing that he is probably responsible for the back out of the backfield or a potential QB draw.

On the other side of the formation, WSU lines up in trips. UCLA complements this with Sheldon Price matched up on the widest man, giving a 6-8 yard cushion. That's normal depth against trips because the DBs inside of him should be able to take care of any quick screen threat.

The middle wideout is covered by Anthony Jefferson, the only defensive back from this play still on the Bruins in 2013. He has a 4-yard cushion or so, with inside leverage.

The slot receiver is matched up with Stan McKay, who is in the middle of the field, just about 3 yards behind and 3 yards outside of Zumwalt.

The safety to the Trips side is Tevin McDonald, who lines up on the right hashmarks in between the slot receiver and the middle receiver. His depth on this play is a few yards deeper than Abbott on the left side because he was not as effective as years past as a deep cover man in 2012. Best way to compensate for any struggles is to give yourself a couple of yards to make reads. As a baseball analogy, but one that applies to coverage as well, it is easier to come forward on a ball than to go back for it.

I don't claim to be fully aware of the way D1 quarterbacks read defenses, but if I were Connor Halliday, I would assume that UCLA is running a Cover 2 with Man underneath. It could also be Cover 3 with how deep Price is playing

Analysis of Action during the play:

OL vs. Pass Rushers:

Jordan Zumwalt:

Contrary to the last time I broke down a defensive play where Zumwalt was rushing, he does not just try to speed rush past the tackle on this play. After the snap, he gets a good jump and tries to inside rush the right tackle. The tackle adjusts to the inside too much and Jordan knocks the tackle down, plugging up a passing lane for Halliday, as well as taking another offensive lineman out of the play. I'll touch on that when I get to Marsh. Also, by taking an inside route, Zumwalt allows for Halliday to scramble to his right out of the pocket. That isn't necessarily a good or bad thing, but I think that the stunt on this play was based on JZ staying outside.

Datone Jones:

Datone was a rock solid player for the majority of the year, and takes a supporting role on this rush. He gets a great jump off the ball and shoots into the A-gap with ease. This causes the uncovered center to decide almost instantly to help with Jones instead of Marsh, leaving Marsh, Zumwalt and Barr all in 1-on-1 match-ups with less talented lineman. Because the center had to decide so quickly, he is unable to help or recognize what happens next.

Cassius Marsh:

Marsh has the most interesting rush on this play. He is stunting to the opposite side. If this weren't such a quick rollout by Halliday, I think Marsh would be going through that B gap that the guard blocking Datone had to abandon. Because Zumwalt pancakes the right tackle, there would have been nowhere for the QB to go if he stayed in the pocket. Marsh shows some pretty strong athleticism by going around Zumwalt and forcing pressure on the QB to rush into making a decision. If you pause the video right before the stunt starts, you can see that Marsh actually covers as much ground as Barr on this play. Pretty impressive.

Anthony Barr:

Watching Barr on this play is an example of the impact he had on QBs at this point in the season. He absolutely blows by the LT at the snap, who gets away with a slight hold. Halliday seems to be aware of this instantly and takes advantage of the rollout he is given to the right side.

Receivers vs. Coverage:

I'm going to try something new here and go through the routes by likelihood of a completion given the coverage and the action on the play.

1. Inside slot receiver vs. McKay:

The route here is just a quick out. McKay had inside position and the throw is there. If you pause the video at 11:10, you can see how the opportunity for a first down is there. It isn't going to be a big play, but it's a pass that is much safer than the decision eventually made. The QB has a lane to throw to, no pass rushers in his face yet, and a better than average shot at a completion. By waiting, Halliday takes this guy out of the play because McKay closes enough ground that a rocket pass is going to get picked or tipped and a touch pass becomes more difficult, though still doable.

2. Middle slot receiver vs. Jefferson/Price:

The route here ends up being a 10 yard out over the top of the inside slot's route. Anthony Jefferson has good position to start with here, but then for some reason turns to the inside while the receiver breaks outside. The opportunity here for Halliday can be seen at around 11:11. He clearly doesn't see it though, and it would have been a tough throw. Needing to be a touch pass with enough gas to not give Price time to break up on the ball.

3. Right flanker vs. Hester:

The route here is a 5-yard inside route. To be honest, there is no chance that Halliday would be able to throw to this receiver. The only opening is right after he starts scrambling right where Hester gives up ground. Halliday would have had to throw across his body late over the middle, hope that Kendricks keeps following the RB out of the backfield and eat a huge hit by Zumwalt.

4. Running Back vs. Kendricks:

The route here is just a flare to the left side of the field past Barr. Again, there is no opportunity for this to happen with the throw being realistic. The only way he can throw it is lollipopping a pass over Barr's unblocked 6'5" frame and giant arms and hoping that Kendricks doesn't close on the play and destroy the RB or make a play on the ball.

5. Left flanker vs. McDonald/Abbott:

The route here is a deep post that ends up going to the middle of the field. Surprisingly, this is the place where the ball ends up being thrown. From the replay, it looks like Halliday's first read is the out patterns to the right of the play. He doesn't pull the trigger on either one for some reason. As he is scrambling to his right, his eyes seems to lock on the flanker. The wideout makes a good move and has okay position on McDonald. Tevin turns his hips quickly enough back to the inside that there is not a huge threat of him being beat. The idea of throwing to that route by itself is a risky, but not terrible decision.

What makes it a terrible decision is not realizing that the other safety was in the middle of the field at the snap, in a coverage that was clearly either a 2-deep look or 3-deep look. The QB knew that there was no receiver running a deep route to the left side of the play. He also knew that the safety was inside of the left hashmarks at the snap. Where did he think Andrew Abbott was going to be?

Abbott undercuts the route, makes a great catch and intercepts the ball in the endzone. Huge play by the senior safety and it essentially clinches a win.

Aftermath:

UCLA ran another 2:30 off the clock after the interception and closed out the game. Washington State would never really threaten again, despite a last minute touchdown and 2-point conversion to make it a 8 point victory at 44-36.

At the time, this game struck me as one where UCLA played as if they wanted the game to end instead of playing to end the game.

There were a crazy number of weird things that happened in this game. 2 blocked punts and 2 blocked field goals. 2 fumbles lost by each team and an interception by both quarterbacks. Johnathan Franklin only averaged 3.5 yards per carry. Brett Hundley completed 18 out of 21 passes, but the offense went 3-11 on 3rd down and only gained 334 yards. Washington State had 9 first downs given by penalties. It was just an odd evening.

Regardless of any oddities, that was not the way UCLA wanted to end a game going into the biggest game of the season against Southern Cal. With UCLA moving to 8 wins, the game against the Trojans would decide the Pac-12 South Champion.

Source: http://www.bruinsnation.com/2013/8/4/4587160/key-to-the-game-a-look-back-at-the-key-play-from-ucla-vs-washington

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Keeping your top players on the pitch: the key to football medicine at a professional level

1. Jan Ekstrand1,2,3

1. ¹Division of Community Medicine, Department of Medical and Health Sciences, Link?ping University, Link?ping, Sweden
2. ²Football Research Group, Link?ping University, Link?ping, Sweden
3. ³UEFA Medical Committee, Nyon, Switzerland

1. Correspondence to Professor Jan Ekstrand, Solstigen 3, S-589 43, Link?ping, Sweden. jan.ekstrand{at}telia.com

The risk of injury in professional football has been estimated at about 1000 times greater than for typical industrial occupations generally regarded as high risk.1 Hence, prevention of injury in football should be of the utmost importance, and conducting injury surveillance studies is the fundamental first step in the process of prevention.2

International football organisations are concerned about the health of players

The worldwide football organisation Federation of International Football Association (FIFA)?and the Union of European Football Association (UEFA) and many national federations have all observed a high risk of injury in football and have initiated and supported research with the aim of avoiding injuries and keeping players on the pitch.

In this issue, you will discover important findings of the UEFA Champions League (UCL) injury study. However, the UCL study is limited to men's professional football in Europe, which is only one part of football over the whole world.

FIFA and its research department, F-Medical Assessment and Research Centre, have carried out many studies of great importance for football overall over a period of 18?years. Two such studies are presented. Bizzini, Junge and Dvorak (see page 803) provide an overview of the development, scientific evaluation and dissemination of FIFA's injury prevention programmes, FIFA 11 and 11 +. In these studies, FIFA has demonstrated how simple exercise-based programmes can decrease the incidence of injuries in youth and amateur players. Further, FIFA has systematically documented all injuries in world football tournaments since 1998. Junge and Dvorak present an overview of these surveys indicating that the injury incidence at matches might be influenced by the playing style, intensity of the match and refereeing (see page 782).

UEFA UCL injury study

In 2001, UEFA initiated a research project with the aim of reducing the number and severity of injuries ?

Source: http://bjsm.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/short/47/12/723?rss=1&ssource=mfr

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Apple Snaps up Wireless Chip-maker to Beef up Bluetooth

Like celebrity deaths, Apple acquisitions seem to come in clumps. Last month the company acquired two mapping-related companies, Locationary and HopStop; on Thursday, Cupertino mixed it up by snagging a maker of low-energy computer chips, Passif Semiconductor. News of the deal was first reported and confirmed by former Wall Street Journal writer Jessica Lessin.

As usual, Apple was closemouthed about its reasons for the acquisition, but it's not hard to figure out why it picked up the small Silicon Valley-based company, which was founded by a pair of Ph.D. students from the University of California, Berkeley. Clearly, though, Apple has deemed it increasingly important to control the key technologies that go into its products--case in point, its 2008 acquisition of PA Semi, which enabled Apple to develop its own processors for products like the iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV.

Along with processors, wireless technology is the other key area on which Apple has focused; just look at its attempts to simplify and cut down on the number of wires for its devices using technologies like AirPlay, and its early adoption of Wi-Fi. More recently, there have been reports that users may soon be able to use Bluetooth to configure their Apple TV. And former senior vice president Bob Mansfield, who was recently detailed to work on special projects for Tim Cook, was last year put in charge of a Technologies division working specifically on semiconductors and wireless.

That connectivity between devices is only going to become more important with the rise of Bluetooth LE (low energy), the part of the Bluetooth 4.0 standard that's targeted at low-power devices like those used for fitness, security, and healthcare. Even if you set aside long-running rumors of Apple's foray into wearable computing, having a stake in this technology is important for the company's existing mobile products, which, more and more, are interacting with smartwatches, fitness devices, and the like.?The forthcoming iOS 7 bears this out: It's due to?include a technology called iBeacons, which allows devices to collect data such as location via Bluetooth LE.

The low-energy part of the spec is particularly important, since anybody who's used almost any Bluetooth accessory with their iPhone can attest to its effect on bottom-line battery life. Apple, like any other company in the mobile device market, is always trying to wring more longevity out of its products; lately, that's been in the form of more and more intelligence power management. With control over both the hardware and the software, Apple has the potential to squeeze even more performance optimizations out of these types of application.

And there is, of course, the aforementioned mythical smartwatch. A power-efficient Bluetooth LE chip would be of primary importance to such a device, where battery life is at a premium. (Right now, for example, I've got two wearable devices, a Fitbit Flex and a Pebble, each of which lasts about a week between recharges--to me, that's the bare minimum for a device that you're going to use every day.)

Passif's acquisition may not be the last for Apple in the near term; CEO Tim Cook said at the D11 conference in May, before news of the location-related acquisitions came to light, that the company had already acquired nine companies in 2013, and that it was still shopping for talent. Let's just hope it's getting the bulk-pricing deal.

Source: http://www.cio.in/news/apple-snaps-wireless-chip-maker-beef-bluetooth-438502013

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Dying 2-year-old is Pa. couple's best man

AAA??Aug. 3, 2013?10:37 PM ET
Dying 2-year-old is Pa. couple's best man
AP

Christine Swidorsky carries her son and the couple's best man, Logan Stevenson, 2, down the aisle to her husband-to-be Sean Stevenson during the wedding ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2013 in Jeannette, Pa. Logan stood with his grandmother, Debbie Stevenson, during a 12-minute ceremony uniting Logan's mother and his father. The boy has leukemia and other complications. The Stevensons abandoned an original wedding date of July 2014 after learning from doctors late last month that their son had two to three weeks to live. The couple wanted Logan to see them marry and to be part of family photos. Logan, who was born Oct. 22, 2010, was diagnosed shortly after his first birthday with acute myeloid leukemia. He has Fanconi anemia, a rare disease that often leads to cancer. (AP Photo/Tribune Review, Eric Schmadel) PITTSBURGH OUT

Christine Swidorsky carries her son and the couple's best man, Logan Stevenson, 2, down the aisle to her husband-to-be Sean Stevenson during the wedding ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2013 in Jeannette, Pa. Logan stood with his grandmother, Debbie Stevenson, during a 12-minute ceremony uniting Logan's mother and his father. The boy has leukemia and other complications. The Stevensons abandoned an original wedding date of July 2014 after learning from doctors late last month that their son had two to three weeks to live. The couple wanted Logan to see them marry and to be part of family photos. Logan, who was born Oct. 22, 2010, was diagnosed shortly after his first birthday with acute myeloid leukemia. He has Fanconi anemia, a rare disease that often leads to cancer. (AP Photo/Tribune Review, Eric Schmadel) PITTSBURGH OUT

Newlywed Christine Stevenson kisses the hand of her son, Logan Stevenson, 2, after marrying Sean Stevenson in a wedding ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2013 in Jeannette, Pa. Logan stood with his grandmother, Debbie Stevenson, during a 12-minute ceremony uniting Logan's mother and his father. The boy has leukemia and other complications. The Stevensons abandoned an original wedding date of July 2014 after learning from doctors late last month that their son had two to three weeks to live. The couple wanted Logan to see them marry and to be part of family photos. Logan, who was born Oct. 22, 2010, was diagnosed shortly after his first birthday with acute myeloid leukemia. He has Fanconi anemia, a rare disease that often leads to cancer. (AP Photo/Tribune Review, Eric Schmadel) PITTSBURGH OUT

Newlywed Christine Stevenson and Sean Stevenson smile after sharing their first kiss at the wedding ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2013 in Jeannette, Pa. Their son, Logan Stevenson, 2, stood with his grandmother, Debbie Stevenson, during a 12-minute ceremony uniting Logan's mother and his father. The boy has leukemia and other complications. The Stevensons abandoned an original wedding date of July 2014 after learning from doctors late last month that their son had two to three weeks to live. The couple wanted Logan to see them marry and to be part of family photos. Logan, who was born Oct. 22, 2010, was diagnosed shortly after his first birthday with acute myeloid leukemia. He has Fanconi anemia, a rare disease that often leads to cancer. (AP Photo/Tribune Review, Eric Schmadel) PITTSBURGH OUT

Detail from a wedding cake donated by Leslie Joseph of Hunker shows a representation of Logan Stevenson, 2, and his favorite stuffed animal at the Stevenson wedding ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2013 in Jeannette, Pa. Christine Stevenson and Sean Stevenson's son, Logan Stevenson, 2, stood with his grandmother, Debbie Stevenson, during a 12-minute ceremony uniting Logan's mother and his father. The boy has leukemia and other complications. The Stevensons abandoned an original wedding date of July 2014 after learning from doctors late last month that their son had two to three weeks to live. The couple wanted Logan to see them marry and to be part of family photos. Logan, who was born Oct. 22, 2010, was diagnosed shortly after his first birthday with acute myeloid leukemia. He has Fanconi anemia, a rare disease that often leads to cancer. (AP Photo/Tribune Review, Eric Schmadel) PITTSBURGH OUT

Logan Stevenson's stuffed toy, Bun Bun, rests on a table with his suit jacket after his parent's wedding ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2013 in Jeannette, Pa. Christine Stevenson and Sean Stevenson's son, Logan Stevenson, 2, stood with his grandmother, Debbie Stevenson, during a 12-minute ceremony uniting Logan's mother and his father. The boy has leukemia and other complications. The Stevensons abandoned an original wedding date of July 2014 after learning from doctors late last month that their son had two to three weeks to live. The couple wanted Logan to see them marry and to be part of family photos. Logan, who was born Oct. 22, 2010, was diagnosed shortly after his first birthday with acute myeloid leukemia. He has Fanconi anemia, a rare disease that often leads to cancer. (AP Photo/Tribune Review, Eric Schmadel) PITTSBURGH OUT

JEANNETTE, Pa. (AP) ? Looking dapper in a tiny tan pinstripe suit and orange shirt, a 2-year-old boy with only weeks to live served as the best man Saturday afternoon for his parents' Pennsylvania wedding.

Christine Swidorsky carried Logan Stevenson on her shoulder at the Saturday afternoon wedding in Jeannette, a suburb of Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported.

Logan stood with his grandmother, Debbie Stevenson, during a 12-minute ceremony uniting Logan's mother and his father, Sean Stevenson. The boy has leukemia and other complications.

"We're married," Swidorsky exclaimed joyously after kissing her groom to applause from family and friends.

After a whirlwind week, the Jeannette couple tied the knot in a hastily arranged backyard ceremony that formalized their union and celebrated Logan's life, which doctors say will be cut short soon by cancer.

The Stevensons abandoned an original wedding date of July 2014 after learning from doctors late last month that their son had two to three weeks to live. The couple wanted Logan to see them marry and to be part of family photos.

Logan dozed off and on during the ceremony, nestled on his grandmother's shoulder, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. Debbie Stevenson said he is on medication to make him comfortable, but it also makes him sleepy.

Swidorsky's mother died six years ago and her father died just two months ago, the newspaper said.

Logan, who was born Oct. 22, 2010, was diagnosed shortly after his first birthday with acute myeloid leukemia. He has Fanconi anemia, a rare disease that often leads to cancer.

He endured a stem cell transplant in July 2012. Last March, he underwent surgery to remove a kidney ravaged by a tumor.

During a Make-A-Wish trip to Disney World in June, Logan fell ill. He was hospitalized in Florida before he was flown back to Pittsburgh.

During a trip to the emergency room last month, a test revealed a mass in his remaining kidney, which led to his terminal prognosis. Logan is spending his remaining days at home, where he is showered with attention from family members.

Swidorsky's daughter, Isabella Johns, 13, served as bridesmaid and the couple's 1-year-old daughter, Savannah, was her parents' flower girl.

"This is our dream come true," Swidorsky said through tears, the Post-Gazette reported.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-08-03-Dying%20Boy-Best%20Man/id-849e5871ecee4c13a2e2aed21a170e1c

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Alleged iPad Mini 2 Rear Shell Images Show Embedded Apple Logo

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Source: http://www.facebook.com/iPhoneinCanadaFans/posts/687466724603004

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A-Rod homers with drug penalties likely Monday

NEW YORK (AP) ? Alex Rodriguez feels singled out ? by Major League Baseball in its drug investigation and by his New York Yankees.

"There are a lot of layers," he said after homering Friday night for the Double-A Trenton Thunder in his return from a leg injury. "I will say this: There is more than one party that benefits from me not ever stepping back on the field. And that's not my teammates and it's not the Yankee fans."

With a lengthy suspension looming, the New York Yankees star hit a two-run homer to left in the third inning of a 6-2 win over the Reading Fightin Phils.

Rodriguez is among 14 players facing discipline in MLB's Biogenesis drug investigation, and suspensions are expected on Monday. While others are expected to receive 50-game bans, Rodriguez's penalty figures to be far harsher ? perhaps through the 2014 season or even a lifetime ban.

"I think it is pretty self-explanatory. I think that is the pink elephant in the room," he said. "I think we all agree that we want to get rid of PEDs. That's a must. I think all the players, we feel that way. But when all this stuff is going on in the background and people are finding creative ways to cancel your contract and stuff like that, I think that's concerning for me, it's concerning for present ? and I think it should be concerning for future players, as well."

Coming back from hip surgery and a quadriceps injury, A-Rod hopes to rejoin the Yankees for Monday's series opener at the Chicago White Sox, what would be his first time back in the major leagues since last October.

"I think it's possible," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said in San Diego.

Rodriguez is counting on it.

"Unless I get hit by lightning, and these days you never know," he said.

"I am mentally prepared to play for five more years," he said, later adding, "It's not time for me to hang it up. I have a lot more fight in me."

But he might not get back to the Yankees any time soon because of his alleged connection to the closed anti-aging clinic that's been accused of distributing banned performance-enhancing drugs. All-Stars Nelson Cruz, Jhonny Peralta of Detroit and Everth Cabrera of San Diego also may be disciplined.

Cruz hit a tying, two-run homer Friday in Texas' 8-3 win at Oakland.

"It's still hard to deal with it," he said. "You have to be able to separate it."

Many are expected to follow the example set by Milwaukee's Ryan Braun last month and accept penalties without a challenge before an arbitrator. First-time offenders who challenge suspensions can continue to play until their appeals are decided.

"Let's just get it over with," Los Angeles Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said.

The Yankees expect A-Rod to be accused of recruiting other athletes for the clinic, attempting to obstruct MLB's investigation, and not being truthful with MLB in the past.

Baseball has been attempting to gain a suspension through at least 2014 and has threatened a possible lifetime ban. Negotiations over Rodriguez's penalty are likely to go through the weekend, with the 38-year-old resisting such a lengthy stretch on the sidelines.

He seems to think the Yankees are trying to keep him off the field. While he remains on the disabled list, New York is reimbursed for his $28 million salary by insurance.

Rodriguez seemed to be on the verge of rejoining the Yankees before the leg injury last month. New York assigned him to Trenton for two games and has not said where he'll go afterward.

It is not clear whether Commissioner Bud Selig would attempt to use provisions of baseball's labor contract to prevent Rodriguez from playing until arbitrator Fredric Horowitz rules on an appeal.

Lawyers from management and the union plus attorneys for individual players spent Friday working their way through the many issues resulting from mass suspensions.

For instance: Will there be different treatment for minor leaguers depending whether they are on 40-man rosters.

Under the drug rules, 40-man roster players serving a 50-game suspension would have major league games in September count as time served after the minor league seasons end. Seattle catcher Jesus Montero, Mets outfielder Cesar Puello and Baltimore third baseman Danny Valencia might be in that group.

But that time wouldn't count for players not on 40-man rosters, whose suspensions would spill into 2014. Yankees outfielder Fernando Martinez could be in that category.

For many players, the damage to their images already has been inflicted. Rodriguez has faced fan taunting since 2009, when he said he used PEDs while with Texas from 2001-03.

Nike Inc. confirmed Friday that it no longer has a relationship with Braun, the 2011 NL MVP who accepted a 65-game suspension last month that ended the Milwaukee outfielder's season.

___

AP Sports Writers Tom Canavan in Trenton, Andrew Seligman in Chicago and Bernie Wilson in San Diego contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rod-homers-drug-penalties-likely-monday-003657874.html

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China coastguard in disputed waters: Japan

TOKYO: Four Chinese coastguard ships on Friday entered territorial waters near Tokyo-controlled islands at the centre of a bitter sovereignty row, Japan's coastguard said.

The vessels entered the 12-nautical-mile band of waters at around 9:30 am local time (0030 GMT), the agency said, the latest in a series of incursions by Chinese government ships in recent months.

The incident Friday comes a week after the first entry by coastguard ships since Beijing combined several agencies under the coastguard flag last month, a development that observers said would involve the arming of more crew.

The island dispute has been cited as a potential flashpoint that may even lead to armed conflict between the Asian giants.

Observers say the presence of a large number of official vessels, some of them armed, increases the likelihood of a confrontation since a minor slip could quickly escalate.

Chinese media have reported that the unified coastguard agency integrates marine surveillance, the existing coastguard -- which came under the police -- fisheries law enforcement and customs' anti-smuggling maritime police.

Tensions have been building for months around the long-standing ownership dispute over the Senkaku islands, which Beijing claims as the Diaoyus.

In one of the most serious incidents of the row so far, Japan in March said a Chinese battleship locked its weapons-targeting radar on one of its vessels. Beijing denied the charge, accusing Tokyo of hyping the "China threat".

The disputed islands are located in rich fishing grounds are believed to harbour vast mineral reserves below their seabed.

Source: http://timesofindia.feedsportal.com/c/33039/f/533965/s/2f7582e9/sc/39/l/0Ltimesofindia0Bindiatimes0N0Cworld0Cchina0CChina0Ecoastguard0Ein0Edisputed0Ewaters0EJapan0Carticleshow0C215457820Bcms/story01.htm

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Temperature alters population dynamics of common plant pests

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Temperature-driven changes alter outbreak patterns of tea tortrix -- an insect pest -- and may shed light on how temperature influences whether insects emerge as cohesive cohorts or continuously, according to an international team of researchers. These findings have implications for both pest control and how climate change may alter infestations.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/h8DYNt_hgUs/130801142327.htm

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A shark talk show highlight's Discovery's week

NEW YORK (AP) ? Comic Josh Wolf may not want to hear the word "shark" after next week, much less bump into one.

Discovery has given him a unique assignment: host an hour-long talk show for five nights in a row on the menacing beast, a new wrinkle in the network's annual "Shark Week."

"Shark After Dark" will debut Sunday at 11 p.m. EDT.

Wolf, who's a recurring character on Fox's "Raising Hope" and perhaps best known as a regular guest on E! Entertainment's "Chelsea Lately," said he's looking forward to the challenge.

"Not only have I always been fascinated with 'Shark Week,' I've always wanted to do a late-night talk thing," he said. "That's been on the bucket list. This kills two birds with one stone."

So how do you fill an hour each night with chatter about a creature that does all its talking with its teeth?

Wolf will open each night with a shark monologue. He'll talk about the "Shark Week" programs that Discovery aired that night and bring in some shark experts and celebrities. One booked guest is actress Tara Reid, who starred in the Syfy network's "Sharknado" movie earlier this summer. Others are Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and actor Dominic Monaghan.

There are limits, though.

"You can't do an hour of shark jokes," Wolf said. "Trust me."

So he expects "Shark After Dark" will be more expansive than the title. Craig Ferguson is the show's executive producer, and Wolf said the late-night host's interviewing style is an inspiration. "He lets the conversation go where it goes," he said. "That's what I hope to do, too."

"It's shameful that the shark demographic has been neglected for so long by late-night TV," Ferguson said. "I'm delighted to be making a show that combines comedy, witty chat and ferocious biting predators."

"Shark After Dark" is part of Discovery's effort to promote "Shark Week" as a pop culture event, said Michael Sorensen, the network's senior director of programming. Discovery can only hope for ratings success that mirrors its promotion; its cheeky ad about a giant shark ruining the return of "Snuffy the seal" to the ocean has received more than 5 million streams online.

The idea behind "Shark After Dark" is that "'Shark Week' is a party and people just want to be invited, (so) let's continue the experience into a talk show," Sorensen said.

__

Online:

http://dsc.discovery.com/

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/shark-talk-show-highlights-discoverys-week-173049471.html

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Toyota: We Sell Six In Every Ten Hybrids In California

California loves its hybrids. And according to figures from Toyota, it loves their hybrids more than anyone else's.

A full 61 percent of new hybrids sold in California are from the Toyota brand, despite tough and growing competition from marques like Ford.

The Blue Oval places second in California's hybrid sales rankings, with five times fewer hybrid sales, while General Motors sits third with a six percent share.

It shows that domestic automakers still have a way to go to catch Toyota in terms of pure hybrid volume, though as we noted in our recent Prius versus C-Max Hybrid comparison, Toyota is the brand with work to on driving characteristics and quality.

Toyota's smackdown continues, however--in May, the brand sold more hybrids in California than Ford sold passenger cars altogether. It talks of its 2 million hybrid sales in the U.S. alone, and of more than 5 million worldwide since the very first Prius rolled off the line. One in two Californian Toyota hybrids is a Prius, and it's the state's most popular new car.

And on the road, as our comparison showed, the Prius still has the economy edge against its rivals.

You get the impression Toyota is keen to put hybrid upstarts from other automakers in their place. Or perhaps its just covering its back until the all-new and even more economical Prius debuts in 2015.

It's worth noting that California has always been a law unto itself as far as hybrids and electric vehicles are concerned, and outside the state the picture is a little more even--Ford's hybrid sales are rising, while the Prius is steadily falling.

And the other message is positive whoever is selling the hybrids: buyers, particularly those in California, are saving one heck of a lot of gas and emitting a lot less pollution as they buy up hybrids in their droves.

Can't everybody just... get along?...

_______________________________________________________

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Source: http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1085944_toyota-we-sell-six-in-every-ten-hybrids-in-california

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U.S. shutdown battle begins as Republicans kill spending measure

By David Lawder

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A battle in Congress expected this fall over the budget and a potential government shutdown broke out early on Thursday as Republicans in the U.S. Senate effectively killed a $54 billion spending bill for transportation and housing projects.

All but one Republican voted against the measure, denying it the 60 votes it needed to advance past a procedural hurdle.

Blockage of the Senate's first appropriations bill, along with a decision on Wednesday by Republicans in the House of Representatives to halt consideration of their own transportation funding measure, sends Congress back to the drawing board to find a way to agree on spending and taxes.

It marked the failure of a much-touted return to normal budgeting practices in Congress as a way to try to overcome deep fiscal divisions between the two parties.

When Congress returns from a five-week recess in September, lawmakers will have just nine legislative days to craft a stop-gap funding measure to keep government agencies from shutting down as the new fiscal year gets under way on October 1.

On Wednesday, the majority Republicans in the House halted consideration of a much more austere $44 billion transportation-housing bill, as not enough Republicans were willing to support the measure to overcome the opposition of Democrats who said the cuts were simply too deep.

KEEPING SEQUESTER

In the Senate, just one Republican - Susan Collins of Maine - voted to advance the transportation measure.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell had called on his party to block the bill, saying Democrats were trying to spend far more than would be allowed under the across-the-board "sequester" spending cuts.

Those cuts were set in motion by a 2011 budget deal after Congress failed to agree on other deficit reduction measures. They went into effect in March and are now causing hundreds of thousands of temporary layoffs at government agencies and defense contractors.

But even a short-term spending measure will require the Democratic-led Senate and Republican-led House to find a way to replace or at least reduce the sequester cuts. They face a $91 billion gap between their top-line spending levels, and even deeper differences on spending for various domestic programs such as community development grants and the Environmental Protection Agency.

"We needed to indicate that we'd keep our word" to maintain spending cuts, McConnell said, explaining the vote. He dismissed suggestions that a primary re-election challenge he faces from a conservative Tea Party-backed candidate in his home state of Kentucky influenced his stance on the issue.

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat, complained that Senate Republican leaders "threw a tantrum" in blocking the bill.

"Senate Republicans chose gridlock over jobs," she added.

After insisting that the House pursue "regular order" on budget legislation, House Speaker John Boehner on Thursday publicly acknowledged for the first time that the 12 spending bills would not be passed by September 30 and said a short-term funding extension "would probably be in the nation's interest."

Congress a few weeks later faces another, potentially more consequential deadline to raise the $16.7 trillion federal borrowing limit. Failure to do so would ultimately lead to a default on U.S. debt repayments and a possible global financial crisis.

Meanwhile, a group of eight Republican senators led by Georgia's Johnny Isakson held their second meeting in as many days with White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough in an effort to find a path forward on the budget.

Both sides have been tight-lipped about the talks, but have acknowledged that little progress has been made so far. Still, the meetings are the only regular, open communication line between the Obama administration and Congress on fiscal issues.

One Republican aide said the group plans to stay in touch during the August break by telephone. Other Republican senators participating in Thursday's meeting included Kelly Ayotte, Bob Corker, Lindsey Graham, and John McCain.

"I don't know that there's much more optimism than there was earlier in the week but there's still an openness," the Republican aide said.

(Additional reporting by Richard Cowan, Caren Bohan and Mark Felsenthal; Editing by Vicki Allen and Eric Walsh)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-shutdown-battle-begins-republicans-kill-spending-measure-231115224.html

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Congressman Questions Whether Dialogue with China ?Will Improve a Single Life?

ICC Note: Despite drastic improvements in the way Christians and other religious minorities are treated in China over the past thirty years, conditions remain alarmingly difficult thanks to a huge number of restrictions on religious freedom and ongoing efforts to control the growth of Christianity. ICC estimates that many hundreds, if not thousands, of Christians remain interned in labor prisons for refusing to join the government controlled "Three-Self Church." In this Press Release, Congressman Frank Wolf of Virginia questions whether the annual U.S. - China human rights dialogue currently being conducted will actually improve the life of a single Chinese individual, or if it is mere rhetoric. ?

7/31/2013 China (Congressman Wolf) - Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA), co-chairman of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission and longtime leader on the issue of international human rights and religious freedom, today criticized the Obama Administration?s approach toward China, saying that too often, high-level bilateral discussions ? and even the annual human rights dialogue ? are ?cloaked in secrecy? and fail to produce discernible improvements in the deplorable human rights situation in China.

In a statement, which was submitted to the Congressional Record today, Wolf urged the administration to publicly prioritize human rights and religious freedom as part of its wider foreign policy agenda.

The dialogue, which is being held today and tomorrow in China, began after the brutal Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989, where Chinese government officials employed martial law during peaceful student-led protests in Beijing.

Wolf said that according to Human Rights Watch, past human rights dialogues with China ?have been largely a rhetorical shell, lacking in accountability, transparency, and clear benchmarks for progress.?

In his statement, Wolf talked at length about the persecution of people of faith, the repression of political dissent and the brutal labor camps employed by the government.

He also described the ?Great Firewall? in China, which censors so-called ?offensive? speech on the Internet.

?It is estimated that China employs between 30,000 and 50,000 special Internet police,? he said. ?As far back as 2008, Amnesty International rightly noted that ?In China, the Internet has become a new frontier in the fight for human rights.? And yet the Obama Administration has paid mere lip-service to Internet freedom, boasting in speeches of the priority it places on the issue when in fact, nearly all of the money they?ve spent on Internet circumvention has been as a result of congressionally mandated funding targeting closed societies, and the State Department has actually sought to redirect the funding toward less threatening research initiatives as opposed to actual hard-hitting circumvention, which poses a real threat to authoritarian regimes.?

?Too often, it seems that this administration?s posture vis-?-vis human rights is one of caution to the point of silence,? he added. ?Silence in the face of China?s abysmal human rights record is indefensible.?

Wolf concluded his statement with a warning: ?Many have predicted that the 21st century will be the Chinese century, but absent dramatic reform at the heart of the Chinese government, such Chinese ascendency is deeply problematic, and America must be clear-eyed about its implications. This administration has been anything but.?

...

[Full Story]

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 31st, 2013 at 9:27 am and is filed under Asia, China, Countries, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Source: http://www.persecution.org/2013/07/31/congressman-questions-whether-dialogue-with-china-will-improve-a-single-life/

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