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Online Auctioneer: Eyeing up ’57s: Mantle and Chevy

By Larry Canale

oa-1957-mantleA very good year — Mantle and Chevy

What would you rather have in Near-Mint condition: a ’57 Chevy or a ’57 Mantle? Funny we should ask, right? Last month, a 1957 Mickey Mantle card in PSA 9 condition listed on eBay reeled in a winning bid of $26,750. Or slightly more than a beautifully restored maroon 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air 150/210 that sold for $25,000.

Of course, vintage ’57 Bel Airs can go much higher, too, but so can Mickey Mantle cards. So we’ll focus on the two items at hand.

In this particular comparison, we’d be tempted to go for the wheels: the Chevy Bel Air shown here is a two-door hardtop with a 350 turbo transmission engine and four-barrel chrome carburetor. We can only imagine driving that old classic. And to think, it drew 72 bids on eBay and still sold for almost $2,000 less than the PSA 9 1957 Mantle.

And why not? The’57 Mantle is a beaut, too. It’s got that dark, haunting photo of a 25-year-old Mantle finishing a big lefty swing, with the infamous ghosted passerby in the background (the result of an air-brush job gone bad). And the reverse reflects Mantle’s dominant Triple Crown season. His .353 average, 52 HRs and 130 RBI made 1956 a season for the ages and earned the young center fielder a unanimous MVP Award. The ’57 Mantle card reminds us, yet again, why he became known as The Magnificent Yankee.
Yep, we think we’d take The Mick over the Chevy Bel Air . . .

The Legend of Kobe

Does it make you feel old to think of Kobe Bryant as a former NBA star? At least one bidder misses the Laker legend enough to invest a huge sum into one of his most coveted kobetrading cards: a 2008-09 Upper Deck Exquisite Collections “Emblems of Endorsement” insert.

The autographed card, which bears a patch from a Bryant game-worn uniform, is one of only 10 to be created. It sold for $18,100, even though it’s ungraded (albeit in top condition, judging by the listing’s photos).

Nolan Ryan on a roll

Anyone who collects Topps’ beautiful burlap-bordered 1968 baseball set knows that the key is the Nolan Ryan rookie. As the years roll on, the card – which also features fellow Mets pitcher Jerry Koosman – is getting exceedingly out of reach. For example, we reported in a recent issue on a PSA 9 specimen of the Ryan/Koosman rook that sold for $72,100.

Last time out in this space, we showed another PSA 9 of Ryan’s rookie at No. 10 on our chart, an item that sold for $60,500. Just beyond that card was a PSA 9 Ryan that sold for almost as much: $59,850. Whew!

ryankoosmanGiven those prices, the Ryan we’ll mention here is a major bargain. Graded a hair below those mentioned above, a PSA 8.5 Ryan landed just outside our Top 10 chart when it fetched $17,500. Sounds like a steal, relatively speaking, doesn’t it?

Worth a Bunch: Brady Rook

Yes, he’s getting up there in years, so we might see nostalgia-driven NFL fans starting to stash Tom Brady collectibles. And why not? He’s a sure-fire Hall of Famer, his fingers are loaded with Super Bowl rings and he isn’t done yet, so we’ll be seeing more highlight clips.

One bidder got into the spirit by spending $15,000 for a Gem Mint, PSA 10 specimen of Tom Brady’s 2000 Upper Deck SP Authentic rookie card. Two months prior, a BGS 10 of the same card went for an even higher price: $23,901. If you settle for a PSA 8 or 9 of Brady’s 2000 SP Authentic, you’ll be able to snag one for around $2,500 to $3,500.

Olympic Gold

Whenever the Olympics roll around, they inspire a flood of collecting choices on eBay. The Games that just ended in Rio de Janeiro were no different: Some 150,000 Olympic-related items moved on eBay over the summer. The top three prices among all of them:
1. $11,655 for an original second-place silver Olympic medal from the 2008 Games (Beijing)
2.  $11,210 for a 1988 (Seoul) USA Men’s Baseball gold medal
3. $10,000 for a piece of a bike frame used by Olga Slyusareva, a Russian racing cyclist, in the 2004 Games (Athens, see below).

About the contributor: Larry Canale is a regular columnist for Sports Collectors Digest. In the past he served as editor in chief of the former Antiques Roadshow Insider, editorial director for the former Tuff Stuff magazine, among other entities. He has also authored and edited several books.

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August 25, 2009

Down on the ground and spread 'em!: You have the right to play a pro football pickem. You have the right to join the SpoFi Gamblers. Do you understand these rights as I have read them to you?

posted by MrFrisby to fantasy at 03:20 PM - 18 comments

Group ID: 29724
Password: dropkick

posted by MrFrisby at 03:21 PM on August 25

apoch is fail is in

posted by apoch at 03:30 PM on August 25

Spitz Pix are in ... err ... is in.

posted by Spitztengle at 04:21 PM on August 25

Trump's Humps are in.

posted by tommytrump at 05:10 PM on August 25

Bo's MoJos are in.

posted by BoKnows at 05:40 PM on August 25

posted by 86 at 06:42 PM on August 25

Yo tambien. Thanks for setting this up, Mr. F.

posted by Ufez Jones at 07:18 PM on August 25

In, goddammit.

posted by goddam at 10:58 PM on August 25

Boredom's Bollocks is in.

posted by boredom_08 at 01:29 AM on August 26

In as Ookie Mouth.

posted by Jeffwa at 01:29 PM on August 26

George Lucas Killed Star Wars shall fail epicly!

Thanks Mr Friz!

posted by THX-1138 at 05:34 PM on August 26

I'll Bend Your Mom

posted by bender at 06:01 PM on August 26

stephaneyelledhimselfhoarse is in it to blintz it.

posted by NoMich at 07:19 PM on August 26

The Learned Hands shall prevail!

posted by tahoemoj at 10:56 PM on August 26

The New England Tories are in. Lexington and Concord was fixed.

posted by Howard_T at 07:30 PM on August 27

I'm in as Pickin' and Grinnin'.

posted by trox at 10:02 PM on August 27

Goddell's Banhammers are in. I predict an eighth place finish.

posted by tron7 at 02:43 PM on August 29

I Have Elway Teeth missed the Pitt-Tenn game.

posted by The_Black_Hand at 12:35 PM on September 13

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AP: Ted Kennedy has a malignant brain tumor

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Chi City 81, May 20, 2008.

  1. Chi City 81

    Chi City 81 Guest

    Just heard it break on MSNBC. Waiting for a link.

    EDIT: Still no link, but:

    Eds: APNewsNow.
    APNewsBreak: Sen. Kennedy has malignant brain tumor
    Associated Press Writer

    BOSTON (AP) _ Sen. Edward M. Kennedy say he has a malignant brain tumor.

    Doctors for the Massachusetts Democrat say tests conducted after Kennedy suffered a seizure this weekend show a tumor in his left parietal lobe. His treatment will be decided after more tests but the usual course includes combinations of radiation and chemotherapy.

    The 76-year-old senator has been hospitalized in Boston since Saturday, when he was airlifted from Cape Cod after a seizure at his home.

    His wife and children have been with him each day but have made no public statements.

    His doctors said in a statement released to The Associated Press that he has had no further seizures, is in good spirits and is resting comfortably.
  2. Football_Bat

    Football_Bat Well-Known Member

    Re: Breaking: Ted Kennedy has a brain tumor

    Faux News is crediting AP.
  3. Chi City 81

    Chi City 81 Guest

    Re: Breaking: Ted Kennedy has a brain tumor

    MSNBC is also crediting AP. But I'm not seeing anything on AP Exchange.
  4. 21

    21 Well-Known Member

    Re: Breaking: Ted Kennedy has a brain tumor

  5. budcrew08

    budcrew08 Active Member

    CNN has it too, but no link to a story.
  6. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    That is horrible.
  7. 21

    21 Well-Known Member

    CNN says malignant.
  8. jgmacg

    jgmacg Guest

    Before this gets locked, our best to the Senator and his family.
  9. Beaker

    Beaker Active Member

    That's awful. Best to Senator Kennedy and his family.
  10. hockeybeat

    hockeybeat Guest

    Terrible news.
  11. MileHigh

    MileHigh Moderator Staff Member

    Thoughts and prayers to the senator and the family.
  12. forever_town

    forever_town Active Member

    That's awful.

    My thoughts are with him and I hope he has a quick recovery.
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Thursday, May 17th 2012, 4:50pm

Help with Drip-System Design

My backyard has shrubbery planted around the entire perimeter and next to the house with 2 spray zones used to water everything. The shrubs have grown to the point that many of the spray heads only water one bush/tree instead of the intended 4-5. Most of the plants have matured to the point where I don't think extending, adding, and repositioning spray heads to get good coverage is the way to go. Thus, I think I want to convert these zones to drip zones.

I have about 130 plants with a wide range of water requirements. In my yard I have: base plants that are trees (crape merytl, cherry laurel, arborvitae); flowering shrubs (gardena, azalea's); non-flowering (box wood, dwarf youpons, indian hawthorn, nandina); and flowers. Most of the base plant are evenly spaced about 4 feet apart. Everything else is ramdomly spaced. With all this, in my mind, it seems simple enough to just snake a drip tube around the plants.

As far as drip goes, I've got two options: 1) use blank drip distribution tubing and insert drip emitters at each plant or 2) use drip tubing with inline emitters. If I decide to go the blank drip tubing/insert drip emitters route, I estimated I will need about 300 emitters (various number of emitters and precipitation rates for each type of plant). That's seems like a lot emitter inserting. If I go the inline emitter route I may have situations where I may not get proper water distribution. However, they way things are now, 60% of the plants don't get any water.

So, any thoughts/experiences/recommendations on my two options?

Supreme Member

Posts: 4,988

Location: Metro NYC

Thursday, May 17th 2012, 6:12pm

There's no reason you can't use emitter tubing for the majority of the plantings

Central Irrigation

Supreme Member

Posts: 371

Location: Central Minnesota

Thursday, May 17th 2012, 8:44pm

Nothing wrong with adding emitters for the plants that need that little extra, either.

Friday, May 18th 2012, 8:57am

Thanks guys.

Now another question related to fittings. Rainbird offers two types of fittings to use with their dripline; XF Insert (barbed) fittings and Easy Fit Compression. Anyone have any experience using either of these two and if so, which ones do you prefer?

Supreme Member

Posts: 4,988

Location: Metro NYC

Friday, May 18th 2012, 7:00pm

barbs are fine - so are compression, but they are slower to assemble

Starting Member

Posts: 1

Location: Jacksonville

Wednesday, May 23rd 2012, 10:30pm

There is no reason why you cant use both solid poly with emitters and dripline. Spacing on drip is 12 or 18 or 24 and you can mix it also. Drip is very flexiable once you figure out the start point and length of each run. Hint*** filter each run and install a flush end. Purchase all the poly and connectors from the same manafucturer and use emitters that best suit what you want.

New Member

Saturday, May 26th 2012, 8:49am

If you set up the drip line with the emitters built in you are not limited to a straight run. You can install tees and run some short runs off of the main drip line around specific plants.

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Starting Member

Posts: 1

Location: USA

Wednesday, May 30th 2007, 6:53am

to low of voltage to valve

There is only 12.6v reading at the valve so the station spriinklers spit then nothing. This circuit was previouly working. There aren't any shorts showing on the timer and the reading at the timer is around 29.0v. Also changed to different colored wires from controller to valve and same reading. The valve has been replaced and it functions properly. There are 6 other stations and they all work fine

Bill Painter

Advanced Member

Posts: 59

Location: Phoenix Az USA

Wednesday, May 30th 2007, 7:39am

Check the resistance at both the clock and solenoid and compare that to the others. Unless they are a fair distance from one another,(a couple hundred feet)the readings should be similar if they are all the same type solenoid. If you get a considerable difference reading at the problem valve and it's several ohms higher, you probably have a hi resistance connection somewhere in the circuit.
And since you apparentlly have other colored wires in the clock, try using TWO other colors for hot and common and see what you get.
The Irrigation Specialist Mfg' Az.
Please check my website and you'll find what I do and the unique tools I make and market.
Real timesavers, especially the Suck-Tube and Krik-It.

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Old 05-03-2009, 06:44 PM
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dizzy dizzy is offline
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: North Bergen, NJ
Posts: 211
Default Re: ***Official Spyder picture pages***

Damn, an '06 Electra! I always wanted one of those since they have the eyes already, but all I could ever find was an '05 ACS

Large collection there, man!

Here are my babies:

05 Electra ACS

OP: 230 psi @ 280 fps
Rocket Valve
DH Striker
Palmers Stabilizer
Check-it 15* Assault Block w/ BL gauge 0-600 psi
Shocktech LPC
CP On/Off & Rail
14" Freak w/ AA tip
XSV feedneck
Warrior trigger

Imagine Pump

Imagine body
Shutter internals
PMP Trilogy pump kit
CCI 12g Changer
Dye .45 Frame
Hybrid grips
Trinity -7* VA w/ 32* gauge
12" Freak w/ AA tip

Shutter JAVA

Made of lots of spare parts
ACS bolt
CAMD E-frame
SP On/Off w/ Lucky rail
ACI 4-stage Expansion Chamber
Electra ACS VA (bigger holes)
12" Proto 1-piece
Electra ACS LP w/ Ego Feedneck & Reg | Imagine VSC Pump <-- F/S here

My Parts For Sale Thread!!

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Alberto Ferrari

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His main interests reside in two areas: a methodological approach to the BI development lifecycle, and performance tuning of ETL and SQL code. His activities are related to designing and implementing solutions based on Integration Services and Analysis Services for the financial, manufacturing, and statistical areas.

He is also an author and a speaker in international conferences such as TechEd, PASS Summit, SQLRally, and SQLBits. Alberto is certified as an SSAS Maestro.

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Guest Columnist: Patryk Nowakowski profile

Patryk has been developing database applications for Bank Zachodni WBK (one of the major polish banks which is a part of Allied Irish Banks) for the past two years. His experience to date includes mostly SQL Server and .NET. He's also keen in MySQL, data warehousing and business intelligence, actually the kind of man who's always in pursuit for something new and feels he doesn't know enough. Patryk also has a Master's degree in economics and is 25.

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ADO.NET - A Data Access Layer

Developing applications for SQL Server usually results in a variety of access methods that the programmers use. A data access layer class, given to the developers, is usually seen as the best practice, but one that isn't usually implemented. In fact, in most software I've built, each developer uses his own method, or may cut and paste from another, but rarely is there a central access class. New Author Patryk Nowakowski brings us his solution using ADO.NET.   Read more...
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20th Annual Gobble Gobble Gobble Thanksgiving Race

Thurs, Nov. 24, 2016, 9:00am | Thanksgiving Day | Davis Sq, Somerville, MA | $30
  • The race has sold out early the last 11 years. We will sell out all 3000 spots!
  • One of the Top 100 New England Races 2003-2014: 12 straight years chosen by New England Runner
Race Results

2016 Race Results

Individual Results are now posted online!

Overall Female Winners

  • First Place: Holly Rees 22:02 *NEW COURSE RECORD
  • Second Place: Laura Paulsen 22:22
  • Third Place: Betsy Burke 22:59

Overall Male Winners

  • First Place: Chris Antunes 20:30
  • Second Place: Clayton Pierce 20:31
  • Third Place: Ryan Cox 20:59

Team Results are now posted online!

FastestTeams (aggregate of top three finishers)

  • First Place: Somerville Road Runners 1:04:13
  • Second Place: Kier Byrnes Freedom Runners 1:15:52
  • Third Place: 239 gobble crew 1:17:36

Largest Teams

  • First Place: Slumbrew Happy Soles (25)
  • Second Place: Hansi (11)
  • Third Place: O'Leary & Co. (10)
Race Information

Welcome to the Gobble Gobble Gobble

The Somerville Road Runners are proud to present the nineteenth annual Gobble Gobble Gobble on Thanksgiving Day. The race is open to runners, joggers and stroller families of all ages and abilities (but no dogs, please)! All proceeds will benefit Project Soup as well as Somerville Track PAC.

The first 2400 registrants are guaranteed to receive our iconic "Gobble Gobble Gobble" long-sleeve t-shirt. If there are any leftover shirt after the race, we will sell them near the finish line. Registration is capped at 3000, so don't delay! We will sell out again.

Thurs Nov

Date, Events and Start Times

Early Number Pickup: Sat, Nov. 19 - Wed, Nov. 23

Location: Marathon Sports in Cambridge (1654 Mass Ave)
Time of Day: Normal store hours
**11/25, Early Holiday Closing 10:30am-5:00pm only

Race Day: Thursday, November 24

Registation & Check-in: 7:30 to 8:45AM in Davis Square at the Harvard Vanguard parking garage. (Wheelchairs must pre-register by Friday, November 11th to ensure safety precaution with local police.) You are allowed to pick up the bib number of your friends at both early pick-up and regular registration.

The Race: starts promptly at 9:00am (follow signs to the starting line)

Post Race Festivities: immediately after the race, runners can head into the Burren (right by the finish line) for a freshly tapped Thanksgiving beverage. Please be aware there is limited space in the Burren so not everyone can fit in. Please note we no longer offer cash prizes or age group awards, or hold an awards ceremony afterward.

Registration for the race is now closed.

If you can't run but would still like to participate, we are looking for volunteers to help out with the race. See below!!

We couldn't possibly put on this race and raise money for our charities without the generous support of our volunteers every year. You can even run the race and still volunteer! If you enjoy the Gobble and would like to be more involved, we'd love for you to lend a hand. There are opportunities to help out at our Early Registration Pickup at Marathon Sports in Cambridge over the weekend before the race. And there are many tasks we need help with on race day.

Sign up to volunteer online at: https://register.chronotrack.com/r/22486

Assembly Row Location

Location and Directions

Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates parking garage
40 Holland Street, Davis Square
Somerville, MA 02144

(on the corner of Holland Street and Buena Vista Road - right by the start)

If you're using public transportation, the Red Line to Davis Square will bring you within a few hundred yards from registration and the starting line. You can use the MBTA Trip Planner to help out.

If you plan on driving: From Mass Pike (I-90) exit I-95/Rte 128 north to Rte 2. Exit Rte. 2 east to Rte 16. Left on Rte 16 at traffic lights. Go to second set of traffic lights on Rte 16, take a right on Broadway (supermarket on far right corner). Go 2 sets of lights, bear right on Holland Street (Rudy's Cafe - Mexican restaurant on right). Go approximately 1/4 of a mile, Harvard Vanguard is on the right. You can get directions Google directions by entering your starting address:

We do offer baggage-checking during the race. Drop-off is in the garage, and pick-up is by the finish line.

The 4 Mile Course

The course is USATF Certified (#MA10029JK) and begins and ends by Davis Square. Chip timing is provided by Bay State Race Services. There are some rolling hills, but you'll finish on a nice long downhill back into the Square. Traffic is closed during the race, there are arrows at every turn, and mile markers are located at every mile. We will have a timing clock at the Mile 1. Water stops are located at Mile 2 and the finish. You can view the course map here.

Our Charities

About our Charities

Project Soup: New England's first free supper program, opened in 1969. Several years ago, Somerville Homeless Coalition agreed to provide a home for this long-standing community program, recognizing its work to combat hunger was integral to our mission. Project Soup serves nearly 70 people a day. Its community supper program offers meals several times a week at different Somerville churches. It also operates food pantries in three city locations; a meal-delivery service for the elderly, disabled, and those living with AIDS; a dollar-a-bag program of fresh fruits and vegetables; and nutrition classes and outreach.

Somerville Track PAC: Provides college scholarships for Somerville High School students. This volunteer organization is made up of teachers, city officials, Track Team members, families, and coaches.

Course Records

Course Record Holders

Male: 19:13 Justin Lutz (2010)

Female: 22:02 Holly Rees (2016)

Race Director: Scott Abrams

Email: gobble@srr.org


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St Agnes Parish Council

Parish information for the whole community

Short Cross Cemetery, Church Rd, Mount Hawke

Stile Field Cemetery, Goonvrea Rd, St. Agnes

Bereavement Service

BBRASS is a new Bereavement, Befriending, Advocacy and Support Service available to people over 50 in the county.  Hosted by Volunteer Cornwall and funded by the Big Lottery and Daily Mail Silver Dreams Fund, the service runs in partnership with Age UK and Macmillan Cancer support.

There is a clear referral route for the service through Macmillan Nurses, District Nurses, Community Matrons and other Clinicians.  A pilot service is running in the Truro area.  If you would like more detailed information emails: [email protected]

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Neighbourhood Development Plan

Keep up to date with whats happening with the NDP at or on Facebook under St Agnes Parish NDP Kick-starting the Neighbourhood Development Plan.

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further information regarding Homechoice or to apply online visit website at Alternatively you can call 0300 1234 161, email [email protected] or visit your nearest Council One Stop Shop.

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STAMFORD -- In October 1970, Stamford's health director issued a violation notice to the Bartlett Arboretum. The offense was storing toxic pesticides in an abandoned barn "in such a manner that may endanger public health and safety."

The director ordered the arboretum to dispose of the pesticide, lead arsenate, according to procedures approved by the State Board of Pesticide Control. The Bartlett, then operated by the University of Connecticut, complied.

Mayor Michael Pavia has said this episode, documented in recently unearthed city records, illustrates how common it once was to improperly store or dispose of toxic pesticides. Today, it is difficult to imagine gardeners using a compound made of lead and arsenic, a neurotoxin and known carcinogen, to protect plants or food crops from insects. But the federal government did not ban lead arsenate, like many other pesticides, until the 1980s.

"The common protocol for disposing of something like that was to dig a hole and just bury it," said Pavia, who worked as a city environmental health sanitarian in the early 1970s. "That was a common way to get rid of waste product, without recognizing that once it was gone from sight, it really wasn't gone."

This is relevant now as the city investigates the source of pesticide contamination in dozens of private wells in North Stamford. Many homeowners affected by contamination said they believe the pollution originated in nearby Scofieldtown Park, a former industrial dump. Yet some city officials, including Pavia, have been quick to note the source may be in another, or more than one, location.

The city launched well testing after the discovery of toxic substances in Scofieldtown Park forced it to close in May. Since then, 29 wells were found contaminated with one or more of the long-banned pesticides dieldrin and chlordane.

As homeowners await the preliminary report, expected Wednesday, from a company hired to pinpoint the contamination source, some said they will be wary if the results point to a source other than the dump. The city may argue it has less responsibility for clean up of the contamination -- and potential liability for health effects -- if tests show the pollution did not come from the landfill, neighbors said.

The city's environmental consultant, TRC Environmental, plans to present the initial findings of groundwater studies at a Scofieldtown Area Remediation Task Force meeting at the Stamford Government Center on Wednesday night. Carl Stopper, TRC's vice president, said he was not authorized to reveal the results before the meeting, but that the company has "a fair amount of good useful information" the city will be able to use to make decisions regarding which steps to take next.

Ruth Kwartin, of Very Merry Road, said she would be upset if the city concludes the landfill was not the source of well water pollution.

"It just seems logical to me that these contaminants are coming from that dump," Kwartin said. "Where else would they come from? I'm not putting poison in my yard, and even if I did, they wouldn't go 120 feet deep."

Pesticides such as dieldrin and chlordane were on the market for consumer use until the 1980s. They were often applied in people's backyards, sometimes as an effective termite killer. But it is unusual to see them in high concentrations, according to David Eckhardt, a research hydrologist for the United States Geological Survey in New York. Levels as high as those found near Scofieldtown Park -- one well contained a pesticide at levels 42 times the state limits -- would suggest dumping, Eckhardt has said.

Today, the federal Department of Environmental Protection considers the only proper way to discard certain toxic pesticides to be disposal in a special hazardous waste landfill or incinerator, said Brad Robinson, supervisor of the DEP Pesticide Management Program. Yet in 1970, before the creation of the DEP, the state may have recommended burying pesticides in a place away from a water supply, Robinson said.

A federal report on the Scofieldtown landfill states that drums containing pesticides, as well as other hazardous substances, were "disposed, used or stored" on the Scofieldtown property. Testing conducted in 2008 showed chlordane and other pesticides in multiple soil samples.

Diane Lauricella, an environmental consultant hired by Scofieldtown neighbors, said it will be important to keep "a second set of eyes" on any conclusion TRC Environmental presents.

"Let's see what they have, let's scrutinize how they arrived at it, let's see if we agree," she said.


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News Feb 20, 2013 - 7:55:53 AM

SHU to host Newtown Community Day at February 23 basketball doubleheader

By Sacred Heart University

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FAIRFIELD, CT - The Sacred Heart University Athletic Department will host Newtown Community Day on Saturday, February 23, during the men’s and women’s basketball doubleheader at the William H. Pitt Center, as well as the men’s hockey game that night at Milford Ice Pavilion.

All Newtown residents will receive free admission with a valid ID for Sacred Heart’s doubleheader with Northeast Conference rivals Quinnipiac University and Central Connecticut State University. The Pioneer women tip off at 1 p.m. against the QU Bobcats, and the men take on the CCSU Blue Devils at 3:30 p.m. Residents can also get free admission to the Sacred Heart men’s hockey game Saturday night against Bentley at the Milford Ice Pavilion at 7 p.m.

The Sacred Heart Athletic Department will host a Kids Sports Clinic in the Pitt Center as part of the event. Pioneer student-athletes will lead drills and games in various sports. The sports clinic will take place before the women’s game, starting at 11:30 a.m. and continuing through 1 p.m.

In addition, the Sacred Heart cheerleaders, dance team and SHU mascot “Big Red” will be on hand for a meet and greet, face painting and to take pictures. The Sacred Heart men’s basketball team will host an autograph session in the gym at 12:30 p.m. The women’s team will sign autographs for fans following their game at 3 p.m.

A percentage of the proceeds from the two games will benefit The Newtown Scholarship Association’s Sandy Hook Elementary School Memorial Scholarship Fund.

© Copyright by Some articles and pictures posted on our website, as indicated by their bylines, were submitted as press releases and do not necessarily reflect the position and opinion of, Stamford Plus magazine, Canaiden LLC or any of its associated entities. Articles may have been edited for brevity and grammar.

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China to pump up oil demand

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The Evening Standard
THE world oil market supply crunch looks set to continue well into next year with another strong jump in demand on the back of the rampant Chinese economy.

With China set to suck in 8% more crude, the International Energy Agency predicts a global jump of 1.8m barrels a day in 2005. That would be below this year's 24-year record, but on a par with 2003.

Rob Laughlin, analyst at GNI Man Financial, said: 'Opec is going to have to pump, pump and pump some more. There'll be another year of relatively high oil prices. But, of course, the higher the price goes the more oil will be found in the next six to 12 months.'

The IEA's Oil Market Report believes non-Opec supply will grow by 1.2m barrels a day, the lion's share coming from the former Soviet Union, followed by Angola and Brazil.

Opec production, excluding Iraq, averaged 26.9m barrels a day in June, some 1.4m above the cartel's current quota. The IEA puts spare Opec capacity at just over 600,000 barrels a day.

Analysts expect Brent crude to average $28 a barrel next year. Today, it fell 33 cents to $36.30, which the City put down to profit taking.

A 500,000 barrels-a-day increase in Opec's quota is expected to come into effect on 1 August as the cartel looks to ease supply concerns that recently pushed world oil prices beyond $40.

Including Iraq, Opec production hit 28.6m barrels a day last month, its highest since November 2000.


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Transfer gossip from across the media

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ES Sport

So, who’s on the move this summer? Here’s the pick of the transfer tales from across the media today.

Baines won’t be a Devil

Everton have rejected a £12million  bid from Manchester United for Leighton Baines and will offer the defender £70,000 per week to stay  at the club (various).

Cesar’s march to Rome?

Roma are stepping up their efforts to sign Brazil international goalkeeper Julio Cesar, who is set to leave relegated Queens Park Rangers  (The Sun).

Black Cats pounce on Mendy

Sunderland have agreed a £2m  deal to sign 18-year-old right-back Benjamin Mendy from French club Le Havre (various).

Assaidi could be going Dutch

PSV Eindhoven are ready to sign Liverpool’s £2.4m winger Oussama Assaidi on loan after the Moroccan struggled at Anfield (Daily Mirror).

Tooning up for Aubameyang

St Etienne’s Pierre-Emerick  Aubameyang has hinted that he would like to join Newcastle, who have tracked the £15m forward for a year (various).

Willy or won’t he go for Caballero?

Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini is considering a move for Malaga goalkeeper Willy Caballero as back-up for Joe Hart (Daily Mail).

No doubting Thomas move

Wigan will complete a move for Celtic centre-half Thomas Rogne today after the Norwegian turned down a new deal with the Hoops (various).


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Two-match ban for Grant

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The Evening Standard
West Ham manager Avram Grant has been handed a two-match touchline ban and fined £6,000 for comments made about match official Mike Jones, the Football Association has confirmed.

An Independent Regulatory Commission found the former Chelsea and Portsmouth boss guilty of improper conduct relating to comments made to the media in the aftermath of the Hammers' 2-1 FA Cup defeat to Stoke on March 13.

Grant's ban will commence with immediate effect and means he will miss the vital Barclays Premier League clashes at Bolton this weekend and at home to Aston Villa the following week.

The Israeli made the comments after seeing his side crash out of the competition at the quarter-final stage and claimed that his side should have been awarded a second-half penalty.

Grant hit out at referee Jones' handling of the second half, which began with Stoke being awarded a penalty just 13 seconds after the restart.

Matthew Etherington missed the spot-kick but Grant intimated he felt that Jones had been swayed by the home fans after Frederic Piquionne appeared to handle in the lead-up to the Hammers' opener in the first half.

"I think maybe this is the reason the referee started the second half very strange," Grant said of Stoke's penalty award. "Until they scored (the second) goal he gave fouls, a penalty, everything for them. It was a penalty for us at the end which he didn't give.

What happened with (James) Tomkins was more bushido (the Japanese code of conduct for samurai warriors). Maybe he felt a little bit guilty. I think it was the effect of the first goal for us."

Grant was charged with improper conduct for the comments on the same day that Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was given a five-match touchline ban and a £30,000 fine for his verbal attack on referee Martin Atkinson at Chelsea in February.

West Ham confirmed to Press Association Sport that they will make a statement on the punishment in due course.


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Layton burn plant closure will improve air quality, but overall benefits mixed

Monday , March 20, 2017 - 5:15 AM1 comment

TIM VANDENACK, Standard-Examiner Staff

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story misidentified the location of the Davis Energy Recovery Facility. The Standard-Examiner regrets the error.

LAYTON — The leader of a Utah environmental group says the looming closure of a trash incineration facility in Davis County will help improve air quality along the Wasatch Front.

“There’s no question that will be a benefit to the overall health of the area,” said Brian Moench, president of the board of Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment. “Everybody on the Wasatch Front will breathe a little easier, but especially people in the neighboring communities.”

Still, the environmental benefits of the planned May 31 closure of the Davis Energy Recovery Facility aren’t completely black and white, according to Nathan Rich, executive director of the Wasatch Integrated Waste Management District, which operates the incineration facility.

Yes, air quality along the Wasatch Front will likely get better, he acknowledged, but the closure could also indirectly result in higher greenhouse gas emissions, a factor, scientists say, in global warming.

RELATED: Davis County burn plant to be closed this year, eliminating about 30 jobs

“Like most things, it’s a little more complicated than we like to make it,” Rich said.

The Wasatch Integrated Waste Management District board voted March 1 to shutter the burn plant, as it’s known, in light of declining interest in the steam the facility produces. It would have needed an estimated $8 million in upgrades, in part to comply with tougher environmental standards, and that also figured in the decision.

The Layton plant, located on the east side of Hill Air Force Base, had burned a portion of the trash generated by Davis County residents, creating steam that was sold to the military complex for heating. Air Force officials had expressed declining interest in acquiring the steam, though, and environmental regulators were pressing for upgrades to the plant to reduce pollution emissions.

Air pollution has been a standing problem along the Wasatch Front and Moench, while sympathetic to the 30 or so workers who will lose their jobs when the Layton facility closes, had tough words for incineration facilities. All of them are potential health hazards, he said, “that’s just unquestionable.”

Emissions rise high up in the atmosphere and don’t only adversely impact the areas where such plants are located, he said, but drift and impact zones hundreds of miles away.

With the burn plant closure, though, Rich noted the Air Force will likely turn to natural gas as an alternative power source, and more carbon emissions will be created when the substance is burned. What’s more, taking trash to a landfill instead of burning it will likely result in increased methane emissions, another greenhouse gas.

All told, the environmental benefits to the burn plant closure will be mixed, he said.

Meanwhile, clients that have used the burn plant have been calling non-stop, Rich said, wondering about the alternatives.

Police departments across Utah, Idaho, Nevada and Arizona have used the facility to dispose of old evidence that no longer has to be kept. Likewise, some companies have incinerated waste at the Layton facility so they can tout themselves as “zero landfill” operations, firms that don’t contribute to waste accumulation at landfills.

There’s a hazardous waste incinerator in Utah, which is more costly than the Layton plant, Rich said, but the nearest facilities outside the state are in California, Washington and Oklahoma.

The Layton plant, built in 1987, will accept waste to be burned through May 19, ahead of the planned May 31 closure.

With the burn plant going away, officials plan to pursue development of a transfer station and recycling complex over the next two years or so. The station and complex will be needed to keep the Davis County landfill from filling up too quickly.

Contact reporter Tim Vandenack at, follow him on Twitter at @timvandenack or like him on Facebook at

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Don't Weaken

A blog by Director Terry Todd

Memories of Coach Royal

By Terry Todd
December 11, 2012

Early in the morning on November 7th, Darrell K Royal—the iconic former football coach at the University of Texas who had fallen under the dread sway of Alzheimer’s a couple of years earlier—died as the result of a fall and a following heart attack.  Hearing the news I fell, myself—one of tens of thousands of Texans who had grown to think of “Coach” as Family.  Royal and I were classmates of a sort, from the class of 1956.  Coach came to the Austin campus in December of that year to take over a stalled football program.  He was 32 years old.  When he arrived I was already on the campus, having enrolled as a freshman in September.  I was 18.  I’d begun training with weighs three months before, and even though I was an active member of UT’s tennis team the weights had so imparadised my mind during the summer that I almost never missed a workout even though my tennis coach—the former Davis Cupper Wilmer Allison—quickly made it clear that he could tell just by looking at me what I was doing, and that he wanted me—required me, in fact—to stop doing it.  But of course I didn’t, although over the next couple of years I kept it quiet and, as I began to occasionally enter weightlifting competitions, I always entered under assumed names—Paul Hepburn and Doug Anderson being my favorites. (Doug Hepburn and Paul Anderson were the top Superheavies in weightlifting at that time.)

Time on the “Forty Acres” passed for Coach and me, and after two more years he’d put his team on a path toward the dominance they’d maintain over the next couple of decades and I’d decided to put down my racket and focus all my attention on weightlifting.  By that time I’d grown to 240 pounds and become larger than every man on the football team but one, who weighed 245.  This was only the late 50s, remember, and while I’d been assiduously doing the pulls, squats, and presses that gradually thickened my muscles the players on the UT football team were only running, doing calisthenics, running, and, of course scrimmaging and playing games—plus more running.  They grew very little, of course, not having been introduced to the transformative magic of progressive resistance exercise.

By 1960 I weighed approximately 270 pounds.  Meanwhile, after a terrific season in 1959 when they went 9-2 and ranked #4 in the nation the UT football team dropped to 7-3-1 in 1960 and fell to #17 by the end of the season.  In any case, early in 1961 the word came down one day that Coach wanted me to come to his office.  “What could this be about?” I wondered aloud to my training partners, one of whom joked that Coach probably wanted to check on whether I had any remaining eligibility.  But of course that was not it.  Instead, Coach shook my hand, asked me to sit down, and said he wanted to talk to me, “off the record.”  He went on to say that he’d heard about me from some of his players, who were friends of mine, and that he’d watched me play tennis a couple of times.  “You’re an athlete,” he said, “and what I’d like for you to do is to tell me why my players should be lifting heavy weights like you do.  You probably know that the only weights our head trainer has our boys use are really light—never more than 40 pounds in any lift and not very often.”

I tried not to let Coach see how pleased I was by his question, and as calmly as I could I began to lay out the arguments that I’d absorbed from the pages of the “muscle magazines” I avidly read at that time, especially Strength & Health.  I said that I believed multi-joint, heavy weight training was the very best thing his men could be doing as it would increase their bodyweight as well as their explosive power, and I explained that in my own case I was able to jump a little higher at 270 pounds than I could when I began training with weights at about 195.  Coach was listening carefully, and so I also told him about the many great athletes who trained with weights—the decathlete Bob Richards, the shot putters Parry O’Brien and Bill Nieder, the baseball player Jackie Jensen, the basketball player Wilt Chamberlain, and the All-American football players Stan Jones, Piggy Barnes, Jim Taylor, and Billy Cannon.  “Cannon,” Coach said, shaking his head, “I know they say he’s been lifting heavy for years but when I saw films of him I couldn’t believe his speed.  Back when I played all my coaches told me that lifting heavy weights was the worst thing I could do—that they’d tie me up so I couldn’t even comb my hair and that they’d make me stiff and slow.  I’d like to have a slow boy like Cannon myself.”

Frank Medina

Encouraged, I then went on to explain how Cannon had begun his heavy work with weights with all his high school teammates in Louisiana during the summer before his senior year, and how the team had gone undefeated that fall and Cannon in the spring had won state in the hundred yard dash as well as the shot put—and that he’d gone on and done the same thing at LSU once Coach Paul Dietzel was convinced to put the whole team on a heavy program with the weights.  Coach Royal had been listening carefully, but then he really surprised me by saying that he had to be careful making any changes in his team’s training program because the head trainer, Frank Medina, was dead set against lifting heavy weights.  “Frank has a lot of support here on campus, and if I pushed for a complete change I know he’d push back.  And if we did make a change and we had some injuries or a bad year it would all come back on me.”

I could hear what Coach was saying, as I’d had a run-in with Medina myself a few years earlier when I went to see him about a back injury I’d sustained playing tennis in my sophomore year.  The tennis players almost never visited the training room because we knew it was mainly for football, so when I walked in I introduced myself and my problem to Medina, who lacked two inches of being five feet tall.  “I know who you are, Todd,” he said with a scowl.  “You’re the weightlifter.  No wonder you’re having problems with your back.  Just look at you.  If you keep lifting it’ll just get worse.  So stop it and don’t come back with any problems unless you stop lifting those weights.”  As evidence that Coach was truly leery of countermanding his head trainer, he didn’t make the change to heavy training until several years later.

By that time I’d begun work on my doctoral degree, and I was still training hard as a weightlifter and beginning to pay some attention to the new kid on the block—powerlifting.  But during that period—probably 1962 or so—I got a call from one of the football coaches asking me if I’d mind taking a look at Don Talbert, an All-Southwest Conference defensive tackle, who was getting ready to turn pro and wanted to gain some weight.  I knew about Talbert, of course, as he was one of three brothers, all of whom played for Texas and all of whom were tall and rangy—like big, rawboned cowboys. But when Don came in and I tested him on the bench press, I was absolutely astonished to see that he could only do two or three reps with the Olympic bar and a pair of 45s—135 pounds was almost his limit, and the way the bar moved in and out of the groove on the long way to his long arms’ length was proof that he had no experience at all with this most basic of football lifts.  (Later that day Tolbert deadlifted 405 pounds, which revealed the sort of good basic strength often seen among working men and non-weight trained athletes.)

Don Talbert

But once Coach made the move to a more modern approach to training football players the Longhorns solidified their status as a perennial power, winning three national team titles during the 1960s.  During that period Charlie Craven, a young faculty member who to this day helps with the rehabilitation of injured UT players, had a central role as he gradually introduced heavier weights into the program.  Finally, in 1978—shortly after Coach Royal had stepped down as Head Coach and become the Director of Intercollegiate Athletics—UT hired their first full time “Strength Coach,” Dana LaDuc.  A former Longhorn field event specialist, LaDuc, who had won the national collegiate championship in the shot put in 1976, began to oversee the weight program for football with the full support of Coach Royal, who spent most of his career as a skeptic of heavy weights for athletes before he realized that, in football, “heavy” was the light at the end of the tunnel.

As for Frank Medina, I interviewed him in 1984 about how things had changed since the days when I’d lettered at UT and he’d been in charge of all of the training done by the Longhorn players.  When I visited him at his home that day, Medina had been retired for seven years, but I found him to be an unhappy and–where training theory was concerned–unreconstructed man.  As we talked about the sea-changes which had taken place during his 32 years as the Head Trainer, I asked him what he thought of the about face.  “We never used weights in my early days here,” Medina recalled, “…and I didn’t believe in it…I still don’t believe in all that heavy stuff.  I always said that if God wanted a boy to be bulgy He’d have made him bulgy.”

Having grown fairly bulgy myself by 1964, I left UT in the fall of that year to become managing editor of Strength & Health magazine.  I didn’t return for any length of time until 1983, when my wife, Jan, and I came back to UT and began to teach and build our library.  Before I joined the faculty, I was teaching at Auburn University in Alabama and writing occasional articles for Sports Illustrated on subjects relating to strength.  One of the articles—“Still Going Strong,” published in November of 1970–was a profile of the All-Pro lineman Robert “Bob” Young, who was then starring for the Houston Oilers under Coach Bum Phillips.  By that time Young, at the age of 38, was the oldest offensive guard in the National Football League and, two years earlier, had become the oldest man in NFL history selected to play in his first Pro Bowl.  (This transformation occurred after Young had spent over a decade as a journeyman guard in the NFL without the benefit of any weight training at all even as it had begun to be used by almost all the down lineman in the league.  Finally–spurred to train by the world powerlifting titles being won by his younger, smaller brother Doug—Bob began to work heavy in earnest, and the training plus his freakish natural strength quickly transformed him into the strongest man in football as well as into what Jim Hanifan, his line coach in St. Louis, said was the best offensive lineman in the NFL.) In an odd but interesting way, Young’s college career had touched both my own career as well as that of Coach Royal and, as I was gathering information for the article, I wanted to interview Coach—who years before had won the recruiting war for Young–about his recollection of those long gone days.

Charlie Craven

When I called to explain my assignment from Sports Illustrated, Coach said he’d be happy to speak to me about “Robert,” adding that his memories were bittersweet.  By then Royal had retired as the Texas coach, but he retained an almost mystical reputation on campus because of his remarkable successes as well as his character as a man—a reputation he retained throughout his life and which continues now that he’s gone.  When I sat down with him in his office, we exchanged recollections of those early days before the coming of weight training and of how profoundly they had changed the game itself as well as the size and strength of the men who played it.

But when the talk turned to Young, Coach said, “We’ve had a lot of young men here since I came, and I’ve seen some phenomenal athletes, but the only one either here or anywhere else I know of who had the same sort of God-given raw talent for the game of football was Earl Campbell.  Robert and Earl had it all—strength, speed, quickness, size, balance, coordination, and an almost instinctive insight into the nature of the game.  When we could motivate him I saw Robert do things I never thought I’d see a 17-year-old boy do.  None of our varsity players was a match for him one-on-one.  He was voted the outstanding freshman lineman in the Southwest Conference, but even then he never played up to his potential.  Had he stayed eligible here and gotten serious, there’s little doubt in my mind he’d have been at least a two-time All-American, an Outland Trophy winner, and a million or two dollars richer than he is now.  One of the things I’m sorriest about is that we couldn’t manage to keep Robert eligible.”

I told Coach that I suffered some similar frustration myself back then after a weight training friend of mine from Robert’s hometown of Brownwood begged me to come with him to a local gym and watch Robert being tested on the lift my friend revered over all others—the Push Press.  I finally agreed to come but I told my friend that if he wanted to really test the basic strength of a teenager who had never trained with weights it would be wiser to test him on the Deadlift, which didn’t require the timing, coordination, and “knack” of a lift like the Push Press.  However, my friend wouldn’t be swayed and so we tested Robert’s Push Press –“Not the Push Jerk, by God, the Push PRESS!  No bending of the knees after driving the bar off the shoulders!”

Anyway, when we got to the gym and I met Robert, my conviction grew that he had no chance at all to Push Press a heavy weight because his shoulders and upper arms showed no evidence at all of any weight training.  He was, however, very thick from his chest down to his thighs—rotund and portly, like a young, well-fed bear.  However, as I watched my friend show Robert how to do a “correct Push Press,” and watched Robert began to lift I went from being impressed to being shocked to being absolutely flabbergasted as the bar went up and up and up again—from 135 pounds in fairly small jumps all the way to 300 pounds.  Three Hundred Pounds!  I have little doubt that many seasoned lifters—especially weightlifters–will be convinced when they read the figures I’ve just written that after all these years I’ve simply forgotten.  And some will think I’m trying to add to the Young Legend, since we became close friends later in life.  But I saw him do it, and I’ll never forget it.

Bob Young
Robert “Bob” Young

I should add that there was no “pressing” at all in Robert’s Push Presses.  He simply took the bar off of a squat rack, stepped back, bent his knees and then drove the bar overhead so fast that it never slowed down until it was locked out overhead.  Perhaps more amazing, Robert never lost his balance.  Later, as I thought about what appeared to be a miracle, I realized that Robert had such prodigious explosive power in his legs, hips, and body that they drove the bar over his head and such precise coordination that he could balance and control his body like a seasoned lifter.  After having seen what he could do, I did everything I could to convince him to begin heavy training.  I even promised I’d pick him up at his dorm, take him to the weight room, and take him back again.  But although he went with me a couple of times he was just too interested in sleeping late, eating huge meals, and leaving his dorm in the early evening focused on fun.  But both Coach and I knew a puredee phenomenon when we saw one.

The next direct interaction I had with Coach happened in 1984, soon after I joined the UT faculty and began to pay my respects to some of the people who had been here back when I left.  The main reason I wanted to talk to Coach was that I already had hopes of creating a place on campus where artifacts of all sorts related to the rich history of Varsity Athletics at UT, particularly football, could be showcased.  As a letterman myself I’d always believed that it would be a smart play for UT to build a museum in which it could pay its respects to the hundreds, even thousands, of young men and young women who had put so much sweat equity into the building of the Longhorn brand.  (In the spirit of full disclosure, I should add that another one of my reasons for suggesting such a museum to Coach was that I thought it might also be a place where Jan and I could house our growing physical culture collection and share it with others.)

In any case, once I sat down to make my pitch to Coach for such a facility I soon reached the point at which I asked him if he had any items such as letters, photos, and tapes that he might be willing to contribute.  At that moment his face clouded over and he began to shake his head.  “I’m ashamed to tell you what I have to tell you,” he said, “but back when the time came that I stepped down as the Athletic Director I wanted to clear my office out as soon as I could.  So one day I asked my assistant to bring in some big trash cans.”  Trash cans.  Those words chilled me, and I knew more bad news was coming.  Sure enough, Coach went on to describe how he began to pull out the drawers of his long bank of filing cabinets and dump the contents into the trash cans.  “I still can’t believe I threw all those letters away,” he said.  “Most of them were from a long time ago and lots of them were from players and coaches.  By then I had thousands of letters, and many’s the day when I’ve wished I still had them.”

Even so–in the strange way life has of sometimes reaching back, taking hold of a woof out of the past and pulling it through the warp of the here and now so that a solid fabric is made whole again–we were contacted early last year by Jenna McEachren, a gifted writer and good friend of the Royal family.  Jenna—who had by then just finished a manuscript of a recently-published book about Coach—explained to us that Edith Royal, Coach’s wife of over 60 years, had a large number of personal photo albums she’d accumulated over the years and that she and Coach might be willing to donate them to the archives of the Stark Center.  We of course told Jenna we’d be delighted to see, care for, and display the albums, and we invited her to bring Mrs. Royal to visit the center.  That visit began a series of meetings and discussions which led in time to the gift last summer of 29 large photo albums covering the major aspects of the amazing life she and Coach had together.  During one of our early meetings I told Mrs. Royal about the meeting I had with Coach in 1984 when he revealed that he’d disposed of his vast collection of correspondence, and that he’d regretted it ever since.  “Well,” Mrs. Royal said, smiling, “that was a shame, but thank goodness I’ve always been a saver.”

Here’s how I see this story.  Edith understood that even after the passing of the three decades since he emptied his filing cabinets—and even with the late onset of Alzheimer’s disease–Coach would be pleased to know that some of the countless photos taken of him, his friends, and his family would wind up in a facility dedicated to sports and fitness.  However that might be, last summer Jan and I drove to the Royal’s beautiful condo overlooking the Hill Country, boxed up those 29 albums, carried them back to UT, and put them in a safe, secure, and climate-controlled part of the Stark Center where they’ll remain until later this year when we mount a photo exhibit featuring this wise, charismatic man who during the 20 years he coached football here had the best record of any man in the country; the respect of US Presidents; and the friendship and love of rowdy, whisky-drinking singers and and songwriters like Willie and Waylon and Jerry Jeff—artists who paid that love forward by sharing the stage with and befriending the long-haired, dope-smoking , creative harbingers of a changing world and, in the process, laying the groundwork for what’s now known from Belgrade to Borneo as the live music capitol of the world.

The foundation of Coach’s fame flowed from his dominance in one of the most violent of sports, but early on he understood that everybody deserves to be treated with respect and that we’d all be better off if we’d just let one another be.  One of the many things which speak to Coach’s character is his often-repeated admission that he should have integrated his football team sooner than he did.  No one forced him to admit it.  But he owned up to it even so, just as he admitted to me a half century ago that when he watched Billy Cannon light the grass on fire he knew that what his coaches had taught him and what he’d taught the players about lifting heavy weights was dead wrong.  I felt honored that Coach called me in for a talk that day and I felt honored to share the truth my body told me.  Now that he’s gone on ahead—and thanks to Edith Royal’s saving grace–I’m honored to have such a rich photographic record of their life together and honored to have it here, in a stadium which bears his name.

A Historian at the Crossroads of History

By Stark Staff
December 3, 2012

In early September 2012, Dr. Paul Dimeo, arrived at the Stark Center on the University of Texas campus.  Dimeo, a professor and sport historian from the University of Stirling in Stirling, Scotland, has been visiting UT as a Fulbright Scholar, and he has been using the archives available at the Stark Center and surrounding areas.

“I wanted to come [to Texas] specifically because I had already been working with Dr. Hunt…It’s also the kind of information and archives that are available here [at the Stark Center],” said Dimeo.  “It’s probably the best anywhere for what I’m interested in doing.”

Dimeo began the application process for the Fulbright Scholar over 18 months ago.  The scholarship has funded his research project entitled, ‘The Doping of Elite Athletes in International Sport and the Politics of the Cold War, 1950-1990’, which he has been working on during his three-month Fulbright term at the University of Texas at Austin.  So far, with the assistance of Dr. Thomas Hunt, Dr. Matthew Bowers and Ph.D. student Scott Jedlicka, Dr. Dimeo has produced two articles in relation to his research topic, which have been submitted to various academic journals.

“Paul is one of the world’s leading experts on the culture and politics of doping,” said Hunt.  “It was a natural fit for him to come here…We have a unique archive access here on campus to the former East German documents.  We gained some new political insights about the Stasi doping system in East Germany.”

Dimeo says that if he had not been named a Fulbright Scholar, his research project would have to have been postponed.

“I wouldn’t have been able to do the more historical research on the Cold War, East Germany and what was happening at the same time in North America without coming to the Stark Center,” said Dimeo.  “It’s a really unique place, and if I hadn’t won Fulbright I would have been doing some other projects.  I really needed a stretch of time here, just to get to know what was in the archives and what else was available.”

Dimeo will be sharing his findings, as well as his entire Fulbright experience, during a special presentation at the Stark Center on December 7 at 2:00 p.m.  The lecture is open to the public, but if you are interested, please contact the Stark Center at (512) 471-4890 to reserve a seat.


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2 thoughts on “Merry Christmas!

  1. I am a homeschooling mom.My 9 year old daughter enjoys science and engineering. I would love to see some posts on any projects or info. With all your travels and experiences, you would be a great mentor for girls.

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This is the first time we have tried to post using our trusty Blackberry. We are currently in Concourse G, waiting to board our flight to Chicago. And we are now officially taking suggestions for 1) places to go while there for Blogs With Balls. 2) Posts you might like to see us do from the Windy City. 3) Predictions for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals, which is sure to have Chicago amped up. 4) Any other general chicanery, since we won't be in position for another thumbs-only dispatch until at least noon.

Just noticed our bird is one of those connector-type things. Something tells us 19A isn't as solid a seat as we had hoped.

Older Post

TFD: Meet ex-coach, current wine maker Mike Ditka on Saturday

Newer Post

Chicago analysis: driving vs. flying


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Mobile phone apps have been around for a couple of years to track our little wizards and witches as they troll the streets for free candy.

But there's a new wrinkle this Halloween -- apps that not only track kids, but set up perimeters and alert parents when their kids have strayed too far.

New Jersey-based Snap My Life unveiled a feature last month called Geo-fence, which allows parents to create wireless boundaries on their phones and receive alerts if their phone-toting children cross them.

"It's impossible to keep your kids by your side at all times, especially as they get older, and one of the biggest concerns parents have is not knowing where their children are," said Jiren Parikh, Snap My Life's CEO.

Apps such as Life360 and MamaBear also alert parents if their kids don't show up at pre-set destinations on time. MamaBear allows parents to not only see their kids' locations, but also the paths they took to get there. Life360 links with sex offender registries to show parents places their kids should avoid.

These locator apps also work in reverse, allowing kids to send their whereabouts to parents.

The apps have limits. Wanderlust kids need only abandon their phones on the Halloween trails if they want to elude their parents' cyber-eyes. And the apps work only if children and parents have phones capable of using them.

Common Sense Media offered a favorable review of Iconosys' Trick or Tracker app, but reported in testing that it sometimes lost its signal.

The Big Brother nature of the apps draws skeptics. Reactions on the Star Tribune's Facebook page ranged from "creepy" to "ridiculously paranoid."

But the exploding market -- with Verizon and AT&T offering subscription locator services -- suggests that a wealth of parents appreciate the piece of mind.

Some older kids actually appreciate the tracking by their parents as an alternative to constant calls and texts, said Amanda Zweerink, a Life360 executive who is based part time in Minneapolis.

"This allows the parents to give, especially the teens," she said, "a little bit of free rein."


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Spielman speaks: Peterson's status, Harvin's happiness

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  • July 18, 2012 - 5:04 PM

With just a week left before the Vikings report to training camp in Mankato, general manager Rick Spielman is overflowing with excitement, confident he’s gathered a lot of nice pieces to put together an impressive puzzle for 2012. In a one-on-one interview this morning, Spielman talked at length about his admiration of the rookie class; about the growth second-year quarterback Christian Ponder made during OTAs and mini-camps; about the energy the coaching staff is investing in developing a young roster; and about the patience that’s needed on the inside and outside to measure the team’s progress incrementally.

As the opening of camp nears, we’ll continue to offer you more of Spielman’s thoughts on the upcoming season and the team he’s assembling. In the meantime, here are three newsworthy nuggets worth sharing.

The nugget: Spielman is not worried in the least about the ongoing contract negotiations with rookies Matt Kalil and Josh Robinson.

The translation: Of the 10 players the Vikings drafted in April, Kalil and Robinson are the last two unsigned. But Spielman expressed confidence that deals with both players will be finalized before the Vikings’ first training camp practice next week. At present, the deals for both Kalil and Robinson are snagged on a market staring contest with agents and teams waiting to see what other agents and teams are doing with their players. So much of this is about technicalities in contract language and reasonable raise rates, fine-print details that the masses should waste little time stressing over. So Vikings fans should resist the urge to hyperventilate with worries that two of their talented rookies won’t be participating at the start of camp.

The chance of the Vikings winning the Super Bowl this season is far greater than the chances that Kalil or Robinson will have any sort of significant contract holdout. Or even much of a holdup next week.

For perspective, of the top 10 players drafted this year – Kalil was taken at No. 4 – only Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III, Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly and Bills defensive back Stephon Gilmore have signed. It’s believed Griffin’s deal, finalized Tuesday, should help speed up negotiations for the other high first-rounders.

Another significant logjam exists with early third-round picks. Of the top 10 players taken in Round 3 – Robinson went third in that round – only Bills receiver T.J. Graham and Chargers safety Brandon Taylor have inked deals so far.

Spielman speaks: “We anticipate all of our guys being down in Mankato and ready to go by training camp. We’re very confident about that … The financial end of things is pretty clear cut. Most of this is about the language in the contracts. And that will fall into place here [soon]. With that top of the third round, we see that there’s a bunch of guys who haven’t been signed yet. Out of all the areas through the draft, the top part of the first round and the top part of the third round seem to be the two spots with some sticking points. Every guy has different issues. A lot of times it’s agents wanting to see what the market comes in at. For whatever reason, it’s the top of the third round this year that’s held up. It varies from year to year. The top of that first round is more the language in the contract and that side of things. We have our business principles and the agents are trying to fight for their business principles. That’s the hang up.”

The nugget: It’s very possible Adrian Peterson will begin training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list.

The translation: While Spielman wouldn’t say so directly, the easiest decision with Peterson will be to put him on the Camp PUP list next week, a designation that has to be made before camp starts but can be removed at any time. From a front office standpoint, the biggest advantage of stamping Peterson with a “PUP” tag when he gets to Mankato wouldn’t come until August 27. At the first cut on that date, when the Vikings’ roster goes from 90 players to 75, if Peterson is still on the Camp PUP list, the Vikings would be able to use the extra roster spot. That’s a minor plus to be certain but still an option the Vikings would be wise to keep open.

In the big picture, Peterson’s health designation heading into training camp won’t be all that significant. The much more important issue will be how the star running back continues to progress in the five-and-a-half weeks between the opening of camp and the Monday of Week 1. Peterson, who needs to strengthen his left leg and get back into the flow of cutting on instinct on his surgically repaired knee, will likely lobby hard to get back into camp action as soon as possible. But next week, the Vikings’ medical team will carefully evaluate the situation. And there’s a distinct possibility Peterson would spend the opening stages of training camp with that “PUP” designation, continuing his knee rehab on the side until it’s deemed safe to add him back into the mix.

Spielman says: “Before we put Adrian back out there, we’ll make sure he’s 100 percent healthy and ready to go – whether that’s the first day of training camp or a little later on. We’ll listen to what our doctors and trainers tell us.”

The nugget: Percy Harvin’s surprising June mood swing is being brushed under the rug with Spielman refusing to shed any light on the issue.

The translation: Inevitably, Harvin will attract a ton of spotlight in the early stages of training camp as the media tries to measure his disposition on a daily if not hourly basis. Has the unhappiness that rankled Harvin at mini-camp gone away? Was his request to be traded last month just a small outburst that isn’t to be taken seriously? Was that a calculated threat to pressure the Vikings into making him happy? Does Harvin’s disgruntlement have a chance to resurface and cause much greater problems?

Whatever transpired behind closed doors at Winter Park last month is being kept secret.

Here’s our exchange with Spielman from this morning …

Access Vikings: It’s been four weeks since Percy’s drama surfaced here at the mini-camp. What’s happened with his situation since then?
Spielman: The only thing I’d say with Percy is we expect him to be down there [in Mankato] and ready to go. And we expect him to have a great season for Percy Harvin.
Access Vikings: What kind of progress was made in quelling whatever issues were bothering him?
Spielman: We’ll keep all that internally. But I know we’re looking forward to having Percy down there. And I know Percy knows this is a big season. For him. For us. And we expect him to be here and be a major part of our team going forward.
Access Vikings: Behind closed doors, were you able to get an accurate pulse on what the root of his discontent was?
Spielman: I’ll leave it internally.
Access Vikings: So even without giving specifics of what had him upset, did you get an accurate pulse on the situation?
Spielman: I’ll leave it internally.
Harvin will be sought for comment the minute he pulls into Mankato. Yet the likelihood of the standout receiver – or anyone in the Vikings’ organization for that matter – saying anything of substance publicly is minimal.

© 2017 Star Tribune


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GOP candidates barnstorm Michigan before make-or-break Jan. 15 primary

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    YPSILANTI, Mich. — Mitt Romney and John McCain talked jobs and Mike Huckabee spotlighted his opposition to abortion Saturday as the Republican presidential contenders made their pitch for votes before Michigan’s potentially make-or-break primary.
    Romney, seeking a rebound in Tuesday’s primary after losing to Huckabee in the Iowa caucuses and McCain in the New Hampshire primary, made an impromptu stop at a General Motors plant near here after 200 layoffs were announced last week.
    He pledged to make restoring the domestic auto industry — once the linchpin of Michigan’s economy — a top priority if elected president.
    ‘‘It is simply wrong for Washington to be aware of what’s going on in Michigan without doing something about it,’’ Romney said earlier in snow-covered Traverse City. ‘‘And they need to recognize that they just can’t write Michigan off and say, ’Oh, it’s too bad Michigan’s having such a hard time,’ because in some respects, Michigan is like the canary in the mine shaft: What Michigan is experiencing, the whole nation will experience unless we fix what’s happening in Michigan and learn lessons here we can apply across the nation.’’
    Romney’s criticism of Washington was a none-too-subtle shot at McCain, who has said that some of Michigan’s lost jobs are gone forever. He defended his comment during a raucous rally before 400 supporters in Warren.
    ‘‘I had to give some straight talk,’’ McCain said. ‘‘Jobs are leaving the state of Michigan. They have left and will not come back, but we’re going to create jobs, we’re going to create a new economy. This is the smartest technological place in America. We have the smartest people here. We can do it. We can create jobs here.’’
    As he spoke, the crowd broke out several times in applause and spontaneous chants of ‘‘Mac is back.’’
    Later, speaking with reporters, he sloughed off Romney’s criticism.
    ‘‘I like and respect Governor Romney, but you know, he’s run weeks and weeks of negative attack ads against me. It didn’t work when he attacked Governor Huckabee in Iowa, and it didn’t work when he attacked me in New Hampshire, and I don’t think it will work here in Michigan, but that’s a choice he’s made,’’ McCain said.
    He also mentioned a Detroit News headline Saturday: ‘‘Experts Back Up McCain’s Jobs Claim.’’
    McCain noted, ‘‘One of the commentators said he’s living in a dream world.’’
    Economics were a focal point because Michigan’s unemployment rate, at 7.4 percent in November, is a full percentage point higher than any other state. It also is about 50 percent higher than the national average.
    Bureau of Labor Statistics figures show the state shed more than 76,000 jobs in the 12 months ending in November, a period in which the national economy added 1.5 million jobs.
    Huckabee’s alternate focus on social issues highlighted his effort to reinvigorate the coalition of religious voters that propelled him to victory in Iowa.
    The former Southern Baptist minister emphasized his opposition to abortion as he urged about 100 pastors in Grand Rapids to support him and use their address books and e-mail lists to mobilize others.
    ‘‘I don’t presume that you will support me because of a common faith,’’ Huckabee told them. ‘‘I know that I have to earn that. But I also recognize this is a unique opportunity. For a long time, those of us who are people of faith have been asked to support a candidate who would talk to us. But rarely has there been one who comes from us.’’
    He added, ‘‘Life is in the balance.’’
    Comparing abortion to slavery, Huckabee also said that overturning the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion would merely allow states to decide whether to value one life or another and called for a constitutional amendment banning the practice. He also played up his opposition to gay marriage, saying that traditional marriage helps ‘‘train our replacements.’’
    While only 34 delegates were up for grabs in Michigan Tuesday, the candidate activity highlighted the state’s importance in the battle for momentum.
    McCain, a senator from Arizona, is hoping to build on his New Hampshire victory. Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, is trying to recapture energy heading into next week’s South Carolina primary. He decamped from Michigan to attend church Sunday in South Carolina, but he changed his schedule to return to Michigan Sunday afternoon and remain until Tuesday amid heightened expectations of a strong finish.
    Romney, meanwhile, is seeking a first-place finish after his earlier second-place finishes prompted questions about whether he has hit a ceiling of support.
    Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, who was campaigning in Florida Saturday, has ceded Michigan to the others. Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson was campaigning in South Carolina.
    Romney, a former Massachusetts governor who grew up in Michigan and whose father, George, was a three-term governor of Michigan in the 1960s, was accompanied by his wife, Ann. She poured on the local charm by recalling growing up in the state and vacationing summers on Lake Michigan.
    ‘‘I don’t think there is a more beautiful place than right up here. It is so beautiful,’’ she said. ‘‘Michigan is our home and we love it.’’
    Associated Press Writers Liz Sidoti and Libby Quaid contributed to this report.

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Skiers, riders bid goodbye

End of ski season marked by wintry conditions, crazy costumes

It was under dark, wintry skies that skiers and riders bid goodbye to the 2004-05 ski season Sunday.

Although winds were whipping at the top of the Steamboat Ski Area, and the chill made it feel like January, plenty of people were out for the last day of the season.

Many were bundled up in layers of fleece and Gore-Tex, but some showed up with the traditional end-of-the-season costumes. Most costumes were worn over layers of warmer clothes.

Dressing up was the big attraction for Mary O'Connell, 11, of Steamboat Springs.

O'Connell has skied in costume on every season's last day for as long as she can remember.

"It's fun -- you get to ski on the last day and dress up," O'Connell said.

She was wearing a black and orange patterned robe, a cat mask and a neon green hairy hat.

"I don't really have a name," she said. "I just threw things on."

Her friend, Taylor Loomis, was dressed as an ice cream cone, which had been a Halloween costume.

Reed Zuehlke of Denver had no need for winter layers under his costume. He wore a brightly colored wetsuit, complete with life jacket and snorkel. He chose a full wetsuit instead of his partial wetsuit for warmth. And, he said, he stayed pretty warm -- at least enough to get eight good runs in.

He had hoped for deep, deep powder, the type in which a snorkel really would come in handy. But he still had fun.

"It was a blast," he said.

Zuehlke's sister, Karolyn Zuehlke of Steamboat, wore a hula skirt over her ski clothes. She said she was disappointed that the sun was clouded over.

"It's too cold -- it's like skiing on concrete," she said.

But, Donna Lewis of Chicago reminded her, "You can't pick the weather."

Lewis said that she might start thinking up warmer costumes for next year.

"It's windy, it's cold," said Joanne Padachtpour of Steam--boat. Conditions were simply "too bad" for an end-of-the-season celebration.

Saturday, however, was wonderful, she said.

Robert Wilcox and Cody Craigie came from Laramie, Wyo., for the day. It was their first time to ski Steamboat this season. The less expensive last-day tickets were an attraction, they said.

And although they were heading in for a break to warm up at noon, they said the morning had been fun.

"Conditions are a little bit icy, but it's not very crowded, so you get to do whatever you want to do," Wilcox said.

"We weren't expecting anything stellar anyway."

-- To reach Susan Cunningham, call 871-4203 or e-mail

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2011 Fourth of July festivities

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Suzy Pattillo paints a butterfly on the face of Jade Boline, 7, of Colorado Springs. Pattillo has operated Miss Suzy's Face Painting during the Yampa Fourth of July picnic for 12 years.

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Yampa tradition keeps families and friends coming back for more

Yampa’s Fourth of July festivities were started years ago to bring the community together. It still works. Hundreds of South Routt residents and visitors lined Main Street on Monday afternoon for the annual Fourth of July parade in the small South Routt town.

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Would you have approved the 0.25 percent sales tax to help fund the winter airline program if you knew available seats would decrease by 11 percent?

Yes, it would be worse without the tax 81 votes

No, I didn’t approve it in the first place 267 votes

No, the tax was supposed to increase seats 177 votes

I don’t understand the airline program 34 votes

559 total votes

John Kitchen 4 years, 8 months ago

If possible, I would have selected two options in this poll. "I didn't approve it in the first place" and "I don't understand the airline program (well enough)".

Before the vote, I tried to get some finer details about the program - including what kind of seat availability would be guaranteed if the tax went ahead - but the (scare) campaign run by Ski Corp provided very little information.

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Queen’s 90th birthday celebrations

Posted: 13 June 2016

In the Year of her Golden Jubilee, and reflecting on the death of her own sister and mother, the Queen’s message to the Commonwealth at Christmas 2002 contained these words –

‘I know just how much I rely on my own faith to guide me through the good times and the bad.

Each day is a new beginning, I know that the only way to live my life is to try to do what is right, to take the long view, to give of my best in all that the day brings, and to put my trust in God.

Like others of you who draw inspiration from your own faith, I draw strength from the message of hope in the Christian gospel.’

As we celebrate the Queens’ 90th birthday perhaps we could do no better than reflect upon that hope and the strength that it brings.

When Christians speak of ‘hope’ we do not use the word in the same way as: “I hope to win the lottery”, or, “I hope to get a promotion”, or, as some may say this week as they look at the Queen, “I hope that I’m in such good nick and able to do so much when I get to 90!” Or maybe: “I just hope I get to 90!”

No, when Christians speak about hope we are speaking first and foremost about an assurance that we already possess and which equips us to face life’s challenges with confidence. We are not speaking about something that might happen in the future if we play our cards right, but about something that has happened in Jesus Christ and has changed the course of human history and therefore our history and destiny as well. In Jesus Christ our future is secure, kept safe for us no matter what.

We already have the promise that sins are forgiven; we already have the promise that death is defeated; we already have the promise that evil and corruption do not hold sway.

We still face these things; but we face them with a joyful heart because we know that they cannot have the last word. What we see in Jesus Christ – particularly in his death and resurrection – show us that God has already plumbed the depths of what it is to be human, has encountered the powers of evil and darkness, and has risen triumphant, thereby assuring us a share in that triumph; not only us, but the whole creation.

This the hope the Queen refers to. Today, celebrating her 90th birthday, it is interesting to observe that she, who is in so many ways the centre of our national life, never chose or sought office, dedicates her life to service – even at 90! - and has her centre somewhere else; for in her daily life and work the Queen looks for sustenance and hope to her faith – the faith that has shaped the history of this land and can shape it again - acknowledging that it is here that she finds resources to be hopeful.

On her 90th birthday it is here that people of faith and goodwill can unite, not only in wishing her a happy birthday, but in praying that the same attitude of service and hopefulness and rootedness may be seen in our lives; in the decisions we take, and in the way we deal with each other – trying to do what is right; taking the long view; and trusting in God

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I have been photographing theatrical productions for over thirty years, when I first found an interest in local theatre. Since then I have photographed over 100 productions, ranging from serious drama and opera to musicals and pantomime.

I have worked in large auditoria as well as initimate theatres both locally and in the West End. Typically I try to capture all the elements of a production – performances, stage design, props and costume.

Photo of scene from Carmen by Bizet

When shooting productions I try and cover as many angles as possible – in front of the stage, to the side and from an audience perspective. I aim to capture the big picture including ensembles and the set as well as close-ups on characters and props.

My interest in theatre has also seen me take part in over thirty productions, mostly on the technical side but on two occasions as a performer!

To find out more about the theatrical photography services I offer, visit my website at