Old-School Outdoor Roller Rink Coming To The High Line!

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Rollergirls and boys, get ready to lace up! There's a new roller rink coming to town, and this one looks pretty funky indeed—it's outside underneath the High Line.
The High Line Rink will take over The Lot at 30th Street near the northernmost tip of Phase II—the one that's currently occupied by that crazy neon "Rainbow City"—starting on July 28 and running through September 26. It clocks in at around 8000 square feet and will feature DJs and old-school rentals to "bring back that old feeling of people who grew up going to roller-skating rinks for birthday parties," said Robert Hammond, the High Line's executive director and co-founder. However, aesthetically it doesn't look very retro, it's made from orange and white construction barriers around an asphalt floor.
The rink was designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro and James Corner Field Operations, in partnership with HWKN and UNIQLO, who will have a "glowing cube" where visitors can shop for clothes. The Rink will be open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday, and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, with an admission fee of $10 children and $12 for adults, which includes a pair of rental skates, should you for some reason not have your own.

Atlantis landing ends 30 years of space shuttle flights

Click here for Video of the landing.

"Atlantis is home," said NASA control moments after its arrival at 5:56 a.m. ET. "Its journey complete. A moment to be savored."

In its final act before beginning the long journey home, Atlantis sent a small payload into orbit on Thursday.

As an era comes to a close, nearly 200 satellites, probes and spacecraft have emerged from the cargo bays of NASA's five space shuttles since the Columbia launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 12, 1981.

"We really wish we could share with everybody this really cool glow," Commander Chris Ferguson radioed as he and his crew entered the Earth's atmosphere in a plasma of heated air before touching down. "We're doing fantastic."

The perfect landing is bittersweet. As sorrowful employees greeted the fabulous flying machine for the final time, plans for NASA's next grand venture remain largely on the drawing board. United Space Alliance, one of the space program's largest employers, will lay off about 2,000 employees on Friday.

President Obama has charged NASA with finding a way to transport astronauts into deep space, either to Mars or an asteroid, but that flight could be a generation away.

Most of the nation's baby boomers can remember the thrilling moment Apollo 11 astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon, inspiring a generation of kids who idolized astronauts and devoured space science.

The Generation X grew up on the space shuttle, which astronomer and former NASA historian Steven Dick says provided little in the way of ground-breaking exploration and discovery, but great engineering breakthroughs.

"It's definitely the end of the era," Dick said. "The shuttle has been a magnificent flying machine, an engineering marvel, but it has consigned Americans for two generations to low-Earth orbit. I think that's a negative."

Without the excitement of a heart-pounding launch of astronauts blasting toward the stars, America's space program seems destined for a decade of obscurity. American astronauts will hitch rides to the International Space Station on the Russian Soyuz until commercial space companies develop the rockets and capsules to transport humans.

"I hope we won't lose a whole generation. Kids get excited by exploration," Dick said. "I think NASA, in some ways, is doing the right thing by off-loading the routine work of the space shuttle. The only problem is we're a long way from getting something that will take us out of low-Earth orbit."

Until then, NASA is hoping to capture American imagination with telescopes, probes and and unmanned spacecraft.

"The Space Shuttle has been the iconic symbol of NASA for the last 30 years," NASA spokesman Allard Beutel said. "We're going to have a different icon. We do aeronautics, climate research, deep space exploration with our telescopes, planetary observations with probes and rovers."

In August, Juno, an unmanned spacecraft, will launch on its five-year cruise to Jupiter. When it arrives in July, 2016, it will orbit Jupiter for a year, gathering and transmitting information that will help scientists understand the planet's origin, structure and atmosphere.

In September, NASA will launch the National Polar-orbiting Environmental Satellite System project, which is the first step toward building an Earth-monitoring satellite system.

"There is all the space science stuff, which I think is pretty exciting," Dick said. "Everyone loves the images that come in from the Hubble."

At the center of it all is the space shuttle's largest and most ambitious legacy, the International Space Station that took more than a decade and 37 shuttle flights to build.

Six astronauts live and work in the one-million pound orbiting laboratory, keeping watch over dozens of scientific experiments.

"It's magical. I loved living up there and loved working up there," said astronaut Cady Coleman, who spent six months in the space station. "It's amazing to have this outpost, this scientific laboratory the size of a 747, in space."

Carmegeddon !Running Highway 405 project in Southern California takes a steady hand on the wheel

The engineering chief steering the 405 project has ample

Mike Barbour, director of the 405 Freeway widening project, checks the Mulholland Drive bridge, half of which will be demolished this weekend. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Los Angeles Times

July 15, 2011

Mike Barbour is awake before dawn. He hears the shoosh of traffic on the 405 as it arcs outside his hotel room in Westchester: 12 lanes sweeping hundreds of thousands of drivers each day into the South Bay and north toward the Sepulveda Pass.

He checks the clock. It is 3 a.m. For the last three years, Barbour has been working for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, overseeing the ambitious widening project on one of the most heavily traveled traffic corridors in the nation.

• Also
• Interactive: How the bridge will be partially demolished
• If work goes smoothly, 405 Freeway could reopen early
• Full coverage: Countdown to Carmageddon
• 405 Freeway's path tells a story of near-constant change
• The San Diego Freeway, then and now
• Photos: 405 history repeating itself

He knows that the success or failure of this $1-billion project falls mostly upon him, and with the 53-hour closure of the 405 Freeway and the demolition of the Mulholland Drive bridge about to begin, his work is at a critical juncture.

Questions race through his mind. Are the gas lines safe or do they need to be relocated? Do the crews really have access to certain property beside the freeway? Had he been completely clear with them regarding his concerns about a potential landslide?

A former Marine and Air Force engineer, Barbour knows stressful situations. Four years ago, he was in Iraq, and even though he's wary of making any comparisons, he believes it was his experience rebuilding that country's roads and bridges that gave him an edge on this assignment. It also helped that he spent 18 years working with the California Department of Transportation.

But what's made this job most challenging are the expectations riding on it: not just that the work finish on time and on budget, but that commuters not be overly inconvenienced and that the needs of the various agencies and communities are met.

"The city has expectations, the county, Metro and Caltrans," he said. "We all have expectations, so you've got to manage all those expectations throughout the whole process."

Just last week, he decided to relocate media parking for the 10-mile closure after the Skirball Cultural Center objected to having so many cars on its property. He also listened to a top official with the Los Angeles Police Department, who was still annoyed with the MTA for not providing more notice to work out logistics and outreach.

"There are just so many people that want different things," he said. He has likened the overall job to performing heart surgery on a patient who's running a marathon, but he is undaunted.

In a matter of hours, he expects basketball-sized chunks of half the Mulholland bridge to rain down upon the 405 — all to plan.

::

Barbour, 57, parks his black Ford Explorer just off Skirball Center Drive. It's late Monday afternoon, four days to go, and he wants to see the prep work. He trades his suit jacket for a neon-orange vest and walks along the shoulder to the bridge.

The 405 flows beneath him. It rises out of the Westside at the 10 Freeway and crests near Mulholland Drive before dropping into the San Fernando Valley and the 101 Freeway. Since 2009, he has obsessed over these 10 miles, and for all its attention, this weekend's demolition is just another part of the job.

In order to widen the freeway to add a carpool lane, he's had to monitor the redesign of the onramps and offramps, the widths of the shoulders and the landscaping, as well as the proposed sound walls and the upgrades of the bridges at Sunset Boulevard and Skirball Center Drive.

He divides his time between the 405 and downtown Los Angeles, where he is in meetings at the MTA and Caltrans buildings, the Police Department and City Hall. In the evenings he speaks at neighborhood association meetings.

If an organizational chart were drawn for the MTA, Barbour's name would be found three rungs beneath the chief executive. He makes about $200,000 a year and oversees a team of Caltrans and Metro employees, almost 100 people.

Among transportation experts, Barbour is known as a "bridge guy," a title he earned from his days with Caltrans, where he began his career in the 1980s as a civil engineer. His work has taken him from military to civilian assignments, which in California have included an analysis of a suicide deterrent system for the Golden Gate Bridge and the reconstruction of the Bay Area's Carquinez Bridge.

Standing on the Mulholland bridge, he notices cuts in the road exposing the sub-deck. He's also pleased to see that crews have readied the utility lines.

"I've never been worried about a project when it's been in Mike's hands," said Doug Failing, the MTA's executive director for highways. According to Failing, Barbour "knows his role at the end of the day is to deliver the project," and a key to that is to be good at team building and knowing how to make tough decisions.

Breakdown: Keys to Sunday's WWC final

Published July 15, 2011

Both players share common links, and not only in that they were former teammates at the Washington Freedom of Women's Professional Soccer . Wambach and Sawa are each talismanic performers that play integral (albeit different) roles for their respective teams. Sawa operates Japan's midfield engine room, and it's not just her extraordinary playmaking vision that makes Sawa so special. It's also her clinical finishing. Japan's no. 10 is currently tied with Marta for most goals scored in the tournament (four).

Wambach is not far behind with three goals, scoring one goal in each of the preceding three games. The lethal forward is the US's emotional leader and has ably spearheaded the team's attack.

Both players' names already belong in the pantheon of women's soccer greats. Sunday's final only helps determine positioning in the hierarchy.

Precision vs. Power

It's not hard to pick out which team has which. These stylistic differences will be on full display on Sunday.

Despite playing less-than-sparking soccer throughout the knockout round, the US has willed itself to victory off of brilliant moments from individual players. Japan, meanwhile, constantly works as a unit. It's a full team collaboration in both the defense and attack, allowing the team to concede possession with the knowledge they'll soon regain the ball.

The Americans managed to abandon their "pass and rush" style against Japan during the team's May meetings, two 2-0 victories for the US. The team displayed some fine, patient build-up play from midfield that resulted in well-worked goals in both games. Will the U. try to replicate the same success again, or will they be tempted to stick to their tried and true tactics?

Rachel Buehler vs. Becky Sauerbrunn

It might be a more complicated question than previously thought. Center back Rachel Buehler has arguably been the team's most consistently solid defender this past year. She had a nightmarish pair of games against Sweden and Brazil, however, in which she got shown up by Sweden's quick attackers before getting red carded out of the US's now famous quarterfinals match.

That necessitated Becky Sauerbrunn's inclusion in the team's starting line-up against France. The 26-year-old had an impressive outing and brought a sense of composure to the backline.

Sauerbrunn's tactical intelligence and positional awareness are her best playing characteristics, both of which might be needed against Japan's clever forwards. Interestingly, Sauerbrunn has recent experience playing Japan, as she got the nod to start in both of the May friendlies.

Will Pia Sundhage show loyalty to Rachel Buehler or be tempted by Sauerbrunn's unique skills?

A-Rod vs. A-WOL

Forward Amy Rodriguez has started every game so far this World Cup, but she has yet to make much of an impact. The 24-year-old is known for her blazing speed, but her skill set has been mitigated by poor decision-making on the ball. She has yet to effectively link up with Abby Wambach and often looks marooned in the final third, looking more "A-WOL" than then A-Rod.

The real kicker is that Rodriguez scored in each of the US's friendlies against Japan. They were lovely efforts, too, complicating any suggestion that Rodriguez should lose time on Sunday.

Rodriguez's weapons could again come in handy against Japan. She just needs to find her shot to truly make the difference.

Alex Morgan vs. Reality

Rodriguez's starting spot looks ever more tenuous when 22-year-old Alex Morgan has good games. She had one in the semifinals, scoring her first ever World Cup goal, effectively killing off the match. Regardless of Morgan's form, Sundhage isn't likely to select her over Rodriguez. And that's somewhat out of loyalty to A-Rod, but it's also because Morgan offers something off the bench. It would be foolish to take away the team's security option now, especially against a team as fit and sharp as Japan.

Familiarity vs. Risk

If a close match wears into the final, which coach breaks with tradition first? Japan seemed completely content to sit back and methodically tease out defenses against both Germany and Sweden. The goals finally arrived, and Japan earned deserved wins in both matches.

The Usual Suspects vs. Brave New World

Will Pia Sundhage flinch first? If the US is on a unfavorable score line, the head coach might want to abandon the 4-4-2 throw numbers forward into the attack. And hey, it worked wonders against Brazil.

Are we entering an age that will see a new world order take root in international women's soccer? This will be a historic clash pitting the two-time world champions and habitual favorites versus World Cup final debutants.

It's hard to remember a team as technically gifted or as possession-oriented ever making it this far in the tournament. Japan might be a harbinger of things to come, as new emphasis is placed on technical skill and players begin to develop at earlier ages. It's an emphasis that's allowed Japan to assume a waning China's distinction of being the world's best team from Asia.

Meanwhile, the United States in many ways represents women's soccer in a bygone era, and not just because of the two stars above the team crest. The team's bruising physicality and outstanding athleticism have outlasted opponents, but can it outlast the cyclical force that seems to determine these things? If that brand of soccer is phased out, Japan's sleek, pass-happy style may be on the way in.

Either way, it will be fascinating to watch the two styles go head-to-head in what is surely one of the most anticipated (and perhaps unexpected) Women's World Cup finals of all time.

Hamm: There's been lots of excitement

 Friday 15 July 2011

Getty Images

There have been few, if any, more popular and well-known players in the history of women’s football than former USA forward Mia Hamm. A genuine icon of the game, there is little that the now 39-year-old did not achieve in a sparking 17-year international career. Two FIFA Women’s World Cup™ titles (1991 and 1999) and two Women's Olympic Football Tournament golds (1996 and 2004) sit proudly at the top of her resume.

On a personal level, Hamm hit the back of the net on more occasions than any other male or female USA international, and is second behind only Kristine Lilly in terms of appearances. Such is the Selma, Alabama native's status in her homeland, the USA women’s national league (Women’s Professional Soccer) features a silhouette of Hamm on their logo.

FIFA.com caught up with her during her busy television schedule in Germany to chat about the changing face of the game, its rapid development and the tournament in general.

FIFA.com: Mia, what are your general thoughts on Germany 2011?
Mia Hamm: The tournament has been great. I think the level of play has been outstanding and there has been lots of excitement. The investment that FIFA and the LOC have made for this tournament has been tremendous. This tournament has also shown that the technical and tactical level is rising.

Could this tournament potentially be seen as a turning point in the growth of the women’s game?
I think so. Firstly, the fact that we had two new teams competing for the first time. And I think that anyone that saw either Equatorial Guinea or Colombia play didn’t walk away saying they way were light years behind. Both were physically and technically there, they had personalities in their group and were committed to playing attractive soccer.

Watching Marta is always a thrill. We have seen her game progress even further.

Mia Hamm

So do you see the move to 24 teams for the next FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada as a positive one?
I definitely think so. Not only does it create more opportunities, it motivates other countries to invest in women’s football, especially at a young level. You can see the benefits with the likes of USA, Germany, England, France and [others] really investing. All these things are positive for the game, so if we continue to create a greater movement for women’s football to grow, I think that is important.

What major differences do you see between now and when you were appearing on the world stage?
There is greater parity between nations. The skill level of players and quality of coaches has become better. In the US, we always had some great coaching, but now we see it right across the board. Coaches are really investing in learning the women’s game and I think that is important.

Would you say there has been a tactical improvement across the last few FIFA Women’s World Cups?
I do, across the board. We have seen teams trying new systems, we saw Brazil with a very different defensive system. France play a 4-5-1 but it turns into three up top very quickly and is very positive.

Are there any players that you have particularly stood out for you? Watching Marta is always a thrill. She has re-emphasised what makes her so dangerous, which is that she just needs a small amount of space. We have seen her game progress even further. She not only attracts a lot of attention, but she is able to play-make as well. It is one thing to have players that are free, but she has the ability to find them. The French squad have been fantastic and are a fun team to watch play. We saw flashes of excellence with Germany. I like some of their young players such as [Alexandra] Popp, and [Kim] Kulig, who I really like.

What have you made of USA’s performances throughout the tournament? The game against Brazil was by far their best performance, defensively for sure. They have improved throughout the tournament, which is what you want. They had that hiccup against Sweden, when it seemed to me that Sweden were much more motivated, but they have managed to right the ship.

You were very much a role-model for young players. Is seeing a new breed of players performing that role something you have enjoyed?
I think anything that inspires young girls, not just in football but in any pursuit, is a great thing. I was blessed with supportive parents and family, and I found such confidence through sport, so I think anything that helps girls find confidence means so much.

I think the level of play has been outstanding and there has been lots of excitement. This tournament has also shown that the technical and tactical level is rising.

Mia Hamm

Do you believe, then, that football can contribute to personal development? Absolutely. The majority of things learned in football can be used for the rest of your life. I’m talking about things such as communication, time-management, team-work and dealing with adversity.

You have worked as a panellist on American television during the tournament. How have you enjoyed being on the other side of the camera?
I have learned a lot. It has been great, and it is a great group to work with. First and foremost for me, as a former player and fan of the game, is the commitment that ESPN has made, which is televising every match. I’m so grateful for it because I didn’t have that when I was young. Now young girls across the country can watch any game they wish to.

Finally, has being here at Germany 2011 made you want to pull the boots on again?
(Laughs) The first game I said that, but after watching everyone run all over the field for 90 minutes I remembered how tiring this game can be.

At Least 21 Reportedly Dead After Explosions Rock Mumbai Markets

Asia & Pacific

Three separate explosions tore through a business district in India’s Mumbai Wednesday, leaving at least 21 people dead and 141 injured, authorities said. Less than an hour after the series of blasts, its Home Ministry confirmed a terrorist attack and placed the entire city on high alert.

Although no group claimed responsibility, the explosions hit locations where a terror siege nearly three years ago killed 166 people. Wednesday also coincided with the birthday of the lone surviving gunman of the 2008 attack.

Indian officials say they believe the responsibility of Wednesday's attack rests with the Indian Mujahideen, a group that works closely with Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Lashkar-e-Taiba is the group suspected to be behind the 2008 attack. 

All three blasts happened from 6:50 p.m. to 7 p.m., when all the neighborhoods would have been packed with office workers and commuters.

The blasts hit the crowded Dadar neighborhood at rush hour, the famed jewelry market Jhaveri Bazaar and the busy business district of Opera House, an official at the city's Police Control Room said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of office policy.

The explosions happened around 7 p.m., when all the neighborhoods would have been packed with office workers and commuters.

Authorities say it appears Improvised Explosive Devices were planted in parked cars. An early indicator of

a terror strike was the close timing of the string of explosions.

President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton condemned the attack in a statement and said the U.S. is monitoring the situation.

The 2008 attack, which targeted two luxury hotels, a Jewish center and a busy train station, was blamed on Pakistan-based militant groups. The attacks escalated tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals and prompted them to suspend peace talks.

Pakistan's government expressed distress on the loss of lives and injuries soon after Wednesday's blasts were reported.

Mumbai has been on edge since then. In December, authorities deployed extra police on city streets after receiving intelligence that a Pakistan-based militant group was planning an attack over New Year's weekend. Police conducted house-to-house searches in some neighborhoods for four men who authorities believe entered the city to carry out a terrorist attack, and computer-aided photographs of the four suspects were released.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Explosions Rock Mumbai During Rush Hour Several reportedly killed in three blasts in India's business district. Watch Video

The Dark Knight Rises Trailer : Leaked

A teaser trailer for “The Dark Knight Rises” was leaked online today. According to Slate.com, the video appears to have been shot by a moviegoer, who provided the first glimpse of the final installment of Christopher Nolan’s Batman series, which will hit theaters in Summer 2012.

Almost immediately after it began appearing online, Warner Bros. lawyers hunted down each site and reportedly had it taken down. According to the website Super Hero Hype, the trailer for “The Dark Knight Rises” will hit theaters with the release of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2,” Friday.

Earlier this week, makers of “The Dark Knight Rises” released a movie poster on the films’official website showing Gotham City crumbling down to the ground. With pieces of skyscrapers falling from the sky to make out Batman’s famous logo.

As we previously reported, ”The Dark Knight Rises,” follows “The Dark Knight” that premiered four years ago and brought in a record-breaking $158 million during its opening weekend. Returning for a final go will be Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman and Christian Bale with newcomer, Anne Hathaway making her Catwoman debut.

James Harrison unloaded on NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell

The Pittsburgh Steelers are a sexually assaulting, drunk-driving, bin Laden-loving, gun-toting, head-hunting, in-fighting, gay-bashing, finger-pointing rogue outfit. And most of that was just in the past couple of months.

Some of it is just allegations and some interpretation. And this is certainly not a statement on gun control, but instead just about image.

The Steelers' image as the gold-standard of NFL righteousness was always mythology anyway.

But with Hines Ward’s arrest for alleged DUI, Rashard Mendenhall’s tweets about the U.S. not hearing Osama bin Laden’s side of the story and Ben Roethlisberger’s lingering bad-guy standing, things were changing. Now, after James Harrison's cover story in the upcoming issue of Men’s Journal, it has all added up to a new image for the Steelers. They have touched on, danced on, stomped on, just about every part of the stereotype of athletes behaving badly. It tops off with Harrison’s cover photo.

Imagine what NFL commissioner Roger Goodell must have felt Wednesday morning when he saw Harrison, the guy he has held as an example of dirty play, on the cover of a magazine, arms folded across his chest, holding a gun in each hand under the headline: “Confessions of an NFL Hitman.”

Highlights in the article include Harrison calling Goodell a devil, a thief, a dictator and a puppet, and saying “If that man was on fire and I had to (urinate) to put him out, I wouldn’t do it. I hate him and will never respect him.”

And this about Harrison’s own quarterback, Roethlisberger, who threw big interceptions in the Super Bowl: “Hey, at least throw a pick on their side of the field instead of asking the D to bail you out again.

“Or hand the ball off and stop trying to act like Peyton Manning. You ain’t that and you know it, man; you just get paid like he does.”

And this about the 2004 season and the AFC Championship Game: “ … (T)he Patriots, who we beat during the regular season, stole our signals and picked up 90 percent of our blitzes. They got busted for it later, but, hey, they’re Goodell’s boys, so he slapped ’em $500,000 and burned the tapes.”

The whole article isn’t out yet, but only lengthy excerpts. Reports are that when the article actually comes out, it will include Harrison gay-bashing, complaining that black players are fined heavier than white ones, and saying that Houston linebacker Brian Cushing is “juiced out of his mind.”

But from those first statements, about Goodell and Roethlisberger, and the photo with the guns, Harrison comes off as an image-killer. A truth-teller, but an image-killer.

James Harrison called Roger Goodell a 'devil' and had harsh words for Ben Roethlisberger, too, in a Men's Journal article. (AP photo)

The truth is, a lot of players feel this way about Goodell. Among the players, there is league-wide distrust and dislike of him.

Roethlisberger really isn’t Manning. Goodell did destroy tapes of the Patriots’ transgressions in Spygate, covering up for Bill Belichick. What can Goodell do now? He is the one who locked out the players, and basically took away all the rules. He created this wild west, and now maybe we’re going to start getting some honest feelings from players. Plenty of them surely agree with Harrison, but just don’t know how to say it.

Harrison doesn’t know how, either. But it’s a dream moment for most people to be able to tell their boss to stick it without repercussion.

And in this case, Goodell is the one who allowed it. He cannot punish Harrison for this, after locking him out, and had better not take a grudge into the season.

But he will. How couldn’t he? In one interview, Harrison did serious damage to the image of the Teflon League, and also put the final nail into the myth of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

There is no point to going over all the details of Pittsburgh’s past. But Steve Courson, Mr. Steeler, detailed his steroid use, and told Sports Illustrated years ago about the use during the Steelers' dynasty, alleging that coach Chuck Noll and team founder Art Rooney tolerated it. It’s not that the Steelers are lower than other teams, but only that their good-guy image was always concocted.

That happens all the time in sports, where athletes or teams are built too high and inevitably come crashing down. Running with a ball, throwing a ball, dribbling one or hitting one hard doesn’t automatically reveal good character. The Steelers have been portrayed for years as a mom-and-pop organization that builds teams the right way, through the draft and development. It stands loyally behind its coaches.

Well, Harrison’s distaste for Goodell is nothing new, not after Goodell built his anti-cheap shot campaign around Harrison’s hits. Actually, that was a good thing Goodell did, taking immediate action to try to curb brain injuries, and their long-term effects.

It will be interesting to see what happens to Harrison’s credibility in his own locker room, where plenty of players aren’t wild about Roethlisberger, but unwritten code insists you don’t publicly rip your teammates.

Code also tends to forgive great, great players, such as Harrison.

In the end, much of this will pass for Harrison, who is a Twitter legend today. But he has created damage that the commissioner won’t be able to overlook.

It’s OK, though, Goodell can be a fair man: If Harrison is on fire, be sure that Goodell will gladly (urinate) on him.

Lady Gaga, Katy Perry And The Case Of Pop-Star Alter Egos

Why two mermaids are too much, in Bigger Than the Sound.

Katy Perry and Lady Gaga

I suppose it's every pop star's prerogative to adopt an alter ego: Where would Beyoncé be without Sasha Fierce? How could Nicki Minaj exist without Roman Zolanski? Can Mariah ever not be Mimi?
All valid questions, to be certain, and yet ... maybe it's time we stop asking them. With all due respect to the Queen B, Ms. Minaj and the Magnificent Mariah (or any of the myriad of pop stars who have sought to reinvent themselves over the years), it is entirely possible that we have finally reached the point of no return. And as such, perhaps we should to retire the alter-ego idea entirely.
This has nothing to do with my feelings about alter egos, second selves, or even doppelgängers, since, as a general rule of thumb, I am in favor of them, especially when they involve rock music (Ziggy Stardust!), comic books (Superman!) and/or professional wrestling (the Undertaker!) But it has everything to do with mermaids. Or, more specifically, the fact that, at this very moment, two of the biggest pop stars on the planet are attempting to foist mermaid alter egos upon us ... and neither seems to have a problem with that.
It all started last month, when Lady Gaga pulled on a fishtail and became Yuyi the Mermaid for a performance on French TV. In theory, this was all right with me, considering A) Yuyi will apparently be featured in her next music video and B) I have never been wronged by a mermaid, mostly because they are mythological creatures. The event that made me reconsider my feelings actually occurred earlier this week, when Katy Perry took to her Twitter account to post a photo of herself, mid-plank, dressed as Ariel from "The Little Mermaid."
Not surprisingly, this angered Gaga's little monsters (and Laurieann Gibson), but I'd suggest that their outrage was misguided. They shouldn't be mad at Perry for going mermaid, they should be mad at pop stars in general. Because, really, if we've reached the point where they can't even come up with original alter egos any more, well, then perhaps it's time to do away with the concept altogether.
And yes, I realize that mermaids are inexplicably hot right now, what with their inclusion in "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" and Stephenie Meyer's upcoming book, in which they will apparently devour men or something. Still, have we officially run out of alter egos? Shoot, Gaga has already been a motorcycle, a space mother, and Mary Magdalene ... and that's just since she released Born This Way. And Katy? She's currently working another alter ego, an orthodontically enhanced teen named Kathy Beth Terry. Couldn't one of them be a centaur? Joan of Arc? Abraham Lincoln?
Apparently not. And since we've apparently reached the alter ego's event horizon, I'm proposing a five-year moratorium on any and all split personalities. Let's all just chill a bit ... give the batteries some time to recharge. You may think I'm being reactionary, but deep down, you know I'm right. I don't want to live in a world where our pop stars have been reduced to dueling mermaids, simply because there were no other alternatives. And I'll be damned if I'm going to sit idly by and watch as the good name of Chris Gaines is dragged through the mud. Especially by mermaids.

Buzzkill: Fan may owe taxes on rewards for Jeter’s 3,000th

Christian Lopez might end up wishing he kept that baseball after all.
Lopez became more than a footnote to the spectacle of Derek Jeter getting his 3,000th hit on Saturday at Yankee Stadium by returning the milestone baseball to the New York Yankees shortstop rather than cash it in for a likely six-figure payday. That touched off a debate still raging among fans days later: Would you have given the ball back or sold it to the highest bidder for a payday that was rumored as high as $250,000?
For his gesture, Lopez was rewarded by the Yankees with luxury box tickets for the rest of the season (including postseason), along with signed baseballs, bats and jerseys from Jeter. In addition, Lopez received four premium front-row seats to last Sunday's Yankees-Rays game.
Nice haul, right? Sure, but with those generous gifts comes tax liability. As George Harrison once sang for the Beatles, "Let me tell you how it will be; There's one for you, nineteen for me. 'Cause I'm the Taxman."
The IRS will likely consider Lopez's gratuities from the Yankees as income, and if so, he could end up having to pay anywhere from $5,000 to $13,000 in taxes, according to the New York Daily News. The New York Times, meanwhile, says the face value of the tickets to the remaining 32 regular-season games at Yankee Stadium are worth anywhere between $44,800 and $73,600. The paper's conservative estimate puts Lopez's tax bill at $14,000.
Lopez, however, seems unfazed by these revelations.
If the IRS comes calling, he says he'll pay those taxes:

"Worse comes to worse, I'll have to pay the taxes," he told the Daily News on Monday. "I'm not going to return the seats. I have a lot of family and friends who will help me out if need be.
"The IRS has a job to do, so I'm not going to hold it against them, but it would be cool if they helped me out a little on this."

It's unclear from the quote whether the "they" Lopez refers to means the IRS or the Yankees. The IRS could obviously help him out by considering the items he was rewarded as gifts, rather than income. Then he wouldn't owe as much in taxes.
But could Derek Jeter or the Yankees also step in and pay the taxes for Lopez? One tax expert the Daily News spoke to made that very suggestion.
What a buzzkill. Lopez expressed hope that his parents would help him out with whatever taxes he might owe. But they could rightfully point out that some of that memorabilia — not to mention many of those tickets — could be sold off to cover his expenses. (Lopez might have to do that anyway, telling reporters that he still owes more than $100,000 in student loans.)
Lopez being essentially punished for what so many saw as a good deed and selfless act makes for a troubling epilogue to a nice story.
But maybe there's still a happy ending to come.

Eye-opener: Are you now on the World Cup bandwagon?

WORLD CUP:  USA stuns Brazil

We've had Montana to Rice and Stockton to Malone and now in U.S. sports history we have Rapinoe to Wambach.

The crossing pass that Megan Rapinoe lobbed up to Abby Wambach was one of the most dramatic in sports history as the final second heroics saved the USA in the women's World Cup with its shootout win against Brazil.

LOPRESTI COLUMN:  This win should have left you cheering.

 The pass and goal put the red card and strange penalty kick do-over into the background and put the semifinal match against France and the stellar work of goalie Hope Solo, front and center.

"That was by far the best ball in the tournament," Wambach said of Rapinoe's cross. "That ball was world class. She put that ball right on my head. Luckily, I didn't miss it."

At a time when we are out of the Davis Cup again and U.S. players don't currently own a Wimbledon, heavyweight boxing, British Open or U.S. Open title golf title, the women are the great right hope for fans to wrap themselves up in the red, white and blue.

Will you be watching?

While we wait to unfurl the flag, here is some good work by some good people that we might have missed while sleeping or waiting on the final odds and ends to be settled in the NFL labor war.
It has been a year since the death of George Steinbrenner and the Yankees have changed a lot.
Here is how the World Cup goal would have sounded if Gus Johnson called it.
Tiger Woods could be making a major announcement today.
Stop if you have heard this one before: Pacman Jones is arrested.

Fresno Grizzlies have Harry Potter Night.

What happens when you host an auto race and nobody can get there.

Jack Nicklaus isn't ready to crown Rory McIlroy just yet.

Kobe's dad is now a WNBA head coach.

Joe Buck finds that when you have your voice you have everything.

ESPN's Bill Simmons believes he could solve the NBA lockout.

Don't listen to that Amare Stoudemire to Israel talk.

Jeff Van Gundy has three words for Yao Ming: Hall of Fame.

LeBron will be sponsoring Miami, Kentucky and Ohio State.

Pittsburgh Steelers Receiver Hines Ward Arrested for DUI

(ATLANTA) -- Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Hines Ward, 35, is known for being one of the most well-respected players in the NFL, a reigning Dancing with the Stars champion, and most recently, one of the latest to be arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol.

The former Super Bowl MVP was arrested early Saturday in suburban Atlanta at 3:41 a.m., according to officials.


He was released from the DeKalb County jail on $1,300 bond.

Jeter Reaches 3,000 Hits With Home Run

Suzy Allman for The New York Times

With his teammates cheering, Derek Jeter runs the bases after hitting his 3,000th hit -- a solo home run -- in the third inning.  Watch it here!



By TYLER KEPNER

Published: July 9, 2011

Derek Jeter became the 28th player in baseball history to reach 3,000 hits on Saturday, with a home run in the third inning at Yankee Stadium off the Tampa Bay Rays’ David Price. In doing so, Jeter became the first player in the Yankees’ storied history to reach the hallowed number. 
Jeter is the active leader in hits and the first player to collect his 3,000th since Craig Biggio of Houston in 2007. He is also the first to achieve the milestone at Yankee Stadium, old or new, and the fourth youngest player to do it. Only Ty Cobb, Hank Aaron and Robin Yount joined the club at a younger age than Jeter, who turned 37 on June 26.
Jeter accomplished it all without playing anywhere but shortstop, the most physically demanding position on the field besides catcher. Only three other players, Honus Wagner, Cal Ripken Jr. and Yount, have recorded 3,000 hits while playing most of their careers at shortstop.
Like Ripken and Yount, Jeter has never won a batting title. But he has twice been the runner-up, churning out hits at a rate few have ever matched. Jeter has seven 200-hit seasons, and 10 with at least 190. Only Pete Rose and Cobb, who rank first and second on the career hits list, have more 190-hit seasons.
Jeter’s pace has slowed the last two seasons. In 2010 he hit .270, the lowest average of his career and a rare bit of bad timing. The sharp drop in performance did not stop Jeter from getting a three-year, $51 million contract, but the Yankees gave it grudgingly, publicly questioning his skills and challenging him to explore free agency.
Jeter tried an adjustment in the off-season and during spring training, eliminating his stride to give himself more time to react to the pitch. But he abandoned it soon after the season started, reverting to his old mechanics, without his old results.
After a two-hit game in Cleveland on Wednesday lifted his average to .257, Jeter — a .314 career hitter before this season — acknowledged that the scrutiny of his struggles had taken some fun from the chase for 3,000. He has little experience with bad press; few athletes in his era have received such overwhelmingly positive coverage in their careers.
“It’s kind of hard to enjoy it when there’s a lot of negativity that’s out there,” Jeter said. “Hopefully, I might be able to enjoy it the next few days.”
The Cleveland series ended with Jeter needing three hits for 3,000, and the Yankees headed back to the Bronx. Jeter closed the old Yankee Stadium with a stirring speech to the crowd in 2008, and helped christen the new version with a championship in 2009.
He also passed Lou Gehrig that season for the franchise record in hits, with 2,722. It was a stirring moment, even if it had little resonance outside Yankee Stadium. With 3,000 hits, Jeter has matched a revered number in the game’s history, and left an indelible mark.

NEWS: Liftoff! Atlantis Blasts Off on Final Flight

Atlantis Shuttle Launch: Big Pic

July 9, 2011 -- At 11:29 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on July 8, 2011, the Space Shuttle Atlantis lit its rockets and roared into space. Four astronauts made the climb toward orbit and the International Space Station (ISS), where they will arrive on Sunday. The 135th and last flight of the U.S. space transportation system, or STS, comes 30 years after the first flight in April 1981. You can view video of final launch on NASA's YouTube channel.

WATCH VIDEO: Do sci-fi villains have the moonbase market cornered, or will we be living on the moon some day too?

When they rendezvous with the ISS, the shuttle astronauts will help set up the Raffaello logistics module, which is filled with supplies and spare parts to sustain station operations after the shuttles are retired. The crew also will conduct the robotic refueling mission, an experiment to test tools and techniques for robotic refueling of satellites in space.

The 12-day mission is the 33rd for Atlantis, which is named for an oceanographic research vessel. In fact, all of the shuttles were named for famous ships of exploration: Challenger, Endeavour, Discovery, and Columbia.

“The shuttle's always going to be a reflection of what a great nation can do when it dares to be bold and commits to follow through,” said Space Shuttle Commander Chris Ferguson shortly before liftoff. “We're not ending the journey today. We're completing a chapter of a journey that will never end.”

Final Shuttle Launch: Atlantis, astronauts ready, weather maybe not

Atlantis, astronauts ready; weather maybe not

• Atlantis astronauts, from left, mission specialist Sandra Magnus, pilot Doug Hurley, …
• The space shuttle Atlantis is seen on the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center …

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA's final four shuttle astronauts boarded Atlantis for liftoff Friday on the last flight of the 30-year program, even as potential rainstorms threatened to delay the launch.

Forecasters stuck to their original 70 percent chance of bad weather, as the veteran crew climbed aboard the spacecraft. NASA was hopeful.

"We do have a shot at this today," launch director Mike Leinbach assured his team.

Commander Christopher Ferguson gave a thumbs up as he was strapped in after sunrise despite the still-iffy launch prospects. On his way to the spacecraft, Ferguson had jokingly beckoned for more applause, clapping his hands at one point. The astronauts posed for pictures before boarding.

Atlantis holds a year's worth of supplies — more than 8,000 pounds — for the International Space Station.
An estimated 750,000 people are expected to jam Cape Canaveral and surrounding towns for this final shuttle launch, reminiscent of the crowds that gathered for the Apollo moon shots.
Among the expected VIPs: 14 members of Congress, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen, four members of the Kennedy family, two former NASA administrators, singers Jimmy Buffett and Gloria Estefan, and the first shuttle pilot of them all, Robert Crippen.

By 6 a.m., cars and RV were packed into almost every available space along U.S. 1 in Titusville, with cameras already trained on the launch pad in the hazy clouds across the Indian River. Many had planted chairs and staked out viewing locations just feet from the water. Some were still cocooned in sleeping bags as the sun rose.

Kenneth Cox, 25, an airport employee from Danville, Ind., joined three friends at the riverside. Hauling Lucky Charms, fixings for s'mores and a bottle of champagne to celebrate the launch, they slept off and on as the sun rose.

"It's the closing chapter of 30 years," said Cox, who went to Space Camp when he was in the fifth grade and has been enamored with the shuttle program as long as he could remember.

"I definitely think it's a somber attitude out here, because it's the last one," said Cox's friend, Simon Lin, 26, who works at Walt Disney World in Orlando. "It's brought so much to the tourist industry in Florida, and that's what we are. Closing it down, it's going to be sad."

Cherie Cabrera, 23, a Disney World employee, tried to explain the attraction.

"It's just powerful," she said. "There are so few people who have the ability to go to space, and for all of us to be here on the river, watching it launch and feeling it rise and feeling the wind, you feel like you're a part of it. You feel connected."

John and Jennifer Cardwell came from Fairhope, Ala., for their third attempt to see the shuttle launch. Twice before they made the trip only to have a flight canceled and they weren't able to stay. They brought their sons, Isaac, 6, and 3-year-old Eli.

"This is our last-ditch chance to see one," said 38-year-old Jennifer Cardwell, cradling a sleepy Eli in her arms just after dawn. "This is the end of an era, and I wanted to be able to experience it. My son is interested in space and science, and I wanted to encourage that.

"It's that last frontier, that last place left for us to explore," she said. "We've gone all over the world, and this is what's left."

NASA must launch Atlantis by Sunday or Monday or it will have to wait until at least July 16 because of an unmanned rocket launch scheduled for next week.

The 12-day mission will close out the space shuttle program, which began with the launch of Columbia in 1981. Atlantis will join Discovery and Endeavour in retirement, so NASA can focus on sending astronauts to asteroids and Mars. Private companies will take over the business of getting space station cargo and crews to orbit.

Once Atlantis soars, it will be another three years — possibly five or more — before astronauts blast off again from U.S. soil.

This will be the 33rd flight for Atlantis and the 135th shuttle mission overall.

"Everybody should be really proud how we've ended and just finishing strong," Mendoza said.

Facebook's Awesome Announcement: Group Chat, Video Chat, New Chat Design

Mark Zuckerberg promised "something awesome" for Wednesday's conference. What Facebook delivered is a trio of new chat features, including the earlier reported Skype-video chat integration.
The new features include a redesigned chat interface, group chats, and the aforementioned video chat, all explained on Facebook's blog.
The group chat feature will let users chat with multiple friends at once by selecting "Add Friends to Chat." According to Facebook, 50 percent of users are using the Groups feature, for things like co-ordinating events. Users can add friends that are not online at the time, and those friends will receive a summary of the chat later on. The feature rolls out today.
The chat redesign takes into account the size of a user's browser window and adjusts accordingly. Zuckerberg noted that users have found it difficult to start chats with the previous design. A new sidebar appears when the window is large enough and lists your most-messaged friends, even ones who are not online. A simplified chat tab will give users "one-click access" to chatting with friends. The new chat design will also roll out today.
Video chat, which the company collaborated on with Skype, lets users click a video call button at the top of their chat window in order to start the call. Users can also leave video messages for people who aren't there. Once a user clicks the video chat feature, a plug-in is downloaded to enable the call in "ten to twenty seconds." The feature will roll out to everyone in the next few weeks, though users can get on earlier if they're eager by going to Facebook.com/videocalling. It is not yet available on the mobile app.
"We have a very longstanding relationship with Microsoft," said Zuckerberg, who noted that Facebook had actually been working with Skype prior to Microsoft's acquisition.
Zuckerberg also revealed that Facebook has hit 750 million worldwide users, with 4 billion pieces of information shared each day.

Casey Anthony Jury Finds Her Not Guilty in Slaying of Daughter

ORLANDO — Casey Anthony, the young mother whose seeming heartlessness at the disappearance of her daughter transfixed America for three years, was found not guilty on Tuesday of killing the girl, Caylee Marie.

As for motive, prosecutors said Caylee’s murder was hastened by the fact she was beginning to string together words and would soon be able to reveal her mother’s lies. 

After nearly six weeks of testimony, a panel of seven women and five men decided that Ms. Anthony did not murder Caylee by dosing her with chloroform, suffocating her with duct tape and dumping her in a wooded area, as prosecutors claimed. They also did, however, find her guilty of lesser charges, of providing false information to law enforcement officers. The jury did not ask to review any evidence.

When the verdict was read, Ms Anthony, 25, who faced a possible death sentence, cried. The verdict vindicates the defense, which argued from the start that Caylee drowned accidentally in the family swimming pool and that the death was concealed by her panicked grandfather, George Anthony, and Ms. Anthony.

It also drove home just how circumstantial the prosecution’s case proved to be. Forensic evidence was tenuous and no witnesses ever tied Ms. Anthony to Caylee’s murder. Investigators found no trace of DNA or solid signs of chloroform or decomposition inside the trunk of Ms. Anthony’s car, where prosecutors said Ms. Anthony stashed Caylee before disposing of her body.

The prosecution was also hurt by the fact that nobody knows exactly how Caylee died; her body was too badly decomposed to pinpoint cause of death.
All of this allowed José Baez, Ms. Anthony’s lawyer, to infuse enough reasonable doubt in jurors’ minds to get Ms. Anthony acquitted of murder.
“They throw enough against the wall and see what sticks,” Mr. Baez told the jury, “right down to the cause of death.”
Caylee, a 2-year-old with cherubic cheeks and bright eyes, was last seen June 16, 2008. Her decomposed body was found six months later in a wooded area near the Anthony home. Despite her daughter’s disappearance, Ms. Anthony failed to report Caylee missing for 31 days and created a tangle of lies, including that a baby sitter kidnapped Caylee, to cover up the absence.
The defense conceded Ms. Anthony’s lies but said they happened for one reason: she had been sexually abused by her father and had been coached to lie her whole life.

“I told you she was a liar the first day,” Mr. Baez told the jury.

Despite a vivid portrait of Ms. Anthony’s seemingly callous and deceitful behavior after Caylee’s disappearance, jurors decided that leap from uncaring mother to murderess proved too much.

Prosecutors argued all along that Ms. Anthony killed her child so she could carouse with her boyfriend, go clubbing and live the “bella vita” — beautiful life — as her tattoo, done after Caylee’s disappearance, proclaimed.

“Whose life was better without Caylee?” Linda Drane Burdick, one of the prosecutors, asked jurors. “That’s the only question you need to answer in considering why Caylee Marie Anthony was left on the side of the road dead.”

With that, Ms. Drane Burdick ended her closing statement with a dramatic flourish, leaving behind a split screen image: one side was a photograph of the tattoo, the other was a smiling Ms. Anthony partying with friends after Caylee’s death.

One prosecutor, Jeff Ashton, called it “absurd” that Mr. Anthony, a former homicide detective, would find Caylee dead in the swimming pool and, rather than call 911, cover up the drowning, wrap dead Caylee’s face with duct tape and dump her body.

“It is a trip down a rabbit hole into a bizarre world where men who love their granddaughters find them drowned and do nothing,” Mr. Ashton said. “Where men who love their granddaughters take an accident, a completely innocent act, and make it look like a murder for no reason.”
With Caylee’s grandparents in the back of the courtroom, prosecutors also spoke forcefully about the pain they felt when they realized their granddaughter was missing and their daughter was the chief suspect. Mr. Anthony grew so despondent after the death he attempted suicide in 2009, leaving behind an eight-page suicide note. 
Mr. Anthony, who had testified tearfully during the trial, denied abusing his daughter and finding Caylee floating in the swimming pool.

Prosecutors also used jail-house recordings of Ms. Anthony and photographs of her reveling with friends to show she was clearly not grieving for a daughter who had supposedly drowned.

Mr. Baez, who began his law career in 2005 and three years later took up Ms. Anthony’s case, did little to bolster his initial defense during the trial, a fact that prompted experts to say he was overpromising to the jury.

He delved lightly into the drowning theory and said nothing more about the sexual abuse after the first day of trial. Judge Belvin Perry Jr., the presiding judge who also heads the Ninth Circuit Court, barred Mr. Baez from mentioning the abuse accusation during closing statements because there was no evidence to support his claim.

Yet he successfully hammered away at the relatively weak forensic evidence. More than 50 investigators recovered nearly 400 pieces of evidence, including trash and trash bags, in the wooded area where Caylee’s body was found. Ms. Anthony’s car also was impounded to test for signs of DNA, decomposition and chloroform.
As the trial wound on, Mr. Baez repeatedly turned Mr. Anthony into the villain for covering up the drowning and allowing Ms. Anthony to take the blame. He also spoke about the family’s dysfunction.

As for Ms. Anthony’s behavior, Mr. Baez derided the prosecution’s efforts to portray her as a “lying, no-good slut.” She was panicked and confused, he said, adding that every person grieves differently.

“This case should not be decided for or against anyone because you feel sorry for anyone or are angry at anyone,” Mr. Baez told the jury.