NBey6's Blog

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."

- Aristotle -

Police arrest lab technician in Yale student murder

BOSTON (Reuters) – A Yale University lab technician was charged on Thursday with the murder of a graduate student whose body was found inside a wall on the New Haven, Connecticut, campus the day she was to be married.

Raymond Clark, 24, was arraigned hours after being taken away in handcuffs by police who charged him with murdering Annie Le, a pharmacology student whose body was hidden in the basement of the laboratory building where they both worked.

Clark was grilled on Wednesday by police, who used DNA testing in their investigation. New Haven Police Chief James Lewis told a news conference there were no other suspects.

"This is not about urban crime, university crime or domestic crime but an issue of workplace violence, which is becoming a growing concern around the country," Lewis said.

The case has shocked students at the Ivy League university, whose campus is secured by dozens of surveillance cameras and requires ID swipe cards to access buildings.

Marks on Le's body indicated she was strangled or asphyxiated using some kind of weapon. She vanished last week and after an intensive five-day search police found her body on Sunday, the day she had planned to wed her college sweetheart.

Clark had worked at the Yale campus for several years and was in the same building where Le, also 24, carried out her research. His duties included tending to the laboratory research animals and cleaning their cages.

Clark is being held on a $3 million bond and is due back in court in early October. Yale University President Richard Levin said Clark had been barred from the campus and his Yale ID card disenabled.

Students at Yale held a candlelit vigil near Le's laboratory earlier this week.

Foul ball! Toddler tosses back dad's prized catch

PHILADELPHIA – Dad simply wanted a souvenir. He got a ballpark full of cheers and a national television appearance instead.

Steve Monforto made a grand catch of a foul ball at a Philadelphia Phillies game and gave his prize to his 3-year-old daughter. She quickly tossed it back toward the field, and all her stunned Dad could do was hug her.

"At the time I was just excited to give it to her," Monforto told NBC's "Today" show Thursday.

A season-ticket holder who shares Phillies' tickets with friends, Monforto said he didn't consider the possibility that little Emily might toss his treasure from the upper deck.

"I've been waiting so long to catch a foul ball, and over the edge it goes," he said with a laugh.

The family from Laurel Springs, N.J., still went home with a baseball Tuesday night after the Phillies' 5-0 win over the Nationals. Phillies executive Mike Stiles brought it to them in the stands.

On the "Today" show, they got another ball — this one encased and signed by outfielder Jayson Werth, who hit the foul ball in the fifth inning and made the Monforto family famous.

The family of four also received personalized Phillies jerseys.

Monforto, 32, reached over the railing to make the grab, catching his first foul ball after years of going to Phillies games. He fist-bumped his buddies, high-fived his daughter and handed her the prize.

Then came the toss and the hug.

"I didn't want her to think she did anything wrong," Monforto said on WIP-AM radio Wednesday.

Philly crowds are known for being a tough bunch, but everyone at Citizens Bank Park cheered — first his catch, then his cuddle.

"This was the true reflection of what Philly fans are like," said Bonnie Clark, the team's vice president of communications.

Cameras captured the scene of Monforto snagging Werth's foul, plus the toss and hug. The video was displayed at the top of the Yahoo! Web page and made the NBC national news.

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"To weep is to make less the depth of grief."

- William Shakespeare -

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Monday, September 14, 2009
Updated: September 15, 10:06 AM ET
Del Potro upsets Federer in 5 sets

---

Associated Press

NEW YORK -- Always so cool, so consistent, so in control of his emotions and his matches, Roger Federer amazingly let the U.S. Open championship slip from his grasp.

 

Two points from victory against inexperienced, unheralded Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina -- and two points from a sixth consecutive title at Flushing Meadows and a record-extending 16th Grand Slam overall -- Federer, quite simply, fell apart Monday.

 

He railed at the chair umpire. His legs grew weary. His double-faults mounted. He could not figure out a way to stop the 6-foot-6 del Potro from pounding forehands past him. In a result as surprising for who lost as how it happened, the sixth-seeded del Potro came back to win his first Grand Slam title by upsetting the No. 1-seeded Federer 3-6, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2.

 

 

"Maybe I look back and have some regrets about it," said Federer, never before beaten by anyone other than Rafael Nadal in a major final. "But, you know, you can't have them all and can't always play your best."

 

He had won 40 consecutive matches at Flushing Meadows. He had won 33 of his previous 34 Grand Slam matches. And he has made the final at 17 of the past 18 Grand Slam tournaments, 21 overall.

 

Del Potro? This was the 20-year-old's first Grand Slam final, and he was 0-6 against Federer until now. But after handing Nadal the most lopsided loss of his Grand Slam career in the semifinals Sunday, del Potro came back the next day and rattled Federer.

 

"I would like to congratulate Juan Martin on an unbelievable tournament. I had a great one myself, too," Federer said, "but he was the best."

 

That's some compliment.

 

Somehow, del Potro never seemed intimidated by the setting or the man many consider the greatest tennis player in history.

 

The usually unflappable Federer argued with chair umpire Jake Garner during a changeover, using a profanity and saying, "Don't tell me to be quiet, OK? When I want to talk, I talk."

 

He also got steamed while up a set and serving at 5-4 in the second. Del Potro tried a forehand passing shot that was called wide, but he challenged, and the replay system showed he was right. Federer kept glancing at the mark the shot left on the blue court, even into the next game, and del Potro wound up stealing the set.

 

"That one cost me the match, eventually," Federer said.

 

Del Potro, meanwhile, managed to have the time of his young life, high-fiving front-row fans after winning one point, and reveling in the soccer-style serenades of "Ole!" ringing through the stadium.

 

"When I would have a dream, it was to win the U.S. Open, and the other one is to be like Roger. One is done," del Potro said during a tearful on-court ceremony.

 

Then, addressing Federer directly, del Potro added: "I need to improve a lot to be like you. I'd like to congratulate you for fighting 'til the last point."

 

The 4-hour, 6-minute match was the first U.S. Open final to go five sets since 1999, and there were no early signs to indicate it would be this competitive -- much less end with del Potro down on his back, chest heaving, tears welling, a Grand Slam trophy soon to be in his arms. He is the first man from Argentina to win the U.S. Open since Guillermo Vilas did it in 1977.

 

Vilas was in the stands Monday, sitting one row behind Jack Nicklaus.

 

One simple indication of the difference in age and status of the two finalists: The 28-year-old Federer's guest box was full, with pals such as rock-star couple Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale and Vogue editor Anna Wintour seated alongside Federer's parents, wife and agent. Only three of the 15 available seats were occupied in del Potro's box.

 

Federer took a 3-0 lead in 15 minutes, winning one point by racing about 5 feet wide of the doubles alley for a defensive backhand, then sprinting the other way for a cross-court forehand passing winner that he celebrated by yelling and shaking his fists.

 

He even took time to watch a replay on a stadium video screen. Not quite the "Did he really just do that?!" sort of trick shot Federer pulled against Novak Djokovic in the semifinals -- a back-to-the-net, between-the-legs, cross-court passing winner to get to match point -- but pretty spectacular, nonetheless.

 

But del Potro eventually got going, swinging more freely and taking full advantage of Federer's serving woes: 11 double-faults and a first-serve percentage of only 50.

 

Used to traveling without a full-time coach, Federer generally is quite adept at making mid-match adjustments and dealing with opponents' switches in strategy. But it was del Potro who realized he needed to put full belief in the strength of his 100 mph forehands and not worry about too much else.

 

That tactic worked, and Federer never found a way to counter it, losing leads in the second set and the fourth set. He was up 5-4 in the fourth, and at 15-30 on del Potro's serve, Federer needed only two more points to become the first man since Bill Tilden in 1920-25 to win the American Grand Slam tournament six years in a row.

 

Del Potro held steady there, and Federer would never come that close again.

 

Although hardly a household name, del Potro is not an unknown in the tennis world. He burst onto the scene a year ago with a 23-match winning streak and four tournament titles in a row on hard courts, the surface used at Flushing Meadows.

 

Perhaps it was a harbinger, when del Potro presented problems for Federer in the French Open semifinals in June, taking a 2-1 lead in sets before frittering that away.

 

Federer went on to win the title at Roland Garros, his first there, to complete a career Grand Slam and tie Pete Sampras' career record of 14 major championships. Federer then broke that mark by collecting No. 15 at Wimbledon.

 

Thanks to del Potro, Federer will have to wait for No. 16.

 

From mid-May until Monday, Federer had been 32-1 with four titles from five tournaments. Aside from the on-court success, Federer's 2009 included getting married and becoming a father -- of twins, no less.

 

Quite a year. Still, one can't help but ponder this: No man has won even three straight major tournaments in a season -- much less all four -- since Rod Laver's true Grand Slam in 1969. Federer came close this year, his French Open and Wimbledon titles book-ended by a five-set loss to Nadal in the Australian Open final and the five-set loss to del Potro in the U.S. Open final.

 

This U.S. Open was Federer's first Grand Slam event since his daughters were born, and he spoke proudly of quickly learning to change diapers and getting used to sleeping less.

 

"Right now, I'm just tired," he said after his loss. "I want to get a rest."

NEW YORK -- Serena Williams isn't the only Grand Slam champion using profanity at the U.S. Open: Roger Federer let an expletive fly, too.

In an uncharacteristic display, Federer argued with chair umpire Jake Garner during a changeover in the U.S. Open final Monday. He said his opponent, Juan Martin del Potro, was given too much time to challenge a line call.

"I wasn't allowed to challenge after 2 seconds. The guy takes, like, 10," Federer said.

Then the 15-time major champion used a profanity in addressing Garner: "Don't tell me to be quiet, OK? When I want to talk, I talk. I don't give a ... what he said."

CBS microphones picked up the exchange during its live broadcast of the match.

"It's regrettable, of course," CBS spokeswoman LeslieAnne Wade said. "But it's a part of the live coverage of sports events."

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