NBey6's Blog

Updated: February 18, 2010, 12:06 AM ET

Roddick, Sharapova advance

Associated Press

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Top-seeded Andy Roddick snapped a three-match losing streak to fellow American James Blake with a 6-3, 4-6. 7-6 (3) victory in the first round of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships on Wednesday night.

"We've played so many times, and he's beaten me, that there's going to be a sense of belief that most guys ranked 60th in the world probably aren't going to have as much as he has against me," Roddick said.

Blake, actually ranked 55th, broke Roddick's serve in the 10th game of the third set to pull even at 5-5. Both then held serve sending the match to the tiebreaker.

He went up in the tiebreaker when he broke serve on the fourth point as Blake hit a backhand wide down the line. Blake would end up with three unforced errors off the backhand in the tiebreaker.

"Whoever won was going to be pretty darn well-prepared for the rest of the tournament and feel good about their chances," Blake said. "It's tough to swallow.

"It just didn't go my way on a couple of points," Blake said of the tiebreaker. "A couple of missed backhands, and he kept the pressure on me the whole time."

As usual, Roddick used a strong serve, recording 22 aces and converting 75 percent of his first serves.

"I served well in the tiebreaker," Roddick said. "I served smart in the tiebreaker."

Roddick, the defending champion, was the only one of the top four seeds in the tournament to make it out of the first round. No. 2 seed Fernando Verdasco lost Tuesday night.

Third-seed Radek Stepanek and Tommy Haas, the fourth seed, lost earlier Wednesday.

Haas of Germany lost to Belgium's Xavier Malisse 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.

Haas, a three-time winner in Memphis, struggled with his service game, putting 59 percent of his first serves in play and committing eight double faults.

Stepanek to Ernests Gulbis of Latvia 7-6 (5), 7-5.

In other matches, sixth-seeded John Isner and Sam Querrey, seeded eighth, won their matches. Isner was pushed to three sets by Jarkko Nieminen of Finland in a 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-4 victory, while Querrey beat fellow American Rajeev Ram 6-2, 6-3.

In the Cellular South Cup, the women's draw of the tournament, top-seeded Maria Sharapova was an easy winner in her second-round match, defeating Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the United States 6-1, 6-1.

Second-seeded Melanie Oudin of the United States defeated countrywoman Lilia Osterloh 6-2, 6-1, and No. 3 Kaia Kanepi of Estonia and Petra Kvitova, the fifth seed, also won.

Kanepi dropped the first set to Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic before rallying for a 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 victory. Kvitova of the Czech Republic was a straight-set winner over Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands, 6-4, 7-5.

Seventh-seeded Vania King of the United States lost to qualifier Sophia Arvidsson of Sweden 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010
White defends men's halfpipe title

---

Associated Press

WEST VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Shaun White had the trick in the bag, along with an Olympic gold medal.

 

Might as well go for it, right?

 

Putting on a show when he hardly needed to, White capped his sensational night on the halfpipe with his signature move Wednesday -- the dangerous, spiraling Double McTwist 1260 during a victory lap that will go down as nothing short of epic.

 

"I wanted a victory lap that would be remembered," White said. "I achieved that."

 

The redheaded shredder scored a 48.4 on the final run, even though he was already assured of defending his Olympic title with a score of 46.8 on his first trip. Getting ready to close the night, he debated with his coaches for a minute, then made the decision.

 

 

Showtime! To the delight of cheering fans, he jerked his body around to milk the last half of the 3½ twists he crams into two head-over-heels flips.

 

An exclamation point on a spectacular day at the games for the Americans, who already had golds from Alpine skier Lindsey Vonn and speedskater Shani Davis, and wound up with six overall medals, including Scotty Lago's halfpipe bronze.

 

Wearing a blue bandanna with white stars, all of which goes perfect with the red hair, White easily outdistanced Finland's Peetu Piiroinen.

 

"It's impossible to beat Shaun unless he falls," Piiroinen said.

 

Lago's bronze gave the United States multiple medals on the halfpipe for each of the last three Olympics. Including the women, the U.S. halfpipe team has won 12 of the 21 medals awarded since the sport came to the games in 1998.

 

But has there ever been a bigger snowboarding star than White?

 

He's the multimillionaire who somehow flashes a businessman's smarts without losing touch with the culture that defines snowboarding -- the only sport that would think of competing in snow pants designed to look like torn-up jeans.

 

He keeps it fresh and he keeps people guessing.

 

White skipped the Double McTwist on the first run down the mountain, saying in an interview, "I know I have it in me, but the Olympics is pretty heavy. I was sweating it a little."

 

But if he was nervous on the first run, it didn't show. And it certainly wasn't anything to apologize for.

 

Soaring through the crisp, clear, Canadian sky, he flew 25 feet above the halfpipe at the top, linked a pair of spiraling, double-flipping moves in the middle and stayed on his feet the whole way down.

 

 

 

NBC spelled it all out in living color, transposing the shots of White's straight air and that of one of the medal contenders, Iouri Podladtchikov -- the "I-Pod." Suffice to say that had they actually been jumping at the same time, White would have landed on I-Pod's head.

 

In White's case, though, it doesn't always end when he wins.

 

He has become one of those rare athletes who makes the victory lap as dramatic as the show -- think Mary Lou Retton's second straight perfect-10 vault at the 1984 Olympics.

 

Knowing he had won, and celebrating at the top, he gathered himself and talked it over with one of his coaches. The conclusion: Snowboarding is supposed to be fun.

 

"He had to take a moment to collect himself, take several breaths to let out some screams and shouts and really celebrate," U.S. coach Mike Jankowski said.

 

The decision was impressive to everyone, including the godfather of the sport, Jake Burton, who is also one of White's key sponsors.

 

"With a gold medal already in his pocket, Shaun went out and beat his winning score," Burton said. "What a testament to how much fun snowboarding is. And what a true champion Shaun is."

 

White started the run by linking two double-flipping tricks -- "easier" versions of the signature move -- but then lost a little speed on the fourth jump, the one that sets up the finale. He went for the big trick anyway. It wasn't exactly perfect. He had to really twist his body to get the last half rotation, but he did it, landed on his feet, and the party that had already started got even bigger.

 

"That's what Shaun does," said Louie Vito, the "Dancing with the Stars" star who finished fifth. "He can go up there and lay down a run and take care of business. That's why he is who he is."

 

Instead of "Double McTwist 1260," White wants the trick to now be known as the "Tomahawk," after a huge steak he ate at the Winter X Games in Aspen.

 

"It was massive. Thirty ounces. Finished it," White said.

 

He began developing the trick about a year ago, but an injury halted his work on it. Meantime, he couldn't get himself to commit to it because it was dangerous -- he dinged his head gruesomely while practicing it at the X Games but walked away -- and he didn't really think he'd need it.

 

At that point, back-to-back double corks were enough to win almost any contest, and nobody did them better than The Flying Tomato.

 

But things changed drastically when one of White's main rivals, Kevin Pearce, suffered a severe head injury while practicing the double cork. At the next meet, a good friend of Pearce's, Danny Davis, dedicated his run to Pearce and became the first rider to try three double corks in the same run. Stuck them all. Beat White. And caused him to cancel his vacation plans so he could get back to work on his signature trick.

 

"It was an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime run for him," White said. "And I'm happy he did it because it got me to where I am today."

 

Within a few weeks, White had perfected his new jump, debuted it at a contest in Utah, landed it and brought the halfpipe world back into its proper orbit. He was the best, he had the toughest trick and if he landed it, he would win every contest he entered.

 

Lago's bronze medal came on what might have been his best run of the season. He is one of a group of riders who call themselves the "Frends" -- because there is no 'I' in snowboarding -- a group that includes Davis and Pearce, who is recuperating in a hospital in Colorado.

 

Lago draped the American flag around his shoulders after his bronze medal was sealed.

 

The real celebration, though, was reserved for White, who by the looks of things, never gets tired of this.

 

He'll get the gold medal down in Vancouver on Thursday.

 

Yet another nice prize to throw in his always-expanding bag of tricks.

Updated: February 18, 2010, 12:03 PM ET

Vanderbilt recruit Bennett killed

By Chris Low
ESPN.com

Running back Rajaan Bennett, one of Vanderbilt's top-rated signees for the 2010 class, was killed early Thursday morning in an apparent murder-suicide at the family's home in Powder Springs, Ga.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution first reported the story on its Web site.

Police responded to a 911 call about 2:30 a.m. ET on Thursday from Bennett's home. When they arrived about four minutes later, they heard gunshots, Powder Springs police Maj. Charles Spann told the Journal-Constitution.

 

 

Two people ran from the house following the gunshots, including Bennett's mother, Narjaketha Bennett, and her brother, Taiwan Hunter, who had been shot. Both were hysterical, police said.

The Cobb County SWAT team was called to the scene, and officers found two people who had been shot and killed inside the home: Bennett, 18, and Clifton O'Neal Steager, 39, who died from a self-inflicted gunshot to the head, according to Powder Springs police Lt. Matt Boyd.

Police said Hunter, 32, was wounded and is in surgery.

Steager was later identified as a former boyfriend of Bennett's mother, Narjaketha Bennett.

Bennett, listed at 5-foot-11 and 210 pounds, rushed for 1,857 yards and 28 touchdowns as a senior at McEachern High School and led his team to an unbeaten regular season. He was recruited by several SEC schools, including Kentucky and Tennessee, before choosing Vanderbilt.

"All of us at Vanderbilt are devastated by news of Rajaan's death. This is just so tragic to everybody who knew and loved Rajaan," Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson said. "Initially, our thoughts and prayers are with his mother, Narjaketha, and family members. I know he meant so much to them.

"Rajaan was an extraordinary young man and an ideal fit for Vanderbilt University. As we got to know Rajaan, it became very clear to our coaches that he was a better person than he was an athlete," Johnson said. "He was a leader, a young man who gained the respect of the entire community at McEachern High School."

Bennett was rated as a three-star prospect by ESPN's Scouts Inc., and as the 25th best player in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Fab 50, which was published earlier this month. Bennett's high school coach, Kyle Hockman, said Bennett was one of the best kids he's ever coached.

"I'm sure you want to talk about Rajaan on the football field, but I promise he's a better person than he is a player," Hockman said when Bennett signed with Vanderbilt. "He has a great head on his shoulders, a guy that has been the man in his household for quite a while, yet still worked to maintain a solid GPA in class and become such a great player.

"Rajaan is both humble and hard working. He's a guy that is very respected by his teammates and the McEachern community. I think the world of this young man," Hockman said.

This is the second murder that has rocked the Vanderbilt football program during Johnson's tenure as coach. Former running back Kwane Doster was shot and killed in December of 2004 while sitting in the back seat of a friend's car in Tampa, Fla.

Doster had just finished his junior season at Vanderbilt. He was named the SEC Freshman of the Year two seasons earlier after rushing for 798 yards.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Updated: February 18, 10:37 AM ET
Jamison goes from Wiz to Cavs

---

By Marc Stein
ESPN.com

Cleveland, Washington and the Los Angeles Clippers pulled off a three-team deal on Wednesday that sends Antawn Jamison to the Cavaliers as LeBron James' new sidekick, instead of Amare Stoudemire.

 

Cleveland sends Zydrunas Ilgauskas and his expiring $11.5 million contract to Washington. Washington also gets a 2010 first-round draft pick from Cleveland along with the rights to Emir Preldzic, who was selected in the second round of last year's draft.

 

 

The Wizards receive Al Thornton from the Clippers, with L.A. getting forward Drew Gooden, whom Washington acquired in last week's trade with Dallas.

 

Besides Jamison, Cleveland also will acquire Clippers guard Sebastian Telfair.

 

"Antawn is a great pro. We are very excited to have an experienced all-star player of Antawn's caliber and character join us," Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry said in a statement announcing the trade. "He has the ability to add a special, unique dimension to our team with a strong inside presence and the ability to stretch teams defensively, while impacting the entire court. We think he matches the culture we have built, and continue to build, and will fit well with our group on the court and off."

 

Jamison left the arena shortly before the Wizards game on Wednesday. As he entered his car, all he had to say to reporters was: "Not now."

 

He did have a message for Wizards' fans. "You know I love them more than they love me."

 

"Antawn Jamison has been the embodiment of leadership on and off the court for this franchise for five-and-a-half seasons and we thank him for all he has done for the Wizards and the city of Washington," said Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld. "Unfortunately, our on-court results have not met our expectations and we felt it was necessary to make changes to improve our future and our financial flexibility. This trade accomplished both of those objectives."

 

 

After long-running trade talks with Washington and Phoenix, Cleveland opted for the Jamison deal, leaving the Miami Heat as the only known suitor for Stoudemire in advance of Thursday's 3 p.m. ET trading deadline.

 

The Cavs have been chasing Jamison since last season and ultimately preferred this trade in part because they did not have to surrender blossoming young forward J.J. Hickson. The Suns were demanding Hickson along with Ilgauskas' expiring salary for Stoudemire.

 

Washington relented on its insistence for Hickson because the trade brings more deck-clearing payroll and luxury-tax relief after last week's deal with Dallas that sent Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson to Dallas.

 

Jamison should immediately step in at power forward for Cleveland and supply James with another legitimate scoring option as the Cavaliers' seek their first championship. Jamison is still owed $28 million over the next two seasons.

 

Jamison was extremely popular not only with fans, but also with his teammates and the late owner Abe Pollin. After Gilbert Arenas was suspended indefinitely early last month, Jamison was the one who was chosen to speak to the crowd before the Jan. 8 game. He apologized for a skit that pantomimed shooting guns, calling it: "very embarrassing."

 

 

Now, Jamison is gone and Wizards coach Flip Saunders lauded him.

 

"He's one of the most professional guys I've ever been around," Saunders said.

 

Gooden was reportedly seeking a buyout. Unlike his three former Mavericks teammates, he did not practice with the Wizards on Tuesday, but was at shootaround Wednesday morning. He was listed as inactive.

 

"Basically, we started looking at opportunities to clear cap space for this summer and in the meantime acquire assets that we also liked," Clippers general manager Mike Dunleavy said. "In the last two days, we were able to do that. And it gives us the flexibility to pretty much go in a lot of different directions."

 

Jamison was an All-Star in both 2005 and 2008, and averaged 20.5 points in 41 games. He missed the first nine games of this season with a sprained right shoulder.

 

The 33-year-old played his first five seasons with Golden State and after playing the 2003-04 season with Dallas, was traded to Washington. Jamison has a career average of 19.9 points.

 

Ilgauskas, who is 34, has played his entire 12-year NBA career with the Cavaliers. He was supplanted as the starting center by Shaquille O'Neal this season. He's averaging 7.5 points and 5.3 rebounds this season. His career averages are 13.9 points and 7.7 rebounds.

 

"Z has been a cornerstone part of this franchise and his jersey will hang in the rafters here some day, not only because of his play, but because of the tremendous person he is and what he has meant to the franchise and the community," Ferry said. "He has represented the Cavaliers, Cleveland and the NBA at a consistently high level for many years. We wish Z and his family the best."

 

Ilgauskas' agent, Herb Rudoy, told the (Cleveland) Plain Dealer that he would work quickly to get a buyout from Washington. That would free up Ilgauskas to sign with another team -- including re-signing with the Cavaliers, although he'd have to wait 30 days to return to Cleveland.

 

"I've already heard from a few teams -- good teams -- that are really interested in wanting to talk about Z going to play for them," Rudoy told the paper.

 

A source told ESPNDallas.com's Tim MacMahon on Wednesday that one of those teams is the Dallas Mavericks, who lost Erick Dampier to a finger injury.

 

James can become a free agent this summer, leaving this as Cleveland's final shot at a championship before he decides to stay or go. The Cavaliers also had the league's best record last season, when they failed to reach the NBA finals.

 

Maybe Jamison can help them take that next step.

 

The 6-foot-7 Thornton has averaged 13.7 in his three-year career with the Clippers.

 

Telfair, who's 24, will be playing for his fourth team. The former first-round pick has averaged 7.9 points in his career.

Thor's Day 2-18-10

651, 166, 990, 653, 398, 271, 385, 321, 189, 951

917, 022, 506, 982, 367, 337, 752, 290, 106, 391

206, 995, 828, 000, 222, 333, 444, 555, 777, 888

6605, 2260, 2936, 5490, 1947, 2272, 2233, 8213

 "Anxiety is the space between the 'now' and the 'then.' "           - Richard Abell -

Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Chardy ousts Verdasco in Memphis

---

Associated Press

MEMPHIS -- Second-seed Fernando Verdasco was upset by Jeremy Chardy of France 7-6 (4), 6-3 on Tuesday in the first round of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships/Cellular South Cup.

 

Verdasco was coming of a win at the ATP World Tour stop in San Jose, where he beat Andy Roddick in the final.

 

 

"With just one day in between matches and in different conditions and not being able to practice on the stadium court before the match, it was difficult," he said. "And it was difficult for me to get the timing. But he played a great match. He served really good."

 

Chardy, ranked 41st, had been winless in four matches this year before beating the 11th-ranked player in the world. Chardy did not face a break point in the match and he said his confidence was boosted by winning the first-set tiebreaker.

 

"It was difficult for him because he won last week and came here at the last second," Chardy said. "He couldn't practice on the courts. I knew it would be difficult for him so I started the match very aggressive."

 

Verdasco was plagued by multiple unforced errors.

 

Chardy relied on a solid service game. He won 88 percent of his first-serve points.

 

In a minor upset, No. 7 Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany fell to Evgeny Korolev, 7-5, 7-5. Korolev recorded his third win over a top 30 player this year behind a strong service game that included 10 aces.

 

Advancing easily was No. 5 Tomas Berdych, who beat qualifier Ryan Sweeting, 6-2, 6-1.

 

In the Cellular South Cup -- the women's portion of the tournament -- No. 2 seed Melanie Oudin defeated Alexa Glatch, 6-2, 6-2.

 

Karolina Sprem upset No. 4 seed Lucie Hradecka, 6-4, 6-4, and No. 8 seed Elena Baltacha beat Renata Voracova, 7-5, 6-1.

 

Nicole Vaidisova, a former top 10 player whose ranking has dropped to nearly 200 in the world, advanced with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over American Laura Granville.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Peer reaches Dubai quarterfinals

---

Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Shahar Peer upset top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki 6-2, 7-5 Wednesday, reaching the quarterfinals of the Dubai Championship a year after she was denied a visa to play in the tournament.

 

"I played very, very good, and I'm really happy," Peer said. "I was dominating from the first game until the end."

 

 

Defending champion Venus Williams advanced with a 7-5, 6-0 win over Olga Govortsova. Second-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova was upset by qualifier Regina Kulikova 5-7, 7-6 (2), 6-4, while Vera Zvonareva, last weekend's Pattaya champion, defeated sixth-seeded Jelena Jankovic 6-3, 6-2 to run her win streak to seven matches.

 

Last year, Dubai organizers were fined $300,000 by the WTA for not allowing Peer to play in the event. She was denied a visa by the United Arab Emirates government, citing security reasons.

 

The Israeli had at least one break opportunity on each of Wozniacki's 10 service games. She had never previously won a set off the U.S. Open finalist in three previous matches.

 

Peer lost to Wozniacki 6-4, 6-0 in the third round of the Australian Open.

 

"When I played her in Australia, I played well in the first set, and I had my chances but I didn't take them," Peer said. "So I knew the next time I have to play her, I really need to take my chances because she never gives up. She's always there. I'm really happy I could manage it."

 

The 22nd-ranked Peer closed it out on her fifth match point in a second set that contained seven breaks. The third-ranked Wozniacki held serve only twice in the match.

 

"She played really well," Wozniacki said. "She kept changing the rhythm all the time. I had a few unforced errors early in the match and never managed to put her under pressure."

 

The match was moved from Center Court to Court No. 1 at the Aviation Club because it is the most secure, a decision Wozniacki agreed to even though she said the court speed was different.

 

"If there is a threat to her, there is a threat to me as well. So I completely agree with the fact that the match was scheduled on Court No. 1. I'd rather be safe than sorry," Wozniacki said. "The change of court did create a bit of a problem, since it was a little faster than the Center Court. But the conditions were the same for both of us and I really can't complain."

 

Both players traded breaks in the opening set before Peer broke decisively to lead 4-1. Wozniacki won only 42 percent her points on her first serve and 37 percent on the second.

 

Third-seeded Williams started sluggishly to trail 4-1. She changed strategy, not going for winners and extending the rallies, and allowed Govortsova only one more game in the match.

 

"I started the match with a double-break, which wasn't ideal," Williams said. "But I just had to just start from where I was and not get frustrated about it."

 

Williams will play Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who beat Daniela Hantuchova 6-3, 6-4. Peer will face Li Na, who rallied past Marion Bartoli 3-6, 7-5, 6-0.

 

Other matches went as seeded: Fourth-seeded Victoria Azarenka defeated Anna-Lena Groenefeld 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 and seventh-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska dispatched Flavia Pennetta 6-3, 6-0.

Updated: February 17, 2010, 4:58 PM ET

Vonn, Mancuso go 1-2 in downhill

ESPN.com news services

WHISTLER, British Columbia -- Lindsey Vonn of the United States, fighting off an injured right shin, won the women's Olympic downhill on Wednesday -- the first of five races she plans to enter at the Vancouver Games.

Vonn covered the 2,939-meter course at Whistler Creekside in 1:44.19 -- more than a half-second ahead of her teammate Julia Mancuso, who earned the silver.

Mancuso's time of 1:44.75 led by nearly a second after the first 15 racers. But Vonn, who lost two weeks of training time and, at one point was questionable for the Olympics after injuring her shin in training, eclipsed it -- then waited for the rest of the 45-woman field to complete its run.

Vonn, 26, is the two-time defending World Cup champ, and the defending World Cup champ in the downhill.

"This is the best day of my life," Vonn, crying, told CTV as the race was in progress. "It's awesome. It was really bumpy, you know. It's a really challenging course and I almost lost it on the top. I just kept it going and kept fighting."

It's the third time two Americans have finished 1-2 in an Olympic Alpine race, and the first time in 26 years.

At the 1984 Sarajevo Games, brothers Phil and Steve Mahre took gold and silver in the slalom and Debbie Armstrong and Christin Cooper accomplished the feat in giant slalom.

Vonn was hurt Feb. 2 during pre-Olympic practice in Austria and had hardly skied over the past two weeks.

Still, as the two-time defending overall World Cup champion and the winner of five of the six downhills this season, she entered as an overwhelming favorite.

Mancuso won the giant slalom at the 2006 Turin Games but hadn't finished on the podium since the Olympic test downhill here two years ago. The Squaw Valley, Calif., skier has won only two World Cup downhills in her career, the last nearly three years ago.

Mancuso was an early starter and still led when Vonn skied.

Vonn, a Minnesota native who lives and trains in Vail, Colo., put on a skiing clinic for all the world to see.

Waiting in the starting gate with the sun reflecting orange off her goggles as she stared down the course, Vonn was a study in concentration. Kicking out of the start without regard to her bruised shin, she increased her lead at the first three checkpoints, kicking up a trail of smoky snow in her wake as if she were a race car, tucking at every opportunity.

Just when it seemed Vonn might go wide, she applied even more leg pressure, shifted her weight and maintained her line.

It wasn't all perfect, however, and Vonn lost nearly two tenths on the bottom, almost getting knocked off balance as she went over a small bump just before the finish.

It was more than enough for gold, however, and Vonn collapsed on her back in joy in the finish area. She then raised herself and placed both arms in the air in triumph

"This means so much to me," said Mancuso. "I haven't been on the podium in a year, so being back on an Olympic podium and getting a silver medal is so special. To win an Olympic medal is the biggest award you can receive in sports."

 

Germany's Maria Riesch, the only other woman to win a World Cup downhill this season and considered a legitimate threat to Vonn, fell off the pace early and finished in 1:46.26 -- more than two seconds off the pace.

Elisabeth Goergl of Austria was behind Mancuso in 1:45.65 and will take the bronze medal.

Swedish standout Anja Paerson became the latest victim of an ugly crash on the difficult Olympic downhill course. Paerson, the holder of five Olympic medals got a huge amount of air off the final jump and shifted her weight backward when she finally landed, then crashed through the final gate and got twisted around. She slowly slid headfirst across the finish line and sat up as she was tended to by officials. Dominique Gisin of Switzerland also crashed while landing the final jump, and Daniela Merighetti and Marion Rolland also fell. Injury details were not immediately available.

American Stacey Cook, fourth down the hill, completed the race in 1:46.98 and was in 11th place. The other American in the field, Alice McKennis, was 34th in 2:00.68.

The temperature was slightly above freezing for the race on the 2,939-meter course, dubbed Franz's Downhill. The race was originally scheduled for Sunday, but was delayed by bad weather conditions at Whistler Creekside.

Midday 2-17-10 Evening

** until 2-20-10 **

170, 171, 172, 713, 147, 715, 716, 177, 178, 179

028, 128, 228, 382, 824, 285, 682, 782, 828, 892

002, 102, 202, 230, 024, 052, 620, 702, 802, 290

057, 157, 257, 735, 457, 557, 657, 775, 587, 795

Hermes' Day 2-17-10

415, 600, 702, 073, 176, 362, 053, 123, 467

684, 893, 405, 681, 316, 801, 780, 649, 792

716, 813, 308, 750, 106, 194, 322, 000, 444

7718, 5490, 6018, 1780, 5664, 2869, 3344

Alexander McQueen hanged himself in London home

By JILL LAWLESS, Associated Press Writer Jill Lawless

Associated Press Writer 6 mins ago

LONDON – Alexander McQueen hanged himself in his apartment on the eve of his mother's funeral after leaving behind a note, a coroner's inquest said Wednesday in the first confirmation of details of the fashion designer's death.

The inquest — which has yet to formally rule McQueen's death a suicide — opened as London Fashion Week prepared to mark the passing of one of British fashion's brightest stars.

Coroner's official Lynda Martindill told the inquest at Westminster Coroners Court that 40-year-old McQueen died from asphyxiation and hanging.

Days before his body was found on Thursday, McQueen had left several messages on the social networking site Twitter revealing his grief at the death of his mother days earlier.

The designer's body was found in the armoire at his London apartment and was formally identified by his sister, Janet.

Police detective inspector Paul Armstrong told the inquest there were no suspicious circumstances.

After a five-minute hearing, coroner Paul Knapman adjourned the inquest until April 28. McQueen's family, who are now free to hold the designer's funeral, issued a statement through their lawyers appealing to the media to respect their privacy.

In Britain, inquests are held whenever someone dies violently or in unexplained circumstances.

McQueen's death has cast a shadow over London Fashion Week, which opens on Friday. A spokeswoman said the event would feature a tribute to the designer, whose attention-grabbing designs helped re-energize British fashion after a fallow period following the punk explosion in the 1970s.

"There will be something simple and tasteful," she said. "The time for memorials will be later in the year."

She spoke on condition of anonymity because organizers are waiting for McQueen's family to approve the tribute.

Known for his dramatic statement pieces and impeccable tailoring, McQueen dressed celebrities from Cameron Diaz to Lady Gaga and influenced a generation of designers.

The son of a cab driver, McQueen grew up on a public housing estate in London's East End, left school at 16 and entered the fashion world the old-fashioned way, as a teenage apprentice to a Saville Row tailor. He later studied at Central St. Martin's art college in London and was discovered by fashion guru Isabella Blow, who bought his entire graduation collection. She became a friend and mentor; her suicide three years ago shook the designer, who wept openly at her funeral.

McQueen was a private man who avoided the limelight, but his Twitter postings show emotional turmoil after his mother's death on Feb. 2. McQueen had posted messages four days before his death about his "awful week," and said he had to "somehow pull myself together and finish."

His mother's funeral was held the day after McQueen died.

Friends also said he might have felt under pressure to outdo himself at the unveiling of his spring collection in Paris next month.

"I don't think success was easy for him," friend Plum Sykes wrote in the Sunday Telegraph this week. "He told me he was driven by his insecurities, and he believed that all successful people were."

McQueen became chief designer at the Givenchy house in 1996, but was best known for his own label, in which Gucci bought a majority stake in 2001. McQueen retained creative control, and became famous for his dramatic and often uncategorizable creations: sculptural <snip>tail dresses in psychedelic patterns; headwear made of trash; 10-inch (25 centimeter) heels shaped like lobster claws.

His shows were highly theatrical events, incorporating film and historical references and innovative technology — including, at one memorable 2006 show, an appearance by Kate Moss in hologram form.

His outrageous pieces never sold in great numbers, but he became one of fashion's best-known brands. He designed the outfit Janet Jackson was wearing when she had her breast-baring "wardrobe malfunction" at the 2004 Super Bowl.

Outrageous chanteuse Lady Gaga — dressed in a lacy white ensemble and towering Marie Antoinette-esque wig — paid tribute to McQueen at the Brit music awards on Tuesday. "Thank you to Lee McQueen," she said after winning one of three prizes, using the designer's given name.

Onstage she performed a somber tribute song beside a mannequin wearing those signature lobster-claw shoes.

Okay, I couldn't help myself last night. Me and my family are pizza fanatics and Domino's has been bragging, through their commercials, how they've improved their pizzas and plan to give Papa John's a run for their money. My family and I never eat Domino's so this is a big deal, pizza wise, for us. Well, I have to say the new sauce and garlic-seasoned hand-tossed crust are really good and should help their sales quite a bit. I ordered 2 mediums with 2 toppings and with tax and all, it was $15.26 and they delivered it. If i had to grade them for the new and improved, I'd give them a B+.

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep."

 - Scott Adams -

Toyota probes Corolla steering, considers recall

By YURI KAGEYAMA, AP Business Writer Yuri Kageyama,

Ap Business Writer 33 mins ago

TOKYO – Toyota is considering a recall of its hot-selling Corolla subcompact after complaints about power steering problems — another blow to the world's largest automaker already reeling from a string of recalls for safety troubles.

Despite pressure from some lawmakers, President Akio Toyoda said he won't be attending the U.S. congressional hearing on the automaker's quality lapses, entrusting the job to U.S.-based executives — though would consider an appearance if the committee requests it. He said he wanted to focus on improving quality worldwide.

"I trust that our officials in the U.S. will amply answer the questions," Toyoda said Wednesday in his third news conference in two weeks. "We are sending the best people to the hearing, and I hope to back up the efforts from headquarters."

He said Yoshi Inaba, who heads Toyota Motor Corp.'s North American unit, was more familiar with the U.S. situation and was the best executive to deal with the hearing. Toyoda said he was still making plans to go to the U.S. and dates have yet to be set.

But in an alarming disclosure that could widen Toyota's recall crisis, the executive in charge of quality controls, Shinichi Sasaki, said Toyota was taking seriously the complaints about power-steering problems in the Corolla, the world's best-selling car.

Speaking at Toyota's Tokyo office, Sasaki said the company was putting customers first in a renewed effort to salvage its reputation and would do whatever is necessary if a Corolla fix is needed.

He said it was still uncertain if a Corolla recall would be necessary, but it is an option the automaker is considering.

He didn't disclose model years or regions that could be affected and said there have been fewer than 100 complaints. Toyota sold nearly 1.3 million Corolla cars worldwide last year.

Drivers may feel as though they were losing control over the steering, but it was unclear why, Sasaki said. He mentioned problems with the braking system or tires as possible underlying reasons for the steering problem.

U.S. federal safety officials have also said they are examining complaints from Corolla owners about steering problems.

Toyota has already recalled 8.5 million vehicles globally during the past four months because of problems with sticking gas pedals, floor mats trapping accelerators and faulty brake programming.

Its once pristine reputation for quality has been hammered, and Toyota's share of the critical North American market has nose-dived. Last month was the first time since February 1998 that Toyota's monthly U.S. sales fell below 100,000 vehicles, according to Ward's AutoInfoBank.

Koji Endo, managing director at Advanced Research Japan, said the Corolla problems, if they expand into a recall, would deal another major blow to Toyota.

"If Toyota has to recall Corollas, I wouldn't be surprised if they have to recall more than a million units again. It's going to be another big, big negative," said Endo.

But others said Toyota was sending a message it was going to be quick and thorough about maintaining quality.

"It really shows the company has learned its lesson from the recall debacle by starting to announce every investigation far more quickly," said Ryoichi Saito, auto analyst at Mizuho Investors Securities Co. in Tokyo.

Analysts had mixed views about Toyoda's reluctance to show up at Congress — some critical but others saying it was OK.

Unlike Western chief executives, Japanese presidents are not always expected to be an authoritative figure and play more of a team leader role in a culture that values harmony and consensus. That role is even more pronounced for Toyoda, the grandson of the company's founder who holds special significance for rank-and-file workers and dealers in Japan.

The U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is holding a hearing on Feb. 24 on Toyota's gas pedal problems. The House Energy and Commerce Committee has scheduled one the next day.

Inaba, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and NHTSA Administrator David Strickland are expected to testify at both meetings. The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee has scheduled a March 2 hearing.

At Wednesday's news conference, a solemn Toyoda reiterated his promise beef up quality controls at the world's No. 1 automaker.

He promised a brake-override system in all future models worldwide that will add a safety measure against acceleration problems that are behind the recent massive recalls. The system is a mechanism that overrides the accelerator if the gas and brake pedals are pressed at the same time.

"We are not covering up anything, and we are not running away from anything," Toyoda said.

The automaker said it was also dealing with questions about whether the gas pedal flaw was electronic and reiterated its investigation has not found any electronic problems.

But it has commissioned an independent research organization to test its electronic throttle system, and will release the findings as they become available.

Scrutiny of Toyota is growing. The U.S. Transportation Department has demanded Toyota hand over documents related to its massive recalls. The department wants to know how long the automaker knew of safety defects before taking action.

Reports of deaths in the U.S. connected to sudden acceleration in Toyota vehicles have surged in recent weeks, with the alleged death toll reaching 34 since 2000, according to new consumer data gathered by the U.S. government.

Toyota told NHTSA in January that the problem appeared in Europe beginning in December 2008. Toyota has said it began fixes on that in August 2009, but the company failed to link that with gas pedal problems in the U.S., which surfaced in October 2009.

Toyota took full-page ads in major Japanese newspapers Wednesday to apologize for the recalls in Japan, which affect the flagship Prius hybrid and two other hybrid models.

"We apologize from the bottom of our hearts for the great inconvenience and worries that we have caused you all," the black-and-white ads say.