NBey6's Blog

Olympic protesters smash department store windows

By ANNE M. PETERSON, AP Sports Writer

Anne M. Peterson, Ap Sports Writer

2 hrs 17 mins ago

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Police in riot gear confronted more than 200 masked protesters who hurled newspaper boxes through the display windows of a popular department store selling Olympic souvenirs.

Seven people were arrested after officers carrying clubs and shields quashed the downtown protest on the opening day of competition at the Vancouver Olympics. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Those arrested could face a variety of charges, including assault, Police Chief Jim Chu said. At least one could be charged with weapons possession for wrapping a bicycle chain around his fist and threatening passers-by. None of the protesters was immediately identified.

Chu said police knew in advance about the protest, but decided to move in once they knew "criminals" were involved.

Authorities said they were wary of masked anarchists who dress in black and use a tactic called "Black Block" to hide their identities. Among them was a loosely organized group from central Canada known to disrupt events that draw media coverage, police said.

"Their tactic is to hide within the ranks of legitimates protesters," Chu said.

He maintained that about half the protesters were "criminals intent ... on committing violent acts, including damage to property, including assaulting passers-by."

The protest was originally organized by the Olympic Resistance Network to "disturb 'business as usual'" in Vancouver. The ORN is an umbrella group for many causes surrounding the games, ranging from environmental to economic issues.

The most prominent involved native Indians who want to reclaim their property ("No Olympics on Stolen Ancient Land") and those angry over the amount of money spent on Olympics as opposed to public housing ("Homes Not Games").

Phone calls to the group were not immediately returned, but the group sent an e-mail Saturday saying 13 people were arrested.

After the demonstration, guards stood in front of Hudson Bay Company's broken windows, which were cordoned off with yellow police tape while Olympic tourists snapped photos. Workers removed the newspaper boxes.

Hudson's Bay is an official retailer for Olympic merchandise. Rich Gorman, regional vice president for the store, estimated the damage at about $10,000. He said the windows were expected to be replaced by the afternoon.

"It's just unfortunate but nobody was hurt and that's the key," Gorman said. "We'll move on."

Riley Arcand lives near the store and called the vandalism "disgusting."

"We live in the most nicest part of town and everybody's excited about the Olympics," he said. "And then you have people who want to ruin it."

A police spokeswoman said rags soaked with vinegar were found at the scene, and some of the masked protesters were wearing goggles — which could suggest they were anticipating tear gas or pepper spray. Some protests groups tell supporters that rags soaked in vinegar and held to the mouth can minimize the effects of the chemicals.

On Friday, several thousand protesters staged an anti-Olympics "Take Back Our Streets" rally before marching to the stadium where the opening ceremony was held. A standoff with police near B.C. Place lasted about two hours and was for the most part peaceful. The protest also was staged by ORN.

The group said three people were arrested in that protest. The police reported just one arrest.

Chu said the police will continue to monitor protests but do not want to impede freedom of speech.

"We still recognize that there are legitimate protests out there that want to send messages and exercise their rights," he said.

Updated: February 13, 2010, 3:14 PM ET

Peer to play in Dubai after ban

Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Shahar Peer of Israel will play in the Dubai Tennis Championships, a year after she was denied an entry visa for the tournament.

She'll join a field Sunday that includes defending champion Venus Williams.

"There is no question that what happened last year was unfortunate on many fronts," tournament director Salah Tahlak told The Associated Press in a recent interview. "Our focus today, however, is on looking forward, on continuing to building on our outstanding event."

The United Arab Emirates assured the WTA in writing last month that it would allow Peer to play. Last year, she had been denied a visa apparently because of anti-Israel sentiments in the Gulf state following a three-week war between Israel and Islamic militants in Gaza.

The UAE does not have diplomatic relations with Israel.

The Peer snub sparked widespread protests and prompted Andy Roddick, the 2008 champion in Dubai, to skip the men's event in protest. It also exposed the clash between the Emirates' hunger for big-time sports events and its stance on Middle East political tensions.

The WTA subsequently fined tournament organizers $300,000.

Dov Peer, her father and manager, said he supported his daughter's decision to play.

"She's a professional tennis player and she will go," Dov Peer told The AP in a phone interview.

He said no special protection for his daughter was requested from Dubai organizers and "nobody [in Israel] told us not to go."

Organizers said the safety and security of all players was a priority, and Israeli tennis officials said they were confident athletes would be safe in the Gulf state.

"I am sure that the authorities in Dubai know how to take care of our players," said Michael Klein, chairman of the Israeli Tennis Association. "We don't think we need to get involved. We only know about tennis, not about security."

The women's and the men's event, which follows a week later, features 16 of the top 20 players. Top-ranked Serena Williams will miss the tournament because of a leg injury, and No. 2 Dinara Safina withdrew last week because of a back injury.

Caroline Wozniacki, the U.S. Open finalist last year, is the top seed. She's followed by the reigning French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova. Venus Williams is the third seed.

After she won the tournament last year, Venus Williams said her decision to return to defend her title would rest on whether Peer was allowed to play in 2010.

The 22nd-ranked Peer will play No. 15 Yanina Wickmayer of Belarus in the opening round.

Source: Suns want talent in return

ESPN.com news services

The Cavaliers have been in touch for weeks with the Phoenix Suns about a possible deal that would bring Amare Stoudemire to Cleveland, but several other teams' chances of landing the five-time All-Star forward are just as good, a person close to the talks told ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard on Saturday.

Phoenix is seeking legitimate talent in return for Stoudemire and won't trade him strictly as a means for dumping salary, the source told Broussard.

The Suns aren't totally committed to trading Stoudemire, and he could easily remain with them past the Feb. 18 trade deadline.

In fact, the Suns are insisting they get back a young player and a first-round pick in any deal for Stoudemire, so Cavaliers power forward J.J. Hickson would almost certainly have to be part of the deal, sources familiar with the talks told ESPN The Magazine's Ric Bucher.

The Plain Dealer of Cleveland reported Friday that the Cavaliers were in negotiations to acquire Stoudemire, citing multiple league sources.

The report confirmed a Friday afternoon meeting between Cavs general manager Danny Ferry and Suns GM Steve Kerr in Dallas.

Stoudemire is averaging 21.2 points and 8.6 rebounds on the season for the 31-22 Suns.

Saturday, February 13, 2010
Patrick out after 12-car accident

---

Associated Press

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Danica Patrick has been involved in a 12-car accident in the Nationwide Series race at Daytona International Speedway.

 

Patrick was running 21st when several cars wrecked in front of her. She tried to duck low to avoid the spinning cars but was unable to dodge everything, slamming into the outside wall.

 

Her car then spun through the grass, but Patrick regained control and drove to the pits. Her crew pushed the car back to the garage with heavy damage to the front.

 

Saturday's race was Patrick's NASCAR debut. She completed last week's ARCA event at Daytona, and felt comfortable enough to move her NASCAR debut up a week to the Nationwide season-opener.

 

She's also scheduled to run the next two Nationwide races, at California and Las Vegas.

The most common cause of death for American women is heart disease, which causes just over 27% of all mortalities in females. Cancer ranks just below, causing 22% of female deaths.

- Provided by RandomHistory.com -

"Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old."     - Franz Kafka -

Midday & Evening

** until 2-15-10 **

Method 1

013  014  018  023  027  036  045  049  058  059  067  068  126  135  139  148  149  157  158  167  189  234  238  239  247  248  256  257  279  346  347  356  369  378  459  468  567  589  679  689  004  005  009  112  113  117  022  122  225  229  337  338  144  445  446  355  455  558  166  266  077  477  778  779  288  688  788  099  499  599  000  333  666  999

or

Method 2

820, 821, 822, 823, 824, 825, 826, 827, 828, 829

150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159

370, 371, 372, 373, 374, 375, 376, 377, 378, 379

600, 601, 602, 603, 604, 605, 606, 607, 608, 609

Report: Luger dies in training-run crash

Kumaritashvili from ex-Soviet republic of Georgia hits steel pole

updated 3:11 p.m. ET, Fri., Feb. 12, 2010

WHISTLER, British Columbia - A men's Olympic luger from the former Soviet republic of Georgia reportedly died after crashing during a training run Friday.

 

The Toronto Sun reported that Nodar Kumaritashvili was killed after losing control of his sled, going over the track wall and hitting a steel pole near the finish line at the Whistler Sliding Center.

 

Emergency crews performed CPR on the 21-year-old athlete, a native of Borjomi, Georgia, but were unable to save his life.

 

"I've never seen anything like that," said Shiva Keshavan, a four-time Olympian from India said before knowing Kumaritashvili's fate. "I'm afraid it's bad."

 

Training was suspended indefinitely. Members of the International Luge Federation were called for a briefing and team captains from each nation were asked to attend a meeting.

 

Kumaritashvili competed in five World Cup races this season, finishing 44th in the world standings.

 

Earlier in the day, gold-medal favorite Armin Zoeggeler of Italy crashed, losing control of his sled also around Curve 11. Zoeggeler came off his sled, held it with his left arm to keep it from smashing atop his body, and slid on his back down several curves before coming to a stop and walking away.

 

Training days in Whistler have been crash-filled, with a Romanian woman briefly knocked unconscious and at least four Americans -- Chris Mazdzer on Wednesday, Megan Sweeney on Thursday and both Tony Benshoof and Bengt Walden on Friday in the same training session where Zoeggeler wrecked -- having serious trouble just getting down the track.

 

“I think they are pushing it a little too much,” Australia’s Hannah Campbell-Pegg said Thursday night after she nearly lost control in training. “To what extent are we just little lemmings that they just throw down a track and we’re crash-test dummies? I mean, this is our lives.”

TGIF 2-12-10

997, 317, 768, 012, 815, 629, 068, 398, 518, 282

326, 130, 696, 116, 036, 427, 636, 506, 509, 446

828, 733, 105, 715, 995, 111, 222, 444, 555, 777

311, 6611, 3297, 7324, 9424, 3373, 1733, 3670

3678, 1111, 2222, 5555, 7777, 8888

Midday & Evening

** until 2-16-10 **

732, 942, 337, 367, 187, 497, 821, 828, 827

"They are able because they think they are able." - Virgil -

Updated: February 11, 2010, 2:43 PM ET

Holyfield's wife alleges abuse

ESPN.com news services

FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. -- Evander Holyfield's wife claims the boxing great hit her several times after an argument about her payments to their church, and she has received a temporary protective order against him.

Holyfield has not been charged and it was unclear whether there was a criminal investigation. Police in the couple's hometown of Fayetteville, which is about 20 miles south of Atlanta, have not returned several phone calls.

Candi Holyfield, the boxer's third wife, said her 47-year-old husband hit her in the face, the back of the head and her back on the night of Feb. 1 after she refused to show him check stubs of her giving to the church, according to Fayette County court records.

"He said that I was being disrespectful," Candi Holyfield, 30, said in the Feb. 3 court filing. "He started telling me that I needed to start putting God first in my life."

The argument started in the middle of the night, and when the boxer turned on the light and saw her face, she said he apologized, according to the court documents.

Evander Holyfield did not return several phone calls to his cell phone seeking comment. Belinda Foster, a publicist for the couple, said in an e-mail Wednesday to The Associated Press that she'd spoken to both of them and that they remained a "strong married couple."

A magistrate judge signed a temporary order Feb. 3 banning Evander Holyfield from being within 500 yards of his wife and their two children, a 6-year-old boy and 5-year-old girl. A hearing is scheduled for Feb. 18.

Candi Holyfield said in the protective order that the abuse against her began about six months after they were married July 1, 2003, and started again when she was pregnant with their first child. She said at first it was "mainly emotional" abuse but physical incidents have escalated since 2008.

She claimed her husband choked her in front of their daughter and housekeeper in 2008, and that last year he hit and grabbed her in front of their children. A few weeks ago, she said, he threw a bottle of water at her.

In a statement released by the publicist, Candi Holyfield said there were "misunderstandings in the representation of what happened in the situation between me and my husband" but did not elaborate.

"Out of respect for our family, I ask that the media please respect our privacy," she said in the statement. "This is a private matter and your consideration of this would be much appreciated."

Evander Holyfield, a four-time heavyweight champion who has earned more than $200 million in a ring, has been attempting a comeback.

He has not fought since losing to Nikolai Valuev more than a year ago and a scheduled Feb. 20 bout against Francois Botha in Uganda was canceled after his manager said promoters were unable to deliver a pre-fight payment.

One of Holyfield's most memorable fights came against Mike Tyson in 1997, when Tyson was disqualified after biting off part of Holyfield's right ear.

Updated: February 11, 2010, 2:22 PM ET

WADA: More than 30 will not compete

ESPN.com news services

More than 30 athletes have been barred from competing in the Vancouver Olympics after failing pre-Games testing, the director general of the World Anti-Doping Agency, David Howman, told The New York Times on Wednesday.

 

 

 

"It's a bit like before Beijing, when 70 athletes didn't go to the Games because they had tested positive beforehand," Howman told The Times. "The pre-Games testing is pretty intensive. We can say it was effective because there are some athletes who didn't come."

 

 

 

WADA does not have the names of the banned athletes or the sports they compete in, Howman told the newspaper.

 

 

 

"To our knowledge, no Americans were involved," Mike English, chief of sport performance for the USOC, said, according to The Times.