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Horse Racing Recap: Bullet Catcher finishes second in Laurel Park debut

February 1, 2013 By Admin

fb52c0390b08e9194615b8c916232d15 Horse Racing Recap: Bullet Catcher finishes second in Laurel Park debut
Bullet Catcher, left, with J.D. Acosta aboard, finished second in his debut at Laurel (Md.) Park, his home track, Thursday(Photo: Laurel Park)

Story Highlights

Bullet Catcher escaped and ran 1.6 miles down a busy highway on Jan. 11
Thursday, he finished second in his debut on his home track
He has finished in the money in five of his eight lifetime starts

(PhatzRadio / USA Today) — Bullet Catcher, the 4-year-old gelding who became a roadrunner for a day earlier this month, finished in a dead-heat for second place in his Laurel (Md.) Park debut Thursday afternoon.

Bullet Catcher, who escaped from the Laurel Park backside and took a 1.6 mile journey down busy Route 1 on Jan. 11, came in at 12-1 odds for the $40,000 allowance race.

Making his first start on his home track, the son of Strong Hope flashed early speed, pressed the pace before surging to the lead, then held on to tie for second in a four-horse blanket finish.

Disco Elvis, a 23-1 shot, won the 5 1/2-furlong test, a neck ahead of Bullet Catcher and late closing Pass You Bye Bye, who rallied on the outside. Field Pass was a nose behind in fourth.

J.D. Acosta got his first mount aboard Bullet Catcher, who paid $6 to place and $7.80 to show.

“He tried really hard,” Acosta said. “He made a really good effort in the end. It looked like he was going to get there but it felt like he slowed down in the last 25 yards.”

“It was fun to ride him. . . . I am glad he is OK. He is a fighter.”

The gelding has consecutive second-place finishes since the incident. He has one win in eight lifetime starts with five finishes in the money.

Weekend double puts Lukas back in Derby spotlight

Story Highlights

D. Wayne Lukas, at 77, has two Kentucky Derby prospects in Oxbow and Will Take Charge
Lukas is a four-time Kentucky Derby winner
Lukas, if he wins the Derby, would be the oldest trainer to win the run for the Roses

(PhatzRadio / USA Today) — He’s baaaaack!

After mostly misses and few hits on the prep road since Lexington Stakes winner Proud Citizen was the 2002 runner-up, four-time Kentucky Derby victor D. Wayne Lukas has started the 2013 prep season with a bang.

In a three-day span last weekend, Lukas and jockey Jon Court teamed to win the Fair Grounds’ $200,000 Lecomte with front-running Oxbow in an 11 1/2-length romp and Oaklawn’s $150,000 Smarty Jones with the gritty Will Take Charge, who won by a neck. The last time Lukas won two preps in such close proximity was 2000.

At age 77, Lukas could add another benchmark to his record-setting resume. He could become the oldest trainer to win America’s most beloved race, eclipsing the late Charlie Whittingham, who was 76 when Sunday Silence prevailed in 1989. His next victory in any Triple Crown race would give Lukas the all-time record at 14, breaking his tie with “Sunny” Jim Fitzsimmons.

Lukas pulled off the weekend parlay with new client Bluegrass Hall (Oxbow) and longtime client Willis Horton (Will Take Charge). Both colts are beautifully bred, with Will Take Charge out of multiple Grade I winner Take Charge Lady and therefore a half-brother to 2012 Florida Derby winner Take Charge Indy.

“I was really pleased with Oxbow’s race,” Lukas said. “That was a nice step forward. He’s always impressed us. … I’ve always had good luck with horses who have that efficiency of motion. Horsemen were telling me how dead that track was. The horses behind him were struggling more than he was. He’d never set foot on the track before and got over it beautifully. I think he’s the real deal.

“People say, ‘Well, what was behind him?’ Who knows? The point is, he did everything he was supposed to.”

Will Take Charge was very wide on the first turn from his extreme outside post. “He ran a lot farther than the rest of them,” Lukas said. “That was a gutsy effort.”

The trainer nicknamed “Coach” is not discounting that Titletown Five will make it — albeit belatedly after having a knee chip removed following his nine-length maiden win Oct. 28 — onto the Derby trail. Titletown Five’s name is a shout-out to the Green Bay Packers and the number worn by Louisville owner Paul Hornung, whose partners include Green Bay Hall of Fame defensive end Willie Davis and Packers’ executive committee member Ed Martin.

“It’s tight, but you’re talking about a very talented horse,” Lukas said.

Midwest at a glance

Favorite: Oxbow went wire to wire to win the Fair Grounds’ Lecomte by 11½ and has a wonderful pedigree for 1¼ miles, being a son of Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Awesome Again and out of a full sister to two-time Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Tiznow.

Ones to watch: Normandy Invasion (Remsen runner-up headed to Risen Star), Golden Soul (late-running Lecomte runner-up).

Outlook: Look for California and Florida horses to start streaming into Oaklawn Park and Fair Grounds for their second and third rounds of preps. Florida stables such as Todd Pletcher and Mark Casse are going to need to separate horses, and Fair Grounds and Oaklawn should be beneficiaries. Bob Baffert swept Oaklawn’s graded preps last year with his California horses and figures to send something to Arkansas.

In Kentucky: The Toyota Blue Grass, held over Keeneland’s Polytrack, should prove a fine race but the question again will be whether it has more to do with the Kentucky Derby or the Virginia Derby on turf. The Blue Grass is the goal of Kentucky Jockey Club winner Uncaptured — who is proven on both dirt and synthetic — and classy turf stakes-winners Balance the Books and Noble Tune. Turfway Park’s Spiral Stakes, whose winners have won (Animal Kingdom) and been fourth (Went the Day Well) in the past two Derbys, also should benefit from turf horses who need points.

Midwest points races

Feb. 18: Southwest (G3), mile, Oaklawn

Feb. 23: Risen Star (G2), 1 1/16 miles, Fair Grounds

Mar. 16: Rebel (G2), 1 1/16 miles, Oaklawn

Mar. 23: Spiral (G3), 1 1/8 miles (S), Turfway

Mar. 30: Louisiana Derby (G2), 1 1/8 miles, Fair Grounds

Apr. 13: Arkansas Derby (G1), 1 1/8 miles, Oaklawn

Apr. 13: s-Blue Grass (G1), 1 1/8 miles, Keeneland

Apr. 27: Derby Trial (G3), mile, Churchill Downs

s-synthetic

Rees writes for The (Louisville) Courier Journal

Horse Racing Recap: Bullet Catcher finishes second in Laurel Park debut is a post from: PhatzRadio.com

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Penn State Scandal: Charges against Graham Spanier key to proving Sandusky cover-up

November 2, 2012 By Admin

4ed4b841be1a6a5308be69d28709e73e Penn State Scandal: Charges against Graham Spanier key to proving Sandusky cover up

(PhatzRadio / SI Feature) — Don’t lie. Pretty simple, right? It’s one of the most important lessons we learn as children. But we all do it, because we think the truth is hurtful (“you look great today”), out of convenience (“I’m sorry I’m late — traffic was terrible”), desperation (“I didn’t realize the speed limit was 35, officer”) or out of ambition (“my résumé would look snazzier if I write that I graduated magna cum laude from Princeton at age 11. Now how do you spell ‘magna’?”)

There are small lies, white lies, and occasionally enormous whoppers of lies. Thursday afternoon in Pennsylvania, a man named Graham Spanier was indicted for something else: a rubber-band ball full of lies.

Did you ever make those rubber-band balls as a kid? You just wrap one rubber band over another — getting started is the hardest part — until they are the size of a marble, a golf ball and then a tennis ball. It gets to the point where you have no idea how many rubber bands you used, and you can’t see the first one.

That is what Spanier is accused of doing in the Jerry Sandusky case. Spanier was Penn State’s president. He was fired when the Sandusky sex-abuse allegations exploded nearly a year ago. Spanier is accused of lying a little bit more than a decade ago, then lying again, and again, one rubber band on top of the other, until there was an enormous ball of lies sitting in front of him.

How does this happen? Well, we don’t know for sure that it did — he will have his day in court. But if we want to understand why Pennsylvania attorney general Linda Kelly is going after Spanier and fellow administrators Tim Curley and Gary Schultz, I think it’s best to start with the rubber bands on the outside. Those were, allegedly, the final layers of lies. Peel them off, and maybe we can get to the core.

*****

Spanier was indicted on eight charges Thursday. Some of them get your blood flowing: perjury, endangering the welfare of children, failure to report allegations of abuse, conspiracy. Crime novels and blockbuster movies have been built around any one of those allegations. But the one that stood out to me is obstruction of justice. If the attorney general is right, then the final layer of lies starts there.

“Subpoenas were not complied with,” Kelly said in a news conference announcing the charges. “Very little of significance was provided to the grand jury until the Nov. 9, 2011 termination of Graham Spanier.”

Subpoenas were not complied with.

Perjury is notoriously difficult to prove. It is not just about lying. Prosecutors must prove the perjurer knowingly lied about something important. It can’t be an accident, forgetfulness or because of blunt trauma to the head.

And that is where those subpoenas come in. If Spanier and underlings Tim Curley and Gary Schultz really believed they had done nothing wrong, why wouldn’t they comply with subpoenas? If you were a juror, wouldn’t that make you suspicious?

And if you were an attorney general, wouldn’t that make you mad? And really suspicious?

Very little of significance was provided to the grand jury until the Nov. 9, 2011 termination of Graham Spanier.

Well, obviously Kelly would only say that for one reason: Very MUCH of significance was discovered AFTER the termination of Graham Spanier.

Peel off those last two rubber bands and the whole ball starts to unravel.

Kelly is not running for re-election. But she thinks the state can prove that these men knowingly and intentionally lied. And if the state can show that Penn State suppressed evidence and failed to comply with subpoenas … well, that makes the more famous allegations, of covering up for Sandusky many years ago, much more believable.

The trial will surely feature some small surprises and perhaps some enormous ones. But at heart, we probably have a pretty good feel for what each side will try to say. Prosecutors will say Spanier, Curley and Schultz intentionally hid Sandusky’s crimes, first to protect the institution and then to protect themselves.

The defendants will say no, that’s not true. They will argue they never saw clear evidence of Sandusky’s crimes. They will say Sandusky was a pathological liar and sexual predator who fooled thousands of people, not just them.

So much of what the attorney general said Thursday is old news — extremely relevant, but well-known. She said Penn State administrators “did not meet with McQueary until over a week after the 2001 incident occurred.” She said in e-mails, Curley was “seemingly using words to try to mask the true topic of the e-mail.” She said he referred to the 1998 investigation of Sandusky as the “first situation” and victims as “guests.”

This is all important. It is the core of the scandal. But it is hard to prove a crime based on e-mails that were intentionally vague. Kelly made it clear Thursday that she thinks she has more than that. There is an old saying, most commonly associated with Watergate, that the cover-up is worse than the crime. In this case, the cover-up may prove the crime happened.

Penn State Scandal: Charges against Graham Spanier key to proving Sandusky cover-up is a post from: PhatzRadio.com

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MLB: Rhode Island sues Schilling over loan guarantee

November 2, 2012 By Admin

Former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling #38 throws out the first pitch after being inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame prior to the game against the Minnesota Twins during the game on August 3, 2012 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts.
(August 2, 2012 – Source: Jared Wickerham/Getty Images North America)

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Island’s economic development agency on Thursday sued former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling and some of its former officials, saying they committed fraud and other acts that misled the state into approving a $75 million loan guarantee to his failed video game company.

The suit was filed in Rhode Island Superior Court four months after 38 Studios filed for bankruptcy following a spectacular collapse that has likely left the state on the hook for as much as $100 million.

Among other things, the lawsuit claims that executives at 38 Studios, as well as former Economic Development Corp. Executive Director Keith Stokes and others, knew the company would run out of money by 2012, but concealed that from the EDC board, which made the final decision on whether to back the deal.

The board in 2010 lured 38 Studios to Providence from Massachusetts with the loan guarantee.

The lawsuit also alleges that Schilling, 38 Studios executives and others engaged in racketeering and conspiracy. The suit does not ask for a specific dollar amount but wants Schilling and others to repay the bonds and seeks triple damages.

In addition to Schilling, who founded the company, and Stokes, the suit names Michael Saul, a former top official at the EDC; two law firms that worked with the agency; a financial adviser for the state; Wells Fargo Securities and Barclays Capital, investment banks hired by the EDC to assist in issuing bonds for the deal; and an insurance company for 38 Studios.

Gov. Lincoln Chafee said the EDC board, of which he is the chairman, authorized the legal action in an attempt to recoup some of the state’s money.

“My message to Rhode Islanders is this: I know that you work hard for your paychecks, and for your tax dollars to be squandered is unacceptable,” Chafee said in a video statement. “The Board’s legal action was taken to rectify a grave injustice put upon the people of Rhode Island.”

Chafee said he would not comment further.

Messages left for Schilling, Stokes and Saul weren’t immediately returned.

38 Studios collapsed into bankruptcy in June. Rhode Island is likely responsible for about $100 million when interest is factored in on the bonds the state issued on the company’s behalf.

The suit says that EDC board members were not experts in “law, lending, video gaming or economic development” and relied on information from Stokes, Saul, Schilling and others at 38 Studios. The suit says the company failed because of risks that were not disclosed to the board “but were or should have been known” by the defendants.

The suit also says the EDC board was misled about whether 38 Studios would have enough money to finish the video game, codenamed Copernicus, that was critical to its success. It says the company’s own financial projections showed a shortfall of about $22 million of the estimated $75 million needed. The company got only about $50 million of the $75 million in bond funds because some was kept in reserve.

The suit says the defendants should have known it was “likely that 38 Studios would run out of cash and go out of business by 2012.”

Schilling’s firm tried to raise outside capital but was unable.

The suit also says that an EDC analyst who raised questions about the loan guarantee — and suggested he could not support it – was later excluded from doing further work on it by Saul, who oversaw the agency’s financing programs at the time. As a result, the agency’s customary risk analysis of the deal was never completed or submitted to the board, according to the suit.

The suit accuses Saul and attorney Robert Stolzman, who served as EDC secretary, of withholding from the board “negative” opinions about the proposed deal, including from two consultants who said they wouldn’t invest $75 million in 38 Studios if they were in the EDC’s position.

In May, the company laid off its nearly 300 employees in Providence and more at a studio in Maryland it acquired in 2009.

The suit says Wells Fargo also earned $473,000 in “hidden commissions” from 38 Studios that the state didn’t know about – and which ate into the total available to run the company.

Dana Crothers Obrist, a spokeswoman for Wells Fargo, said the company does not believe the lawsuit has merit, and it is prepared to defend itself vigorously.

A spokesman for Barclays had no comment.

One of the law firms named in the suit, Adler Pollock & Sheehan, which had served as general counsel to the EDC, and employs Stoltzman, said the suit reflects a “misappreciation” of its role and that it would “vigorously” defend itself.

Thomas Moses, president of Moses Afonso, which worked on the bond sale and was named in the suit, said he had not seen the suit as of Thursday afternoon. But he called any lawsuit involving his firm “frivolous and without merit.”

Separately, state law enforcement authorities in Rhode Island are investigating 38 Studios’ finances. A federal probe resulted in no charges.

MLB: Rhode Island sues Schilling over loan guarantee is a post from: PhatzRadio.com

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NHL Lockout: NHL plans to withdraw proposal, more games likely to be cancelled

October 26, 2012 By Admin

b3789dcb0fb9024e511dc3884c2a6211 NHL Lockout: NHL plans to withdraw proposal, more games likely to be cancelled

(Phatforums News / ESPN) — The NHL plans to withdraw its most recent proposal to the NHLPA once the Thursday deadline passes, according to a report from ESPN:

“When we delivered the proposal last Tuesday, we told them it would be on the table through today,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told ESPN.com Thursday afternoon. “Having not reached agreement through today, I expect that we’ll formally notify the union Friday that the proposal is no longer on the table. We’re going to take it back internally and figure out where we go from here.”

NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr was not surprised by the league’s withdrawal. He commented,

“Review the history here: they make a proposal, it’s essentially a take it or leave it, we respond on the core economics, they take 10 minutes and say no…. It takes two to negotiate. They seem to be really good at imposing deadlines and issuing ultimatums and having lockouts. It seems to be something they’re well-practiced at.”

Daly said the proposal would no longer work because it was created under the pretense of having an 82-game season. The league is expected to cancel games through the end of November on Friday.

NHL Lockout: NHL plans to withdraw proposal, more games likely to be cancelled is a post from: PhatzRadio.com

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NHL Lockout: Sidney Crosby optimistic NHL season will be salvaged

October 12, 2012 By Admin

19a9bdafcebc66672c5bf9c37bd74950 NHL Lockout: Sidney Crosby optimistic NHL season will be salvaged
Penguins star Sidney Crosby has spent the last few weeks skating with a few of his teammates at Pittsburgh’s practice facility. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

(PhatzRadio / CBC Sports) — Sidney Crosby can’t even get through a conversation with his grandmother without the topic being raised.

A phone call back to Nova Scotia over Thanksgiving weekend inevitably veered towards the status of the NHL’s collective bargaining talks and included the three-billion dollar question being asked throughout the hockey world: When will the season start?

“It’s all anybody wants to talk about,” Crosby said Thursday.

That includes the Pittsburgh Penguins captain, who patiently fielded questions from reporters after skating in virtual anonymity at a suburban practice facility. It was a morning where he should have been preparing for the season opener — Friday’s game against the Islanders was one of six Penguins games that has already wiped out by the lockout — but instead found himself going through drills with a handful of teammates.

They are the optimistic few who are staying in town with hopes that a settlement will soon be reached and training camp can open. At this point, Crosby isn’t even willing to entertain the notion that the work stoppage could threaten the entire season.

“I can’t see it getting to that point, I really can’t,” he told The Canadian Press. “It hasn’t even cross my mind to be honest with you. I think, if anything, my thoughts are more just about whether the NHL has a date in mind [for the season to start] and just when they’re actually going to start negotiating.”

It didn’t happen this week during two days of meetings between the league and NHL Players’ Association in New York. Those sides broke off talks on Thursday afternoon and again reported no progress in their ongoing stalemate.

The first two weeks of the regular season have already been wiped out and cost the NHL almost $250 million US in lost revenue, according to deputy commissioner Bill Daly.

Much of Crosby’s optimism is rooted in the growth he’s seen during seven years in the league. He was skating with the QMJHL’s Rimouski Oceanic during the 2004-05 lockout and helped propel the sport to new heights when the “new” NHL returned the following season.

“There’s a lot of momentum,” said Crosby. “I just really hope that the [owners] aren’t taking that for granted. At the end of the day, I think hockey’s in a good place and everyone’s done a lot of good things to get it there. …

“It would be pretty unfortunate for negotiation tactics or something like that to really ruin things.”

The timing of the current lockout is particularly tough for Crosby, who was limited to just 63 regular-season games the last two seasons because of concussion symptoms. He’s now feeling better than ever — “I’ve come a long way” — but believes all of the time he spent on the sidelines recently has helped him stay patient during negotiations.

Crosby certainly looked as though he hadn’t missed a beat while being put through skating and stickhandling drills by a local skills instructor on Thursday. Wearing the black NHLPA-issued sweater that has become the uniform of locked-out players around North America, he weaved powerfully through pylons with his signature skating stride.

Other than the talent on the ice it could have been any session in any small-town arena, with only about a dozen fans watching from the seats. Three of them wore No. 87 sweaters.

It appears as though this will remain Crosby’s reality for the foreseeable future as the cost of insurance on the $104.4-million, 12-year extension he signed this summer makes Europe a less appealing option for him than others. He could find himself overseas eventually, but it would likely only happen if the entire NHL season was cancelled.

“I don’t have a date in mind,” said Crosby.

His entire focus is devoted to staying sharp in case a new CBA comes together quickly. Crosby was among 20 NHLers who spent last week training at altitude in Vail, Colo., with Andy O’Brien and he’s been skating four times per week with teammates during his time in Pittsburgh.

“Even when you don’t see a lot of progress in negotiations, that can’t change what you do as far as how you prepare,” said Crosby. “I think it’s important to just kind of remind yourself of that.”

And so the face of the NHL waits along with everyone else.

Crosby would prefer to believe that the owners are committed to making a deal, but like many fellow players he can’t help but wonder if the lockout was something they long ago decided to use as a means to coax a better deal out of the union.

“That’s how negotiations work sometimes,” he said.

Crosby sat in on the Aug. 14 negotiating session in Toronto when the NHLPA presented its initial proposal and flew to New York last month for a gathering of almost 300 players just before the lockout. He’s also keeping close tabs on the daily progress of talks and is confident the sides will find something that works sooner rather than later.

“It’s still early,” said Crosby. “There’s time for decisions to be made and to make sure that nobody does anything that they’re going to regret.”

NHL Lockout: Sidney Crosby optimistic NHL season will be salvaged is a post from: PhatzRadio.com

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NHL Lockout: NHL cancels regular season games through Oct. 24

October 4, 2012 By Admin

(PhatzRadio / SI) — The NHL announced the cancellation of regular season games from Oct. 11 to Oct. 24 in an official statement on Thursday afternoon. A total of 82 games had been scheduled during that time period.

The league and the NHLPA have been in meetings this week to come to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement after the previous one expired on Sept. 15. Preseason games were cancelled last week, and an estimated $100 million in revenues have already been lost as a result. The last meeting on Tuesday lasted over two hours, but made “no progress,” according to NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly.

Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star Tribune weighed in:

Michael Russo @Russostrib

Amazing NHL puts out such vague release. Cancellation of sched/games are different. If games can be rescheduled, refund policy won’t kick in

NHL Lockout: NHL cancels regular season games through Oct. 24 is a post from: PhatzRadio.com

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Game-playing: 4 new rules

August 17, 2012 By Admin Leave a Comment

ad6b218d1e4123b2a68b3b204429732b Game playing: 4 new rules

(Phatforums News / Match.com) — A few months ago, to my delight and utter shock, I found myself dating a bona fide gem. Determined not to “mess this one up,” I did everything I could to play my cards right. I gave him space when he needed it, was careful not to call too often, and more or less stayed away from (as my best male friend put it) “any psycho girlfriend moves.” Then, seemingly out of nowhere on a sunny Thursday afternoon, I received The Breakup Call.

When I complained about this turn of events to a good friend, she told me I’d been “too available” throughout my relationship. I replied that I did so because I genuinely liked spending time with him and I wasn’t interested in making up fictional plans in order to keep him waiting. Self-righteously, I stated that I had very little interest in playing games. She suggested I reconsider my plan. “A little game-playing never hurt anyone,” she told me.

Which got me to thinking: Can two people create a healthy relationship without game-playing, or is it necessary in order to instill a little excitement? Have the rules of the game changed in the past few years? A quick poll of my savvy single friends and experts revealed that yes, I had a lot to learn. Here’s a rundown of what they told me:

Rule #1: Game-playing can be exciting, not cruel
For starters, my friends told me that I had to get over the idea that games are only played by insecure, manipulative liars who are out to destroy the self-esteem of singles everywhere. Without game-playing, they argued, dating can actually get pretty dull. For example: If you get a call or email back from someone immediately, where’s the fun in that? Sure, it can seem cruel to make someone wait (or having to wait yourself), but take it for what it really is: a delicious dose of anticipation. It could pan out… or it could not. But either way, if a person does like you, he or she will call — it may just be a few days later than expected. What’s the rush? So I learned that I don’t need to accept an offer for a date tomorrow night, nor do I need to give my answer right away. Slowing things down and being a bit unavailable can be good!

Rule #2: Ladies, always take his number
Natasha, who is a close friend of mine, has a hard-and-fast rule: never give out your number, even to guys you like. A few nights ago while we were at dinner, I saw her wisdom at work when some guys at the next table began chatting us up. When one of them asked Natasha for her digits, she refused, but said that she’d be more than happy to take his instead. “But when a girl takes your number, that means she’s not going to call,” the guy argued. Natasha coyly replied, “It doesn’t mean I’m not going to call you, it just means that I have a choice in whether I’d like to talk to you or not. If I give you my number, I lose my right to vote.” Instantly, her suitor’s interest level leaped higher — and the reason is quite simple: Natasha was playing her own version of hard to get, and he was very intrigued.

Rule #3: Guys, slow down with the compliments
Men have been taught that women love compliments — and in many cases, this is true. But Neil Strauss, pickup guru and best-selling author of such books as The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists, warns that in the early stages of dating, compliments can actually backfire. Sure, telling a woman that you can’t take your eyes off of her is flattering… but she’ll ultimately be more interested if she doesn’t know she’s absolutely riveting to you. Instead, throw out a more questionable comment, like: “Those are nice nails. Are they real?” or “I like your skirt — I’ve seen a few women wearing that very same one recently.” Your goal is not to hurt your date, but merely to make her question whether you’re really interested in her romantically. If done right, she’ll be eating out of your hand once you follow up with a more sincere statement, such as, “I’d love to see you again. How about Saturday?”

Rule #4: Have some tried-and-true charm routines on standby
While it’d be nice to think that you can always just “be yourself” on a date and bowl someone over effortlessly, let’s face it: no one’s scintillating 24/7. So if you’re face-to-face with someone you’re dying to impress, it can help to have some tried-and-true “routines” ready. A “routine” is any story from your life, eye-catching conversation topic, or party trick that always wins kudos from a crowd, says Strauss.

Take note of what’s worked in your own social interactions. Maybe you always get laughs when you regale people with the tale of that time you lost your car in a parking lot and wandered around for hours. Or maybe the question “I’m totally stumped about what to get my mom/dad for her/his birthday. Any ideas?” always gets people talking. These are the kinds of conversation starters you should have up your sleeve before heading to a party or off on a date. The way I look at it, this form of game-playing — plotting out ways to impress the object of your affection — can also be seen as doing one’s prep work (which is definitely an asset in the world of dating).

Natalie Krinsky is the author of Chloe Does Yale.

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Horse Racing Recap: Jockey killed in fall during California race

July 6, 2012 By Admin

f11f15288f145608ffbbd3ade4ef42c0 Horse Racing Recap: Jockey killed in fall during California race

PLEASANTON, Calif. (AP) – A jockey has died after falling from his horse during a race at the Alameda County Fairgrounds.

Authorities say 33-year-old Jorge (HOR’-haye) Herrera fell during the eighth race Thursday afternoon and may have been hit by his own or another horse. He suffered head injuries and died at a hospital.

Video of the race and witnesses indicate that Herrera was thrown after his horse, Morito, clipped another horse.

Herrera was from Jalisco, Mexico. He started in more than 1,000 races and won 55.

He’s the first jockey to die at the Alameda County Fairgrounds since 1975.

Doctor Chit wins Belmont’s Western Larla Stakes

NEW YORK (AP) – Doctor Chit, the 3-5 favorite, led all the way Thursday, beating Sportswriter by 3 1/4 lengths in the $85,000 Western Larla Stakes for 3-year-olds at Belmont Park.

After losing his debut at Saratoga last year, Doctor Chit has reeled off three straight wins for trainer Todd Pletcher. Javier Castellano was aboard as the colt ran six furlongs in 1:08.90.

Doctor Chit paid $3.50, $2.50 and $2.10. Sportswriter returned $3.60 and $2.50, and Saint of Saints paid $2.60 to show.

Googoo Gaagaa top choice for Yonkers Trot

YONKERS, N.Y. (AP) – Googoo Gaagaa tops a five-horse field for Saturday’s Yonkers Trot, the first leg of trotting’s Triple Crown.

The 3-year-old colt has won 11 of 12 races, and is coming off a world record 1:50 4/5 effort in last weekend’s Earl Beal Jr. Memorial final at Pocono. The time is the fastest over a five-eighths mile oval.

Richard Hans is the breeder, owner and trainer of Googoo Gaagaa. The driver is Corey Callahan.

Also entered in the $450,000 race are Stormin Normand, Market Share, Muscolo and Archangel. Post time is about 9 p.m.

The other races in the trotting Triple Crown are the Hambletonian at East Rutherford, N.J., and the Kentucky Futurity in Lexington, Ky.

Horse Racing Recap: Jockey killed in fall during California race is a post from: PhatzRadio.com

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Entertainment: Musician Bob Welch kills self

June 8, 2012 By Admin Leave a Comment

5589f5f3220d6d386007b226fe334b49 Entertainment: Musician Bob Welch kills self
Bob Welch played guitar with Fleetwood Mac starting from 1971 to 1974.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS

NEW: Welch’s death is “devastating” and “so,so sad,” Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks says
Welch’s wife found his body in their Nashville home Thursday afternoon, police say
“All indications are that it was a suicide,” a police spokesman says
Welch played guitar with Fleetwood Mac from 1971 until late 1974

(CNN) — Bob Welch, a guitarist who played with Fleetwood Mac before launching a solo career, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his chest, Nashville, Tennessee, police said Thursday. He was 66.

Welch’s wife found his body in their Nashville home about 12:15 p.m., Nashville Police spokesman Don Aaron said.

“All indications are that it was a suicide,” Aaron said. A suicide note was found, he said.

Welch played guitar with Fleetwood Mac starting in 1971. He left the group in late 1974, just before Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined the group.

Nicks said in a statement that Welch’s death was “devastating.”

“I had many great times with him after Lindsey and I joined Fleetwood Mac,” singer Nicks said. “He was an amazing guitar player — he was funny, sweet — and he was smart.

“I am so very sorry for his family and for the family of Fleetwood Mac — so,so sad,” Nicks said.

Welch’s biggest hits, “Sentimental Lady” and “Ebony Eyes” came from his debut solo album “French Kiss,” released in November 1977.

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Golf Recap: Stallings leads by one after wild day at Memorial

June 1, 2012 By Admin

7095d4467d8748249273f0afa7e2197a Golf Recap: Stallings leads by one after wild day at Memorial
Scott Stallings plays a bunker shot on the 14th hole during the first round of the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance at Muirfield Village Golf Club on May 31, 2012 in Dublin, Ohio.
(May 30, 2012 – Source: Scott Halleran/Getty Images North America)

DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) — Erik Compton considers the Memorial a special week no matter how he plays, knowing his second heart transplant came from a donor in Ohio.

The opening round was even sweeter with three birdies on the back nine late Thursday afternoon at Muirfield Village for a 5-under 67, leaving him one-shot out of the lead after a day that featured a timely rally by Rory McIlroy and a surprising departure by Phil Mickelson.

When the day ended, Scott Stalling was atop the leaderboard with a 66 and hardly anyone noticed.

Compton has been an amazing story as long as he has played golf. He had his first heart transplant at 12, played in the Walker Cup after a solid career at Georgia, nearly died from a heart attack on his way home from the golf course in 2007, had a second transplant in May 2008, and earned his PGA Tour card for the first time last year through the Nationwide Tour.

“It’s just a great story, obviously, and it’s a great place – for me, it’s a special place,” Compton said. “For me, there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about my donor. To be able to play here, regardless of whether I play good or bad, it’s just always a nice week.”

It could have been another bad week for McIlroy.

Coming off back-to-back missed cuts that cost him his No. 1 ranking and ramped up the scrutiny, McIlroy took a quadruple bogey on his third hole of the tournament when he went from the bunker to the water, back over the pond to the drop area on a forward tee, and then into another bunker. He blasted onto the green and took two putts for a 7, and there were murmurs from the crowd to see him at 4-over par so early.

The next 15 holes were much better, and he rallied for a 71.

“It wasn’t the start I wanted to get off to, being 4 over through three holes, especially after the last few weeks,” McIlroy said. “I was just like, `Here we go again.’ But I hung in there well, and proud of myself for the way I just fought back. To finish the round under par, I thought was a really good effort.”

Tiger Woods, playing in the group behind him, chopped up the 18th hole for a double bogey and still managed a 2-under 70.

“I didn’t do anything great and I didn’t do anything poorly,” Wood said. “I was just very consistent. And I think with the golf course being the way it’s set up, you just have to be that way. … Over the next three days, hopefully I can play as well as I did today.”

Mickelson wasn’t anywhere near those scores, and when his round ended, he was nowhere near the golf course. Mickelson walked out of the scoring hut after signing for a 79 – his worst score ever at the Memorial – and said he was withdrawing because of mental fatigue.

He said playing three straight weeks, followed by a trip to Europe for his wife’s 40th birthday, took too much out of him and he needed extra rest with the U.S. Open only two weeks away. Mickelson was among four players who withdrew after a 79 or worse, though none of the others are four-time major champions who were inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

“I feel like it’s the responsibility of a player to see through your commitment and finish the tournament and so forth,” Mickelson said. “And I’m kind of overruling that just a touch, because I’m trying to think big picture on what’s the best way for me to get ready for the Open.”

The bigger picture might have been the fans in the gallery using their cellphones for photos of Mickelson, Masters champion Bubba Watson and Rickie Fowler. Mickelson has a peculiar way of sending a message, though he danced around a question of whether distractions played a role. He said only he struggled to focus from a busy month.

Watson and Fowler painted a different picture.

“It took Phil out of his game,” Watson said.

Fowler, a little more diplomatic, said the players had to restart their pre-shot routines because of the phone cameras.

“You could see Phil was a little fatigued and was having trouble blocking it out a bit,” Fowler said.

Muirfield Village was enough to get anyone’s attention, even those who had hardly anyone watching them. The first round was played under bright sunshine most of the day, and the course was as fast as it has been in years. Only four players managed to break 70 from the morning wave. Later in the afternoon, as the breeze subsided and some cloud cover arrived, Stalling, Compton and Spencer Levin made a surge.

Stallings had nine one-putt greens and chipped in for eagle on the par-5 seventh. Levin holed a 25-foot eagle on the seventh hole and made birdie on the eighth until dropping a shot on his final hole to join Compton at 67.

Defending champion Steve Stricker bogeyed his last three holes for a 73. Luke Donald, back to No. 1 after winning at Wentworth, felt like he shot much higher. Thanks to his superb short game, particularly three putts to save par from bunkers, he managed a 71.

McIlroy hit three balls in the water on his front nine, though he saved par on one of them. His putter saved him. The 23-year-old from Northern Ireland twice made 8-foot par putts, avoid a three-putt on the 18th with a 6-foot par putt and sprinkled in enough birdies to stay in the game.

The turning point came at the par-5 fifth, when he hooked his tee shot for the gallery. He cursed through clenched teeth, and holding his driver behind him, whacked himself in the back with the grip a couple of times. From the left rough, he played an aggressive fairway metal, low and hot and dead straight, avoiding the water down the left side of the fairway. The ball came up about 15 yards short of the green, and he pitched in for eagle.

“I see enough good shots out there to give me encouragement,” McIlroy said, one eye toward his title defense in the U.S. Open in two weeks. “There’s still a few that I don’t like, but as long as the good ones are in there, then you see the positives.”

Golf Recap: Stallings leads by one after wild day at Memorial is a post from: PhatzRadio.com

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