INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The field is set for the Indianapolis 500. And, more importantly, its full.

On an otherwise ho-hum day of qualifying, nine cars made the field on their first attempts, ending any potential last-minute drama and assuring the May 27 race would start with a full field of 33 cars for 64th consecutive year. Things went almost as smoothly Sunday as race organizers could have expected.

Were happy to see it, Indianapolis Motor Speedway CEO Jeff Belskus said. There was very little doubt in my mind that we wouldnt. To put it another way, I was confident we would end up with 33 cars.

The script could have been better.

For the first time since 2004, there were no bump attempts _ taking away the intrigue of last years enthralling finish when Marco Andretti bumped his way into the race by knocking out teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay on the final four-lap qualifying attempt of the month. Heck, there werent even any rumors floating around Gasoline Alley about late additions to Indys entry list.

The three slowest qualifiers, all of whom qualified at less than 215 mph, didnt have to sweat out anything. It will be the first time the 11th row is filled with cars under 215 since 204, too.

Despite getting a rude welcome to the Brickyards 2.5-mile oval, former Formula One driver Jean Alesi still made the race. The Frenchman will start 33rd after finishing with a four-lap qualifying average of 210.094 _ the slowest speed of any Indy starter since the late Fermin Velez went 206.512 in 1997.

Its a big relief for me to finally get into this race, said Alesi, one of seven rookies in the Indy field. This is an amazing experience for me. Im 47 years old, and I have learned more in one week than I did in my entire Formula One career.

Now the bigger questions.

Simona de Silvestro and Alesi will be the only drivers using the lumbering Lotus engines in next Sundays race. Theyll start 32nd and 33rd. De Silvestro had the second-slowest qualification speed at 214.393.

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Full field set for Indianapolis 500

Cam Newton took the league by storm in his rookie season in 2011 and established himself as an electrifying playmaker who could make plays with his big arm or with his athleticism.

Newton appears to have a bright future in the league, and his play answered questions that anyone may have had about his validity as a No. 1 overall selection in the draft. That doesn't preclude him from struggling in his second NFL season.

While many expect Newton to continue to evolve and get better as a quarterback, the case of Sam Bradford is important to keep in mind.

Bradford, much like Newton, was the No. 1 pick in his draft class and took over the starting job at quarterback from day one. Both quarterbacks lived up to the hype and put up good numbers on their way to claiming the award for top rookie.

Here's how their passing stats from their rookie seasons compare:

Bradford: 354-of-590, 60 percent, 3,512 yards, 18 TD, 15 INT

Newton: 310-of-517, 60 percent, 4,051 yards, 21 TD, 17 INT

Newton's numbers are slightly better but still comparable. Bradford struggled to match those numbers and couldn't stay healthy in his second year as a starter. His completion percentage dropped to 53.5 percent, and he only threw six touchdowns in 10 starts while throwing just as many interceptions.

With Bradford's contemporary case of a sophomore slump, Newton could follow suit.

The counterpoint to the Newton-Bradford comparison is that Newton was also a threat on the ground and rushed for a record 14 touchdowns in addition to his solid passing numbers. While that's a valid point, it doesn't guarantee that he'll avoid the sophomore slump.

Continue reading here:
Cam Newton and 5 NFL Sophomores Who Will Struggle in 2013

May 17, 2012 - Arena Football League (AFL) Jacksonville Sharks JACKSONVILLE - The ArenaBowl XXIV Champion Jacksonville Sharks made a pair of additions Thursday, shuffling the team's roster prior to Saturday's Week 11 matchup with the Iowa Barnstormers. The team announced that quarterback Collin Drafts and defensive lineman Jimmy Saddler-McQueen have been assigned to the team's roster.

The 27-year-old Drafts (6'3", 215), began the 2012 season with the Orlando Predators, starting the team's first four games. With Orlando, Drafts completed 76 of 134 passes for 815 yards, throwing 15 touchdowns against eight interceptions. He also ran for 51 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 23 carries and is currently the Predators' second-leading rusher.

This is Drafts' third season in the Arena Football League, as he debuted with the Dallas Vigilantes in 2010. In that year, Drafts completed nearly 61% of his passes and threw 60 touchdowns against 15 interceptions. He saw limited action with the Predators in 2011, accumulating 12 touchdown passes against just two picks. Drafts is a native of Beaufort, South Carolina and played collegiate football at Charleston Southern.

The 25-year-old Saddler-McQueen (6'3", 250) is an AFL rookie who began this season with the Tampa Bay Storm. He played in four games with the Storm, including the team's Week 4 matchup against Jacksonville, recording five tackles (four solo) and a pass breakup.

After finishing his collegiate career at Texas A&M-Kingsville, Saddler-McQueen signed with the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent prior to the 2010 NFL season. Waived by the Bears prior to training camp, Saddler-McQueen caught on with the Dallas Cowboys, appearing in his first career game against the New York Giants in November of that season. Saddler-McQueen also spent time on the St. Louis Rams' practice squad during the 2010 season.

The Sharks also announced Thursday that the team has activated fullback Rendrick Taylor from injured reserve, while offensive lineman Josh Vernon has been placed on injured reserve and wide receiver V'Keon Lacey has been placed on league suspension.

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The date was July 9th 2006, and two European giants battled to penalties in Berlin in an attempt to capture world football's ultimate prize; the World Cup trophy. For Italy and France, such a stage was commonplace. Italy was playing in its sixth final, while France was playing in its second, having also finished third twice; in 1958 and 1986.

But for as much glory as the 2006 World Cup finals brought the two nations, 2010 was a horror show, to put it lightly.

The Azzurri failed to advance out a group that featured New Zealand, Slovakia and Paraguay, and France's squad fell to shambles before the group stage had even concluded.

When the dust was settled, the world was witnessing a rare occurrence; neither Italy nor France had qualified for the knockout stages of the tournament.

Two years later, European football is ready to begin one of its most prestigious tournaments; Euro 2012.

For Italy and France, this is the perfect time to atone for their poor showings in South Africa, with the rest of Europe (and the world) watching.

It is also a good measurement of the progress the two sides have made towards rebuilding their national image and showing what they have to offer in Brazil come the 2014 finals.

I believe that both countries are going to make deep runs in this tournament, and they have assembled squads who will be able to play with anyone they meet.

YOUTH

Both Italy and France have a plethora of young talent on their preliminary rosters that are going to be instrumental in turning the two nation's fortunes around.

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Euro 2012: Two Recent World Cup Finalists Look to Atone for Lost Glory

May 16, 2012 - Northwoods League (Northwoods) Mankato MoonDogs MANKATO, Minn.--The Mankato MoonDogs Baseball Club, a member of the Northwoods League, is pleased to announce the commitment of infielders Trey Nielson, Drew Stankiewicz and catcher, Zach Luevanos to play for the MoonDogs in the 2012 season.

Nielson, a six-foot-two-inch, 195-pound, sophomore of The University of Utah, was drafted out of high school in the 2010 MLB draft during the 42nd round by the Chicago Cubs. In his freshman season with the Ute's Nielson was second on the team in homeruns with nine. He was named the 2011 Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American recipient. In 2012, Nielson is currently hitting .232.

"Trey holds a big frame for third base which will be an advantage for him to solidify his position," said Field Manager Mike Orchard.

In the 2011 MLB draft, Stankiewicz, a five-foot-10-inch, 185-pound Freshman of Arizona State University was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 4oth round. Known to have "quick field hands" and a "flashy glove," Stankiewicz completed his high school career boasting a .672 slugging percentage with seven homeruns. In his first season with the Sun Devils, Stankiewicz is hitting .269.

"Drew is an exceptional player that can play multiple skilled positions," said Orchard. "He has a lot of potential to do well for us."

Luevanos, a five-foot-nine-inch, 208-pound junior of Lamar University is currently hitting .214 in his first season with the Cardinals. Before attending LU, the Corpus Christi, Texas native led Seminole State College (Okla.) in RBIs with 52 and held a .343 batting average.

"Zach moves well behind the plate, he is a hard-nosed catcher that will get the job done," said Orchard.

The MoonDogs home opener is scheduled for Friday, June 1 at 7:05 p.m. against the St. Cloud Rox at Franklin Rogers Park. Season and single game tickets are now on sale at the MoonDogs office located at 1221 Caledonia Street. For more information, visit our website http://www.mankatomoondogs.com or call the MoonDogs office at 507-625-7047.

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MoonDogs Secure Final Additions to Roster

Yesterday at 12:00 AM

By Ben McCanna bmccanna@centralmaine.com Staff Writer

WINSLOW -- Town councilors faced a variety of significant issues during their Monday meeting, some of them contentious.

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The council approved, 61, a second reading of the 20122013 budget for $20,654,249 which will hold the current property tax rate at $15.50 per $1,000 of assessed valuation. Councilor Jerry Quirion was opposed. Tax due dates were also set for Oct. 12, Dec. 14, March 8, 2013, and June 14, 2013, which is a departure from the towns usual two payment-per-year system.

Town Manager Mike Heavener announced that the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development accepted a letter of intent regarding a $400,000 community development block grant and has invited the town to apply for the grant. It will help Orion Ropeworks upgrade equipment and hire about 25 additional employees, Heavener said.

The council approved, 70, an increase in the sewer rate. Residents will now be charged $2.60 per 100 cubic feet of sewage, an increase of 50 cents per 100 cubic feet. It is the first rate increase since 2009.

Councilor Raymond Caron announced he would not run for re-election this year, leaving an open seat for District 4.

In addition to approving a second reading of next year's $20 million budget and raising the sewer rate for the first time since 2009, the council hosted an open discussion on the future of the Winslow Municipal Track; debated options for a proposed expansion of the police station; and approved a nonbinding resolution that calls for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Track reconstruction considered

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Winslow councilors tackle variety of items

14-05-2012 17:34 Yaniv Construction Los Angeles CA New Home Construction Kitchen Remodeling Room Additions Landscaping Pools and Spas Framing Garages Commercial Construction Complete Home Remodeling Bathroom Remodeling Second Story Additions Hardscapes Custom Homes Basements Roofing Residential Construction

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Kitchen Remodeling, Yaniv Construction Los Angeles CA - Video

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It's a sure sign of spring in the thousand Islands region as Boldt Castle opens its doors for thousands of tourists. Our Amanda Kelley takes us to Heart Island for a look at the historic castle and the treasures it holds inside.

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HEART ISLAND, N.Y. - -It's the heart of the 1000 Islands and it holds a love story. Boldt Castle on Heart Island opened it's doors for its 35th season and has already welcomed hundreds of visitors this weekend.

Colorado resident George Acree said, "We just decided to come and see the castle because of its message more or less. A love story."

Canadian resident Gage Stephens said, "Everybody talked about coming to Boldt Castle and said you have to come see it, so here we are."

This historic 122-room Castle was started by George Boldt in the 1900's, a labor of love for his wife Louise. When she passed suddenly construction stopped. But for the past 73 years the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority has worked diligently to restore the castle to its original intended beauty.

Boldt Facilities Director Shane Sanford said, "Thousand Island Bridge Authority has invested about 34 million dollars over the past 35 years here at the Boldt Facilities here and the Boldt Castle and the Boldt Yacht House and have attracted about six million visitors over that period of time."

And with each new season at Boldt Castle comes new additions and this year on Heart Island is no different. A new state of the art theater was added on the second floor and the old theater area will be converted back into the Butler's Pantry in 2013. Visitors say they enjoy exploring and learning about the new and old at each turn.

Acree said, "You read and hear about castles, but to actually be in one see one, touching walking, it's pretty overwhelming."

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Boldt Castle opens for season with new features

When I was in AP Biology in high school, my fantastic teacher Mr. Backiel would occasionally favor us with what he termed a birdwalk. This basically meant an anecdote or story only tangentially related to what we were supposed to be studying. For example, a story about a whole family who died at Thanksgiving dinner when they ate three-bean salad that had been infected with a bacteria in the canning process. Obviously, these were the best class periods. What follows is a birdwalk of epic proportions*.

With the arrival of the playoffs and another chance at redemption-via-championship for LeBron James, the doubters and the cheerleaders are up in arms. With the Heat trailing as time wound down in Game 4 of the series against the Knicks, James wasnt the one with the ball in his hand. He didnt even touch the ball on the final play. For some, its just more evidence. Theyonly see him giving up the ball or not asserting himself and concluding that hes not the equal of Bryant or Michael Jordan. But what if hes the equal of Eric Clapton?

Seriously. Hear me out. Although not a high school phenom like James, Clapton joined the Yardbirds in 1963 at the age of 18 but after the Yardbirds scored a hit with For Your Love in 1965, they began pushing their sound more towards pop and Clapton left to join John Mayalls Bluesbreakers, with whom he recorded Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton. The album showcases Claptons prodigious guitar talent and contains several of what remain his finest guitar solos on tracks like Steppin Out and Have You Heard. As it was with LeBron James play for St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, what became known as The Beano Album (because Clapton is reading a copy of the comic Beano on the cover) brought Clapton to national prominence. Some of James high school games were broadcast on national television, and it was difficult not to see what he could become, looking like a man among boys with tattoos covered up by decals. He seemed like the total package, in much the way that Clapton appeared ready to become and stay the best guitarist on the planet for some time.

Given his complete physical dominance of his high school competition, its possible that the notion of whether or not James had the killer instinct hes broadly felt to lack never really came up. It was perhaps just assumed. But Claptons greatest shortcoming was put on display midway through the second side of the Bluesbreakers debut when he took the mic from Mayall to perform Robert Johnsons Rambling On My Mind. Its not a terrible performance or anything; as people should remember when it comes to James, the average aspects of Claptons musical repertoire are far better than 95% of the populations. But in comparison to his muscular, ragged and often terrifying guitar work, his voice is tentative, polite.

When Clapton left the Bluesbreakers in 1966 to form Cream with drummer Ginger Baker and bassist Jack Bruce, his reputation as a world-class guitarist only grew. In 1967, a scrawled CLAPTON IS GOD infamously appeared on the wall of an Underground station in Islington. His reputation as a game-changer was written almost from the start. And so it went with LeBron James, who notched 25 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds in his NBA debut. But while Creams star rose on the backs of the combined effort and virtuosity of Bruce, Baker and Clapton, James Cleveland Cavaliers endured two lackluster seasons, missing out on the playoffs twice before advancing to the Eastern Conference Semifinals in his third year and losing to the Detroit Pistons in seven games. During James first few years in Cleveland, there was little opportunity for anyone to question his heart simply because he wasnt in a position to make a difference to his team in the playoffs. Although Jack Bruce was undeniably the lead singer of Cream and a fabulously talented vocalist, Claptons confidence in his own voice improved with Cream and he stepped up to sing lead on many of Creams best-known songs, including Strange Brew, Badge, Crossroads and co-lead on the biggest hit, Sunshine of Your Love. Its telling that on the live version of Crossroads from Wheels of Fire that Bruce introduces Clapton at the end of the tune as Eric Clapton, lead vocals. That pause there says a lot about how Clapton was thought of at the time: a guitarist first, vocalist second.

By now it should be clear that theres more than one problem with the analogy Im working with. The most glaring one is that the goal in professional sports is very clear cut: a championship is what marks a player as great. Its a lot more muddy in the musical world. A Grammy? Cream didnt win a Grammy until 2006 and that was a Lifetime Achievement Award. Jimi Hendrix, Queen, Led Zeppelin, The Who and many, many others have never won a Grammy. Sales? Creams third album, Wheels of Fire, was the first double-album to go platinum. And yet Cream were only together a little over two years before they broke up at the height of their powers in 1968. A large part of it was the ongoing contentiousness between Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker (which stretched back to their time in Cream-precursor The Graham Bond Organisation), but Clapton was also growing tired of the giant expectations that were being inspired by the groups success and the fact that they barely listened to one another while playing live. To all outsiders, it must have looked like Cream had won whatever you could call the championship of music, but to Clapton remained musically dissatisfied and so the band called it quits in 1969.

Their loss in the NBA Finals to the champion San Antonio Spurs in 2006-07 inspired a similar rebuild by the Cleveland Cavaliers. At the trade deadline in 2008, the team shipped out players including Donyell Marshall, Shannon Brown, Drew Gooden, and Larry Hughes in exchange for Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West, Joe Smith, and Ben Wallace. But neither this lineup, nor any of the ones that were tweaked for the two years after (which included bringing in players like Antawn Jamison and Shaquille ONeal), could climb the mountain and bring home the NBA Championship. It was over these three years, from the 2007-08 season to the 2009-10 season, that the rumbles about James inability to lead his team to a championship started. Even as his personal numbers grew to near-legendary levels, he continued to falter on the leagues biggest stagethe playoffsand the storm clouds of his departure began to loom.

In spite of his misgivings about the course that Creams career had taken, Clapton went from one supergroup to another in 1969. Hed long admired singer/keyboardist Steve Winwood and so he approached him about forming the group that would become Blind Faith. Winwood was, in a way, the Shaquille ONeal of this analogyan experienced player with his own success brought in as a counterweight. And as it went with the re-tooled Cavaliers, the expectations for Blind Faith were skyhigh immediately. When the group (with Ginger Baker once again on drums and Rick Grech on bass) made their concert debut in Hyde Park on June 7, 1969, it was in front of 100,000 people. As James discovered when Shaq came to the Cavs, its never as simple as just plugging people in. Blind Faith only had a handful of songs and the set devolved into lengthy jamsone of the things Clapton had wanted to leave behind with Creamand the crowd roared their approval. When the group embarked on a U.S. tour in the summer of 1969, there were riots, and Clapton found himself a victim of the same kind of success and pressures that had brought down Cream. He had sought to spread the responsibility out (as a singer, he had once again retreated, with Winwood handling all the vocals on the groups self-titled debut), but the expectations had only increased. In somewhat the same way, all the additions and mini-rebuilds in Cleveland had been undertaken for the purpose of building a supporting cast around James to help him share the burden, but every addition of a former All-Star or future Hall-of-Famer only made the teams failures in the playoffs more acute.

And so James left Cleveland in a very public and fairly brutal way, joining up with his friends Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade on the Miami Heat. Theres no end to the ways this has been dissected and discussed, but it seems the end of Blind Faith was altogether more of a whimper than a bang. During the groups only American tour, Clapton struck up a friendship with the opening act, Delaney & Bonnie. With the dissolution of the ill-fated supergroup, Clapton joined that group as a sideman, eventually using their rhythm sectionbassist Carl Radle, drummer Jim Gordon, and keyboardist/vocalist Bobby Whitlockto start Derek and the Dominos.

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LeBron James and Other Assorted Love Songs

The Canadian Press - ONLINE EDITION

By: Lynn Elber, The Associated Press

10/05/2012 6:31 PM | Comments: 0

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FILE - In this Sept. 24, 2011 file photo, singer Britney Spears performs on a stage during a concert in Moscow, Russia, during her European tour. A source says she is joining Simon Cowell's singing contest as a judge on the singing competition series "The X-Factor." (AP Photo, file)

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Britney Spears is coming to the rescue of Fox's "The X Factor," the singing contest in search of a ratings boost.

The Grammy-winning pop star has signed on as a judge for the show's second season, a person familiar with the deal said Thursday. The person was not authorized to publicly discuss details and spoke on condition of anonymity.

A call to Spears' publicist seeking comment was not immediately returned.

"The X Factor" debuted last fall to ratings that fell short of creator Simon Cowell's sky-high predictions. The show's slate was wiped nearly clean in January when judges Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger exited along with host Steve Jones.

That left Cowell and music producer Antonio "L.A." Reid as judges on "X Factor," which is based on Cowell's hit U.K. series.

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AP source: Britney Spears to join 'X Factor'; singing contest still short 1 judge, host