WNBA president Laurel Ritchie content with keeping league at 12 teams

The purple streamers and posters are packed away, but the question of whether Sacramento will be granted a WNBA expansion team lingers.

Discussions were part of Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson?s push last spring to retain the Kings. Majority owner Vivek Ranadive secured the vote in May, the NBA denying a relocation to Seattle. Former Monarchs players attended the celebratory rally to show support in the hope the WNBA returns a team to the city.

WNBA president Laurel Richie said Saturday she enjoys any city expressing an interest in acquiring an expansion team. But she reiterated her stance in nurturing the league?s current 12 teams.

?I feel every year gets us closer to the point of where we would think about it,? said Richie of expansion. Sacramento wouldn?t likely be interested in adding a team until its new sports complex opens in 2016.

?When you get to this level of talent from the player and coach perspective, it makes it really exciting,? Richie said of the strength and depth of the WNBA this season. ?So, I don?t feel in a rush, having arrived at this point, to change it right away. Our fans and our viewers are really enjoying where we are right now.?

Expansion could be part of talks when negotiating the WNBA?s new collective-bargaining agreement. The current deal expires at the end of this season.

Player representatives have already expressed a need to expand player rosters from 11 to 13, which would include a player reserve. Multiple teams are trying to balance staying competitive with rosters depleted by injuries.

?I?m going to leave all of the conversations with the CBA to that process,? said Richie of upcoming negotiations. ?I look forward to really partnering with players and coming out on the other end with an agreement that?s good for the long-term health of the league.?

Richie, in her third season as league president, spoke as part of her annual trip to Seattle. She?s joining Karen Bryant, the Storm?s president and CEO, on a kayaking excursion Sunday as part of the Take Your Health by Storm campaign.

A casual swimmer, Richie stated she hasn?t been kayaking since a trip in Vancouver nearly a decade ago. She?ll be in a vessel with Bryant.

?I might tip and roll,? Richie teased of her rusty skills. ?You do not want the president to go under in your market.?

Jayda Evans: 206-464-2067 or jevans@seattletimes.com.

On Twitter @JaydaEvans

Source: http://seattletimes.com/html/storm/2021438117_stormnotes21xml.html?syndication=rss

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Then and Now: Ex-Blues player and coach Ian Atkins

What was your most memorable game?

There was a game at Bradford on a Tuesday night (February 11, 1992). We won 2-1. It won?t be a game that supporters remember so much but it certainly sticks in my mind.

It was a cold night and I was in my second spell at the club, this time more as a coach. But that night we had injuries so I got played in that game.

It was great because I was still desperate to play.

We had hit a sticky little spell on our way to promotion from Division Three with Terry Cooper. I played about another four games on the trot and we didn?t lose any of them. I was about 35-36 then.

My experience just steadied the ship a little bit.

Ian Atkins

?

And your biggest disappointment?

It had to be joining Blues for my first spell. It was a great honour and something that I always wanted to do ? to play for my home-town club.

But the way things went when I joined was horrible. The owners had pulled everything, we had nowhere to train, all our best players were sold and we were terrible.

What should have been a very proud time turned out to be so disappointing.

So your second spell was better then?

It was, because we actually achieved something.

With Terry we got promoted, which was great. I didn?t play in that last game against Shrewsbury but it sure was a great day.

The club was on a sounder and better footing.

The first time as a player was soul-destroying. The crowd was down to five or six thousand. They had no hope, they knew it was bad.

We didn?t believe we could even get a point half the time because we were not good enough.

Garry Pendrey was great as a boss, he tried to get everyone bubbling as best as he could, but he didn?t have a chance.

And do you have any funny stories?

There are lots of funny stories but at the time it wasn?t funny because it was so serious.

The punters were going mad during my first time at the club.

I remember a game against Barnsley at home and we got beat 5-3. I actually scored a cracking goal.

In the corner area, there were all sorts of objects flying around. Tony Godden, the goalkeeper, did his usual trick and ran down the centre tunnel.

After the game the punters were angry.

John Trewick, a local lad, didn?t get on well with the punters, that?s no secret. The lads were all in the bath when all of a sudden a brick came through the dressing room window.

The brick had a sticker on with John Trewick?s name on it. The only problem was, it hit Vince Overson.

We were all sitting in the bath and this brick came flying through the window, we were all ducking and scarpering. It was crazy.

What do you make of the current Blues team?

It?s similar to when I was there because a lot of the young lads are getting a chance.

They?ve lost some experienced players, but the young kids have done great. I think. (Mitch) Hancox and (Callum) Reilly have performed better than many expected.

There?s a few new players so it will be interesting to see how they get on this year. I think they?ll be all right.?

Who is your best friend in football?

A lad I played with at Sunderland called Gordon Chisholm. We both played centre-half.

He moved to Scotland and was manager of Queen of the South. Now he?s back at Sunderland doing a lot of the overseas work in Africa for them.

Ally McCoist is another very close friend. I lived with him for 18 months when I was at Sunderland.

I?ve kept in close contact with those two.

What was the last match you watched live?

It was France versus Uruguay in the Under-20 World Cup final in Turkey.

I was over there for a fair few of the games. It was a good tournament with a few surprise packages.

What are you up to now?

I am head of recruitment at Everton. I?m enjoying it, I?m kept busy. I do some of the local scouting and a fair bit abroad.

With the old manager (David Moyes) leaving for Manchester Utd and a lot of backroom staff joining him, I feel a bit like the last man standing. There?s a few of us still here, though.?

*Ian Atkins was talking to Gregg Evans.

Source: http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/now-ex-birmingham-city-player-coach-5161868

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Minn. teen fights cancer in costume

7 hours ago

KARE 11 News

Jonah Skrove as Slappy the Clown

MINNEAPOLIS - Jonah Skrove is a bit of a character.

The Zimmerman High School junior says his favorite childhood memories are of acting in plays.

"I actually got a part with lines," said Jonah. "I was Starkey from Peter Pan. He's one of the pirates."

But last fall, Jonah was cast in a story no one would have scripted. On a family trip to Duluth in September, Jonah thought he'd sprained his ankle, but the pain was instead a sign of bone cancer.

He was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a form so aggressive that doctors took his right leg just three months later.

Jonah is on week No. 28 of chemotherapy, but he is also on week No. 28 of costumes, coming each time to chemo in character.

"I've been Slappy the Clown. I've been Batman," Jonah said. "I've always liked dressing up, doing weird things, and I typically go all out."

All out, from Cousin It to Uncle Fester to Rambo, the disguises mask the reason for his visits, but underneath he is truly putting on a brave face.

"They're really quirky and they make everyone laugh," said Dani Peterson, a friend of Jonah's who is also getting chemotherapy.

"We've been blessed to have someone who takes it one day at a time and looks at life in a bigger way," said Jeff Skrove, Jonah's father.

Jonah says his fight is just a dress rehearsal for all his acts still to come. "Next year, for my senior year, I'm going to want to make sure I'm in all the plays that I can," Jonah said. "That'd be fun."

Copyright 2013 by KARE. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/663303/s/2ef0446a/l/0L0Stoday0N0Cnews0Cminn0Eteen0Efights0Ecancer0Ecostume0E6C10A687469/story01.htm

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Obama?s mixed-bag commentary on the Zimmerman case (Powerlineblog)

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Google-owned Motorola Mobility on job hunt for wearables director

Motorola Mobility, which Google acquired in 2012 for $12.5 billion, is doing a serious talent search for a newly minted "Senior Director Industrial Design-Wearables," according to a recent job posting that lists Chicago as the job locale. It is not only job news but tech news, as a sideshow peek at what Motorola Mobility has in mind as it faces its highly competitive future. In short, Motorola Mobility is attempting to beef up a we-are-number-one, world class design group for computer wearables. The job posting said Motorola Mobility is looking for the right candidate who can "provide strategic leadership, champion innovation and institute best practices to create a new world-class wearable's design group within Motorola." The new hire will have someone to watch over him or her, as the new hire will report to the Senior Vice President of CXD, which is Motorola lingo for Consumer Experience Design.

According to the ad, the Senior Director of Industrial Design will define and execute design strategies for wearable devices. The organization is asking for at least seven years or more in a senior position of industrial design and a show of fifteen years' experience "in design of tech, consumer product and/or apparel." A Bachelors in design is required, and the ad also lists "postgraduate in related field."

The company said its ambition is to make Motorola a recognized leader in the design of all things mobile. "We will do this by creating product experiences that are lead [sic] by consumer insight and intuition, keen design sensibility and cutting edge technologies. We want our products and brand to be experienced and loved by millions of people worldwide. We want to create the new Motorola."

The "new Motorola" was the mantra last month, too, at the startup conference Techweek. The Motorola Mobility tech lead, Rachid Alameh, talked about wearables at the center of innovation and Jim Wicks, senior vice president of consumer experience design, spoke about Motorola Mobility reshaping itself to make mobile products with a difference. Wicks predicted that users will no longer be "hunched" over mobile devices, a clear indication that they will explore products that users can wear. Whoever gets the job will no doubt be encouraged to go forth and champion innovation, encouragement not only by Wicks but by ex-DARPA director Regina Dugan, who is now Motorola Mobility head of the Advanced Technology and Research Group.

Dugan spoke about wearables and bolder directions in wearables when she was on stage at the All Things Digital Conference in May. She revealed an electronic "tattoo" on her arm that she said was being explored as a patch which people could use as wearable body authentication. She said it was high time for a new path to authentication. "After 40 years of advances in computation, we're still authenticating basically the same way we did years ago."

She also displayed a concept of a daily vitamin pill used as wearable body authentication. In this instance, the person, she said, would ingest a pill with a small chip inside it with a switch.

Explore further: With new logo and focus, Motorola touts latest phone at Techweek

? 2013 Phys.org

Source: http://phys.org/news293595053.html

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Obama: 'Trayvon Martin could have been me, 35 years ago' (CNN)

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5 things to know about Helen Thomas

Here are five things to know about Helen Thomas, the groundbreaking White House correspondent, who died Saturday at age 92:

1. SHE WAS AMONG THE FIRST WOMEN TO COVER HARD NEWS AT THE WHITE HOUSE

Her journalism career started in 1943, an era when female reporters were confined to stories about presidents' kids, wives, their teas and their hairdos.

2. HER BIG BREAK CAME IN PALM BEACH IN 1960

She was sent by UPI to cover the vacation of President-elect John Kennedy and his family.

3. THE BARRIER SHE BROKE THROUGH IN 1974

As United Press International's White House bureau chief, she became the first woman in that role for a wire service.

4. THE DAY SHE WAS SCOOPED BY A FIRST LADY

It was Pat Nixon who announced Thomas was engaged to Douglas Cornell, chief White House correspondent for the archrival Associated Press. They married in 1971.

5. THE COMMENT ABOUT ISRAEL THAT ENDED HER CAREER IN 2010

"Tell them to get the hell out of Palestine," she told a rabbi who was interviewing her. "Remember, these people are occupied and it's their land. It's not Germany, it's not Poland." She soon retired from her job as a Hearst columnist.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/5-things-know-helen-thomas-153501082.html

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