Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Coakley’s advantages were too much to overcome


Attorney General Martha Coakley may have run a less-than-scintillating campaign, but she started this sprint of a special Senate primary race with too many advantages for a trio of male Democratic opponents to overcome in a short period of time.
The only candidate to have run statewide before, she started with astronomically high favorability ratings and low negatives. Throughout a generally genteel three-month campaign, that didn’t change. Her rivals succeeded in improving their own images, but neither they nor the news media tarnished hers significantly. In the end, there was never a cogent argument for those voters who started the campaign liking Coakley to abandon her at the end.
She won by huge margins across vast swaths of the state Tuesday.
Coakley played it safe from start to finish, and her candidacy seemed to be in jeopardy only once and then briefly. Four weeks ago she said she would vote against a health care bill in Congress if it placed restrictions on abortions. Her chief opponent, US Representative Michael Capuano, who two days earlier had voted against the abortion amendment but for the final version of a House bill that included it, pounced and attacked her stand. But less than 24 hours later, he too said he would vote against a health care overhaul if the bill that ultimately combines House and Senate versions emerges with the abortion restrictions.
Capuano was then forced to explain the inside baseball of congressional lawmaking as he attempted to draw a distinction with Coakley, who emerged from the scrape as the leading defender of the reproductive rights of women. Cultivating support among women was a Coakley priority from day one.
It was one of several head-scratching moments in a fitful Capuano campaign that often seemed to be living by its wits from day to day without a coherent, overarching strategy.
In an overwhelmingly Democratic state, Coakley is now the heavy favorite to capture the Senate seat held for 47 years by the late Edward M. Kennedy and become the first woman elected to the Senate from Massachusetts.
Her opponent in the Jan. 19 special election, Republican state Senator Scott Brown, however, will offer voters a stark contrast on many issues and try to tap into voter anxiety about job losses, soaring federal budget deficits, and a skyrocketing national debt under a Democratic administration and Congress.
“Jobs are Job One’’ will be a theme of Brown, who supports President Obama’s troop surge in Afghanistan, while Coakley opposes it. On other issues, Brown opposes a public insurance option in a health care overhaul, and a cap-and-trade bill to reduce industrial emissions. Coakley supports both. Brown is also critical of Coakley’s support for allowing the income tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 to expire.Continued...

SARAH CHALKE DONS HER ELF HAT FOR “DISNEY’S PREP & LANDING”


Disney’s Prep & Landing is the untold story about an elite group of elves who are an advance team for Santa prior to the big flight around the world each Christmas.  The elves enter the house early and insure the home is ready for the big guy’s arrival. It’s a new take on the Christmas theme headed up by John Lasseter (Toy Story), who is the Chief Creative Officer in charge of Disney and Pixar animation.
SCRUBS star, Sarah Chalke stars as Magee, a coffee-guzzling, fast-talking elf in charge of coordinating the other elves who will be scooting down the chimney before Santa Chalke admits there were similarities between Magee and her.  For one, the actress is a caffein addict and has to really restrain herself from ingesting too much in one day.  She’s also a rapid-fire speaker who forces herself to slow down while she’s performing.
But, that wasn’t the only reason Chalke was attracted to Prep & Landing.  She knows Christmas stories take on a life of their own well after the initial run.  To be part of a future holiday tradition was an opportunity Chalke couldn’t pass up.
Click onto the two media bars for the reasons why Sarah Chalke was ready to slide feet first into Disney’s Prep & Landing.
Disney’s Prep & Landing premieres tonight, with a second run scheduled for Wednesday, December 16th. Both airings begin 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.

Jimmy V Classic: Pitt in search of offense





Ashton Gibbs NEW YORK -- There's a good chance Jermaine Dixon will make his season debut in the late game of the Jimmy V Classic against Indiana (ESPN, 9:30 p.m. ET) at Madison Square Garden.

Dixon, the only returning starter from last season's Elite Eight Panthers, broke his foot in the offseason and has been steadily improving in practice.
The Panthers desperately need Dixon's offense after managing just 15 points in the first half against New Hampshire last weekend. Point guard Ashton Gibbs hasn't been a problem. Gibbs, who led Dixon's USA Under-19 team to the gold medal in New Zealand last July, has been averaging 16 points and dishing out 2.1 assists in his role replacing Levance Fields. Fields had to be much more of a distributing point guard (with the occasional big shot late in games) with Sam Young and DeJuan Blair as his primary scoring forwards.

But Gibbs has to be thinking to score more often. He has a wing with scoring potential in Brad Wanamaker, but the Panthers need some more scoring pop.

Pitt has been grinding out games so far this season, coming back to beat Wofford in the opener, taking two overtimes to knock out city rival Duquesne last week, and then going through the ugly affair with UNH that ended with the Panthers winning 47-32.

Meanwhile, Indiana has shown plenty of signs of life of late, even though the results don't show it. IU lost all three games in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Classic to Ole Miss, Boston University and George Mason (it's amazing to think that in the same season UCLA and Indiana went 0-3 in an eight-team field). But the Hoosiers gave Maryland fits for much of their matchup before succumbing by 12 in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge game last week in Bloomington.

Tom Crean has the Hoosiers, much like the Panthers, trying to be a defensive, physical team. Still, Indiana will need to find scorers and can't have some lines like the ones that were produced against the Terps (Derek Elston and Devan Dumes were each 2-of-10 while Verdell Jones III was 3-of-15 and the Hoosiers were a combined 7-of-26 on 3s).

Defense should be the theme of all four teams at the Jimmy V Classic. If one team gets to 70 points, that might be a story.

"They are four very good defensive teams and all make it hard for the opponent to score," said Georgetown coach John Thompson III, whose team faces Butler in the opening game (ESPN, 7 p.m. ET). "I don't know the answer to the question [if any team will get 70], but I just hope we have one more point than Butler."
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Danny Cahill is the ‘Biggest Loser’ Winner, Rudy Pauls Comes Close and Amanda Arlauskas Is Third

With a total weight loss of 239 lbs, Oklahoma land surveyor/musician Danny Cahill is the newest winner of The Biggest Loser!
The Biggest Loser winner was revealed during the show's eighth season finale on Tuesday night. As usual, the finale brought back all of the season's slimmed-down contestants for one last weigh in. But first, Allison Sweeney revealed the identity of the contestant chosen by America to compete in the finale. The lucky lady was Amanda Arlauskas, who became an official finalist along with Rudy Pauls and Danny Calhill . The person who lost the highest percentage of weight would win the show's $250,000 prize and the title of The Biggest Loser.
And the weight loss results after seven months of sweat and tears:

Oklahoma: ‘Stake Our Claim’

You’ve no doubt already seen the half-dozen or so pictures of Oklahoma’s new Nike Pro Combat uniforms that the team will sport this Saturday at Texas Tech.
To help promote the new gear, Nike created some odd “anti-Texas” video and the accompanying “Stake Our Claim” t-shirt. The shirt, which features the State of Texas with an OU flag planted on it, comes off a little Aggiesh in my opinion. The video (after the jump) more so than the shirt itself.
But then again, RDK represents the pinnacle of college football snobbery. We hate everything. And nothing is as awesome, sexy and good-looking as us. So, we call the shirt Aggish. It’s how we do. Anyway, hit the jump to watch the video that will undoubtedly remind you of a 30-second Whataburger spot. Just like you like it, bitches.
The Nike page also provides the thinking behind the “Stack Our Claim” theme. Apparently some sort of honor to the 1955 national championship team.
The term “Sooners” referred to settlers who entered unassigned lands under the cover of night, appearing hours before other settlers the following day to stake their claim. Such was the inspiration behind Oklahoma’s new gameday t-shirt — a surprise invasion into hostile territory to claim their next opponent’s home turf as their own.
The “Stake Our Claim” t-shirt was designed in a throwback style to honor the 1955 national championship team, who was also the inspiration behind Oklahoma’s new Nike Pro Combat uniform. Hook up a “Stake Our Claim” t-shirt for gameday and show your Sooner pride.
RDK also received a news release, as well as a pretty cool OU/Nike Web page, from Cohn & Wolfe, the PR and branding agency apparently being used to spread the good word about Nike Pro Combat.
Oklahoma will be one of 11 elite football programs to debut the Nike Pro Combat uniform this month before they are officially introduced at the start of the 2010 season.
The uniforms respect the past of Sooner football, drawing inspiration from Bud Wilkinson’s famed “fast break offense” that led the nation in scoring and won National Championships in 1955 and 1956. An all-white helmet is a nod to the teams that played during that era (1946 to 1956), as are the clean lines on the jersey and pant.
Oklahoma’s team mantra “Sooner Magic” is printed on the inside of the jersey collar and on the cuff of the Nike Vapor Trail 2.0 gloves the team will wear.
Anyway, they’ve provided a slew of tech documents and other links. And SoonerSports.com even has some replica gear you can pick up. Don’t say we never gave you anything. Yeah.


US Air Force confirms 'Beast of Kandahar' drone


WASHINGTON - The US Air Force on Tuesday confirmed for the first time that it is flying a stealth unmanned aircraft known as the "Beast of Kandahar," a drone spotted in photos and shrouded in secrecy.
The RQ-170 Sentinel is being developed by Lockheed Martin and is designed "to provide reconnaissance and surveillance support to forward deployed combat forces," the air force said in a brief statement.
The "RQ" prefix for the aircraft indicates an unarmed drone, unlike the "MQ" designation used for Predator and Reaper aircraft equipped with missiles and precision-guided bombs.
Aviation experts dubbed the drone the "Beast of Kandahar" after photographs emerged earlier this year showing the mysterious aircraft in southern Afghanistan in 2007.
The image suggested a drone with a radar-evading stealth-like design, resembling a smaller version of a B-2 bomber.
A blog in the French newspaper Liberation published another photo this week, feeding speculation among aviation watchers about the classified drone.
The air force said the aircraft came out of Lockheed Martin's "Skunk Works," also known as Advanced Development Programs, in California - the home of sophisticated and often secret defense projects including the U-2 spy plane, the F-22 fighter jet and the F-117 Nighthawk.
The photo of the drone in Afghanistan has raised questions about why the United States would be operating a stealth unmanned aircraft in a country where insurgents have no radar systems, prompting speculation Washington was using the drones for possible spying missions in neighboring Iran or Pakistan.
The Sentinel was believed to have a flying wing design with no tail and with sensors built into the top side of each wing, according to published photos.
The RQ-170 is in line with Defense Secretary Robert Gates' request for more intelligence and surveillance resources and with the Air Force chief of staff's plans to expand the fleet of unmanned aircraft, the air force said.
The new drone is flown by the 30th Reconnaissance Squadron out of Tonopah Test Range in Nevada, which is under Air Combat Command's 432nd Wing at Creech Air Base, also in Nevada.
The United States has carried out an extensive bombing campaign against Al-Qaeda figures in Pakistan using the Predator and larger Reaper drones.
Robots or "unmanned systems" in the air and on the ground are now deployed by the thousands in Iraq and Afghanistan, spying from the sky for hours on end, searching for booby-traps and firing lethal missiles without putting US soldiers at risk.