ARENA 01: Erza Scarlet Hecate Hyūga Hinata [Index L. Prohibitorum] [Misaka Mikoto] Suigintō Yūki Mikan
Over/Under: 18000
Over
ARENA 02: Hanekawa Tsubasa Hoshina Utau Izumi Konata Kushieda Minori [Nagato Yuki] [Saten Ruiko] Shiina Mafuyu
Over/Under: 18000
Over
ARENA 03: Fate Testarossa Kamio Misuzu Kanzaki Kaori [Kotobuki Tsumugi] [Nakano Azusa] Okazaki Ushio Oshino Shinobu
Over/Under: 18000
Over
ARENA 04: Alice Haibara Ai [Hiiragi Kagami] Hinamori Amu Sakurano Kurimu [Shana] Shirai Kuroko
Over/Under: 18000
Over
ARENA 05: [Aisaka Taiga] [Holo] Kotegawa Yui Kuronuma Sawako Maria Suiseiseki Tainaka Ritsu
Over/Under: 18000
Over
ARENA 06: [Fujibayashi Kyō] Hiiragi Tsukasa Illyasviel von Einzbern [Katsura Hinagiku] Kinomoto Sakura Lala Satalin Deviluke Ryūgū Rena
Over/Under: 18000
Over
ARENA 07: Astarotte Ygvar [Makise Kurisu] Miki Sayaka Nakagawa Kanon Shiina Mayuri Shinonome Hakase [Victorique de Blois]
Over/Under: 18000
Over
ARENA 08: Akaza Akari Anjō Naruko [Kanzaki H. Aria] Kirishima Shōko [Kōsaka Kirino] Minato Tomoka Oshimizu Nako
Over/Under: 18000
Over
ARENA 09: Amami Haruka Dalian Elucia de Lute Irma [Hasegawa Kobato] Horizon Ariadust (P-01s) [Kuroi Mato] Yarizui Sen
Over/Under: 18000
Over
ARENA 10: [Aragaki Ayase] Irisviel von Einzbern Shiomiya Shiori Ueno Kirika Uryū Minene Yamada Aoi [Yuzuriha Inori]
Over/Under: 18000
Over
ARENA 11: Amaha Miu Haruna [Hoshii Miki] Kaga Rin [Kashiwazaki Sena] Laura Bodewig Mine Riko
Over/Under: 18000
Over
ARENA 12: [Akemi Homura] Hakamada Hinata [Haqua du Lot Herminium] Iwasawa Asami Nanasaki Ai Sena Airi Toshinō Kyōko
Over/Under: 18000
Over
ISML 2012: Angel Beats back with a bang in Prelims
ISML 2012: Angel Beats back with a bang in Prelims
By JR Salazar (Bongaboi)
February 13, 2012
The 2012 International Saimoe League Preliminaries began with a bang, and the Angel Beats triumvirate of Yui, Kanade Tachibana and Yuri Nakamura came away big winners.
In Nova group 1, Tachibana racked up 5415 votes to finish first. Erio Towa was second with 2921 votes and Kyouko Sakura was third wit 2679 votes. Yui rolled through Nova group 4 with 4441 votes. Fear Kubrick was second with 2620 votes and Mizuki Himeji was third with 2473 votes. In Nova group 5, Nakamura amassed 3626 votes to finish first. Meiko Honma was second with 2871 votes. Subaru Konoe was third with 2457 votes.
In Nova group 2, Ruri Gokou continued from where she left off, winning 4189 votes. Yozora Mikazuki was second with 2756 votes. Kanade Suzutsuki was third with 2325 votes. In Nova group 3, Eucliwood Hellscythe was on top with 4399 votes. Madoka Kaname was second with 2739 votes. Sora Kasugano was third with 2494 votes.
In Nova group 6, Charlotte Dunois was first with 3655 votes. Yuno Gasai was second with 2742 votes. Ohana Matsumae was third with 2373 votes.
The Stella division features ISML veterans, and the usual suspects were at it again. In Stella 7, Mio Akiyama was dominant, winning 4290 votes. Tomoyo Sakagami was second with 3082 votes. Konjiki no Yami was third with 2436 votes. In Stella 8, Haruhi Suzumiya rolled past everyone, winning 4638 votes. Nagisa Furukawa won 3077 votes to finish second. Rika Furude was third with 1949 votes.
In Stella 9, Hitagi Senjougahara won 3792 votes to finish first. C.C. was second with 3043 votes. Ikaros was third with 3026 votes. In Stella 10, Nadeko Sengoku was on top with 3831 votes. In second was Rin Tosaka with 3442 votes. Kotomi Icinose was third with 2434 votes.
In Stella 11, Saber slashed her was to first place, winning 4064 votes. Last Order was second with 3084 votes. Ui Hirasawa was third with 2528 votes. Yui Hirasawa dominated Stella 12, winning 3821 votes. Louise Francoise Le Blanc De La Valliere won 3492 votes to finish second, while Mikuru Asahina was a distant third, garnering 2814 votes.
Match Day 2 of the 2012 International Saimoe League Preliminaries is scheduled for Tuesday, February 14, 2012. Vote for your favorite candidates at InternationalSaimoe.com and join the ongoing debate.
BoBA 2012 ISML Predictions: Preliminaries, Match Day 1
ARENA 01: Hotogi Shirayuki Inui Sana Reki [Sakura Kyōko] [Tachibana Kanade] Takakura Himari Tōwa Erio
Over/Under: 10000
Over
ARENA 02: [Gokō Ruri (Kuroneko)] Mikazuki Yozora Shimada Minami Shinonome Nano Suzutsuki Kanade [Tomoe Mami] Tsugumi
Over/Under: 10000
Over
ARENA 03: Ayase Chihaya Eucliwood Hellscythe [Ika-Musume] [Kaname Madoka] Kasugano Sora Kunieda Aoi Oikawa Tsurara
Over/Under: 10000
Over
ARENA 04: [Fear Kubrick] Himeji Mizuki Inami Mahiru Shionji Yūko (Alice) Tsurugi Minko [Yui] Yune
Over/Under: 10000
Over
ARENA 05: Ayuzawa Misaki [Honma Meiko] Konoe Subaru Morishima Haruka [Nakamura Yuri] Shinomiya Ayase Takahara Ayumi
Over/Under: 10000
Over
ARENA 06: Charlotte Dunois [Gasai Yuno] Kisaragi Chihaya [Matsumae Ohana] Shinonono Hōki Taneshima Poplar Wendy Marvell
Over/Under: 10000
Over
ARENA 07: [Akiyama Mio] Kawashima Ami Konjiki no Yami Kuchiki Rukia Nymph [Sakagami Tomoyo] Tsukimiya Ayu
Over/Under: 10000
Over
ARENA 08: Evangeline A.K. McDowell Furude Rika [Furukawa Nagisa] Lucy Heartfilia Ryōgi Shiki [Suzumiya Haruhi] Uiharu Kazari
Over/Under: 10000
Over
ARENA 09: [C.C.] Ibuki Fūko Ikaros Kōzuki Kallen [Senjōgahara Hitagi] Shinku Yin
Over/Under: 10000
Over
ARENA 10: Chrome Dokuro Hanato Kobato Ichinose Kotomi Saginomiya Isumi [Sengoku Nadeko] [Takamachi Nanoha] Tōsaka Rin
Over/Under: 10000
Over
ARENA 11: Chii Enma Ai Hirasawa Ui Kawasumi Mai Last Order [Saber] [Sanzen'in Nagi]
Over/Under: 10000
Over
ARENA 12: Asahina Mikuru Ayanami Rei [Hirasawa Yui] Isayama Yomi Kagura [Louise Vallière] Sōryū Asuka Langley
Over/Under: 10000
Over
Over/Under: 10000
Over
ARENA 02: [Gokō Ruri (Kuroneko)] Mikazuki Yozora Shimada Minami Shinonome Nano Suzutsuki Kanade [Tomoe Mami] Tsugumi
Over/Under: 10000
Over
ARENA 03: Ayase Chihaya Eucliwood Hellscythe [Ika-Musume] [Kaname Madoka] Kasugano Sora Kunieda Aoi Oikawa Tsurara
Over/Under: 10000
Over
ARENA 04: [Fear Kubrick] Himeji Mizuki Inami Mahiru Shionji Yūko (Alice) Tsurugi Minko [Yui] Yune
Over/Under: 10000
Over
ARENA 05: Ayuzawa Misaki [Honma Meiko] Konoe Subaru Morishima Haruka [Nakamura Yuri] Shinomiya Ayase Takahara Ayumi
Over/Under: 10000
Over
ARENA 06: Charlotte Dunois [Gasai Yuno] Kisaragi Chihaya [Matsumae Ohana] Shinonono Hōki Taneshima Poplar Wendy Marvell
Over/Under: 10000
Over
ARENA 07: [Akiyama Mio] Kawashima Ami Konjiki no Yami Kuchiki Rukia Nymph [Sakagami Tomoyo] Tsukimiya Ayu
Over/Under: 10000
Over
ARENA 08: Evangeline A.K. McDowell Furude Rika [Furukawa Nagisa] Lucy Heartfilia Ryōgi Shiki [Suzumiya Haruhi] Uiharu Kazari
Over/Under: 10000
Over
ARENA 09: [C.C.] Ibuki Fūko Ikaros Kōzuki Kallen [Senjōgahara Hitagi] Shinku Yin
Over/Under: 10000
Over
ARENA 10: Chrome Dokuro Hanato Kobato Ichinose Kotomi Saginomiya Isumi [Sengoku Nadeko] [Takamachi Nanoha] Tōsaka Rin
Over/Under: 10000
Over
ARENA 11: Chii Enma Ai Hirasawa Ui Kawasumi Mai Last Order [Saber] [Sanzen'in Nagi]
Over/Under: 10000
Over
ARENA 12: Asahina Mikuru Ayanami Rei [Hirasawa Yui] Isayama Yomi Kagura [Louise Vallière] Sōryū Asuka Langley
Over/Under: 10000
Over
Singer Whitney Houston dies at 48
Los Angeles (CNN) -- Legendary pop singer Whitney Houston was found dead Saturday at a Beverly Hills, California, hotel, officials said. She was 48.
The entertainer, whose incredible talent was discovered at an early age, was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m. (6:55 p.m. ET) at the Beverly Hilton hotel despite resuscitation efforts, a police spokesman said.
Beverly Hills Police Lt. Mark Rosen said there were "no obvious signs of criminal intent" and that the cause of her death is being investigated.
Houston's bodyguard found her body, said Courtney Barnes, publicist for hip-hop artist Ray J, who was dating the pop diva.
According to her official website, Houston sold more than 170 million albums, singles and videos. But she also struggled with addiction problems over the years.
Houston, whose hits included "The Greatest Love of All," died on the eve of the 54th annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. She had performed as late as Thursday night at a pre-Grammy event in the area. A pre-Grammy party was scheduled Saturday night at the Beverly Hilton.
Music producer Jimmy Jam, after conversations with those heading up to Sunday's night show, told CNN that he believes the event will change significantly -- including a tribute to the singer.
The entertainer recently returned to a movie set for "Sparkle," a remake of the 1976 hit, which was loosely based on the story of The Supremes. It is scheduled be released nationwide in August, according to Sony Pictures. It was her first movie role since 1996's "The Preacher's Wife."
News of her death elicited a flood of reaction from fans and fellow celebrities alike.
Singer Aretha Franklin said, "I just can't talk about it now. It's so stunning and unbelievable. I couldn't believe what I was reading coming across the TV screen. My heart goes out to Cissy (Houston's mother), her daughter Bobbi Kris, her family and Bobby (Brown)."
Dolly Parton, who wrote "I Will Always Love You," said, "mine is only one of the millions of hearts broken over the death of Whitney Houston. I will always be grateful and in awe of the wonderful performance she did on my song and I can truly say from the bottom of my heart, 'Whitney, I will always love you. You will be missed.'"
Another entertainment legend, Quincy Jones, said he was "absolutely heartbroken" by the news. "She was a true original and a talent beyond compare," he said.
Houston's body of work included a string of Billboard No. 1 hits in the 1980s, including "Saving All My Love for You," "How Will I Know," "The Greatest Love of All," "Where Do Broken Hearts Go," and "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)."
Billboard put her soundtrack to the 1992 movie "The Bodyguard" as one of the top 10 biggest-selling albums of all time. She also starred in the film with Kevin Costner. The soundtrack included the hit,"I Will Always Love You."
Whitney Houston was born on August 9, 1963, in Newark, New Jersey.
Famed music producer Clive Davis reportedly spotted Houston 20 years later in a New York nightclub, signing her on the spot, according to her website. Davis steered Houston's career for more than 25 years, also serving as a mentor.
Just Thursday, Davis told CNN's "Piers Morgan Tonight" that, with Houston, "I saw a depth and a range and soul ... that rarely ranks at the top level. And that's why we've been working together ever since."
The singer's rendition of the national anthem at the 1991 Super Bowl, days into the first Persian Gulf War, earned raves and cemented her place in the American musical landscape.
After "The Bodyguard," Houston went on to appear in several more films in the 1990s, including "Waiting to Exhale."
In 2000, Houston earned her sixth Grammy for best female R&B performance and, a month later, she was named female artist of the decade at the "Soul Train" Music Awards.
Her career stalled, however, in subsequent years as she entered rehab for addiction problems.
Houston took a hiatus for several years before releasing her first album in seven years, "I Look to You," in 2009.
"I just took a break, which sometimes you have to," said Houston. "You have to know when to slow that train down and kind of just sit back and relax for a minute."
In May 2011, Houston got help for her much-publicized struggle with drugs and alcohol, her representative said at the time.
In a 2009 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Houston recalled how her mother arrived one day at her doorstep at her daughter's house with sheriff's officers and a court order in a drug intervention. She talked about doing cocaine and smoking marijuana.
"(My mother) says, 'I have a court (injunction) here,'" Houston said. "Either you do it my way, or we're just not going to do this at all. We are both going to go on TV, and you're going to retire.'"
Houston had a high-profile and tumultuous marriage to Bobby Brown, a former "New Edition" star who has had multiple brushes with the law.
The couple appeared together in the mid-2000s on the reality show "Being Bobby Brown." They had one child together, Bobbi Kristina.
Houston was the cousin of Dionne Warwick, another acclaimed performer.
Singer Lionel Richie told CNN that Houston was one of the best.
"She had that voice that could just turn a story, a melody into magical notes," Richie said.
CNN's Denise Quan and Alan Duke contributed to this report.
Voodoo Economics: A Look at how the LA Galaxy Manage the Salary Cap
Voodoo Economics: A Look at how the LA Galaxy Manage the Salary Cap
by 
The top of the LA Galaxy roster boggles the mind. They have 3 DPs; Landon Donovan, David Beckham and Robbie Keane. Edson Buddle returns to the squad after a year in Europe. Leonardo and Juninho are now both back. They also still have the player they brought in when they thought that Juninho would not return, Marcelo Sarvas.
Which brings us to the issue of the salary cap. How did LA manage to secure this level of talent and stay within the MLS salary cap? The answer is, mostly, Allocation Money.
It's easy to overlook all of the little things that LA has done this off-season that brought in Allocation Money. They earned Allocation Money by advancing to the Group Stage of the 2012 CONCACAF Champions league and the Knock Stage of the 2011 CONCACAF Champions league. (The Sounders also earned the same Allocation Money.) LA earned Allocation Money when they traded Donovan Ricketts to Montreal. Expansion clubs are given large amounts of Allocation Money and I imagine that Montreal dropped a chunk of theirs to obtain the services of a veteran Goal Keeper with Rickett's pedigree. (Editor's note: We've also been informed that every MLS team gets allocation to account for talent dilution whenever a new team joins the league.) The Galaxy also likely earned Allocation Money when they loaned Donovan, Omar Gonzales and Keane to teams in Europe (Editor's Note: It's come to our attention that allocation money from loans is not quite this straight-forward, more later). Yes, the loan of Gonzales came with a high price tag when he was injured, but his loan fee likely still applies.
To protect the interests of the league in the global market place, specific Allocation Money amounts are not disclosed. But we do know a few things. For every transfer or loan fee equaling 1 million dollars or more, a team can apply ~$650K of their share of the fee toward their roster as Allocation Money. In the world of an MLS team, a 1 million dollar transfer fee makes a player a DP. In the world of the English Premiere League, a 1 million dollar loan fee almost equates to petty cash. It doesn't take much of a leap to imagine that LA may be sitting on a couple million in Allocation Money for their 2012 roster. When the salary cap for an MLS team is $2.8 million, adding another $2 million to a team's individual cap through the process of Allocation Money changes the landscape. If these numbers are correct, the Galaxy could have more than $3.8 million that they can distribute among the remaining 15-17 players on their Senior roster where the average MLS team only gets $2.8 million before Allocation Money. This raises their average Senior roster salary to ~$250K per player. Compare this to the average MLS Senior roster salary of $120K and LA's roster begins to make more sense.
(Editor's note: As it turns out, we probably over-estimated the amount of allocation money the Galaxy have. While allocation can be earned from loans, in situation's like Donovan's we overstated it. As it turns out, a MLS team only starts earning allocation on transfers or loans when the amount is above and beyond what that team has already paid the player out of their own pocket. So, in Donovan's case, that would mean the Galaxy would have to be getting millions of dollars in loan fees to start getting allocation. It's unlikely they got much. Still, the overall point stands, even if we may have overstated it a bit.)
But how the Galaxy are affording their roster is only half of the picture. The other half of the picture relates to how the Galaxy manage their team relative to the salary cap rules. Edson Buddle returns to the team because when he went to Europe, he went on a free transfer. LA retained his rights. Juninho and Leonardo return because Sao Paulo doesn't have room on their squad. LA was able to negotiate a free transfer and a free loan helping Sao Paolo address a couple of problems with the Sao Paolo roster. One man's junk is another's treasure. The Galaxy have shrewdly analyzed the MLS role in the global market and leveraged it to find bargain quality. (Seattle can't complain too vehemently. Mauro Rosales was the MLS deal of the year in 2011.)
In the case of the 3 LA DPs, they cashed in on the glamour and allure of living in LA. Beckham could have made more money playing for PSG, but his family loves living in Southern California. Robbie Keane came to LA in no small part because Beckham and his family sold Keane's significant other on living in LA. Donovan wants to live in LA and so he stayed in America rather than jumping to England on a permanent basis. Los Angeles and New York have international cache that no other American city possess. This is not the Galaxy's fault and they would be stupid not to capitalize. Seattle is capitalizing on its own brand of geographic cache. As Mauro Rosales said, "In the Summer, it is Paradise." Michael Gspurning and Adam Johansson raved about the Sounders' facilities, landscape and fans. Christian Sivebaek talked in his recent interview about how much his girlfriend and he love being in America.Yet LA's DP signings also allow The Galaxy to acquire Allocation Money through offseason loans. This is a mechanism that the Sounders have not used and the one example of how an aging Euro-Star looking for a payday can actually make sense in the modern MLS game beyond helping with the gate.
Los Angeles also manages their roster by looking for bargains in their role players. In the recent Re-Entry draft, LA drafted four players, all veterans. These players play for close to the league minimum while providing leadership. This further shifts the structure of the LA payroll. If the average LA Senior player is making $250K, but 4 of them are making $50K, then that's another $800K that can be redistributed. Now 8 non-DP players can be making DP player salaries of $350K. Theoretically the Galaxy could field a Starting 11 where every player makes $350K or more. This is the true definition of how a team can manage its budget within MLS rules and still adhere to the axiom that good players cost more. When the entire starting roster is making more, then the large DP salaries don't have the same negative impact in the locker room that they have in a situation where everyone is only making $120K.
The Galaxy also leverage youth development in their long range roster management. The LA area is a hotbed of youth soccer. This gives LA an advantage in the Home Grown player market. Players like Jose Villareal allow the Galaxy to reload. The team is also shrewd in how it drafts and trades. Kyle Nakazawa was a nice pick up.
The Sounders are positioning themselves as a force in MLS roster management. Ultimately, Seattle is not LA and the Sounders will use the MLS roster rules in different ways. But some of the MLS roster construction advantages only come with time. LA offers a glimpse of how that time compounds interest.
Super Bowl XLVI
Giants Beat Patriots in Final Rally
By JUDY BATTISTA
INDIANAPOLIS — Four years ago, the Giants were the charming underdogs who took the New England Patriots’ perfect season and turned it into a game of what-if.
This season, however, having survived summer injuries and free-agent defections, a four-game losing streak, calls for the coach’s job and six late-game comebacks, the Giants arrived at their Super Bowl rematch with the Patriots as something that seemed more formidable: a team prepared to face tension and overcome it.
Just as they did four years ago, the Giants prevailed in the final minute against the Patriots, beating New England, 21-17, to give the franchise its fourth Super Bowl championship — one more than the Patriots — and its second in four years over this generation’s greatest coach-quarterback combination, Bill Belichick and Tom Brady.
The Giants are the first team to finish the regular season 9-7 and win the Super Bowl. And in Tom Coughlin and Eli Manning, they have a coach-quarterback duo to match with any other in today’s N.F.L.
For the Patriots, who were 13-3 in the regular season, it was another bitter loss, a devastating repeat of the loss that ended their undefeated 2007 season.
The victory came, fittingly for a season with so many strange twists, in the oddest fashion. Trailing by 2 points with 3 minutes 46 seconds remaining, the Giants started the winning drive. Manning — who now has one more championship than his brother Peyton — lofted a perfect pass down the left sideline to Mario Manningham, who kept his feet inbounds by inches with two defenders on his back. The pass went for 38 yards, a pointed answer to the yearlong question of whether Eli was elite.
With a minute remaining, running back Ahmad Bradshaw rushed through a wide-open hole — Belichick said the Patriots allowed him to score — and tried to fall down short of the end zone. That would have kept the Patriots from having substantial time to mount a comeback of their own.
But his momentum carried him into the end zone, the 6-yard touchdown run giving the Giants a 4-point lead with 57 seconds left. The Giants’ sideline did not even celebrate because the players knew that meant: Brady had nearly a minute and one timeout to score a touchdown.
But the Giants’ defense, maligned early in the season, had pulled itself together for critical victories in the final weeks of the regular season against the Jets and Cowboys, then for the playoff run. And starting with 57 seconds remaining, they thwarted Brady one last time, forcing incompletions and sacks and finally an incomplete pass in the end zone as the final second ticked away.
Manning, who completed 30 of 40 passes for 296 yards and a touchdown, was named the game’s most valuable player for the second time.
The Patriots’ offense suffered with the star tight end Rob Gronkowski seemingly at less than full strength after injuring his left ankle in the A.F.C. championship game two weeks ago. Brady was 27 of 41 for 276 yards and 2 touchdowns and an interception. Gronkowski, who had the most productive season by a tight end in N.F.L. history, was held to two catches for 26 yards.
The Giants dominated most of the first two quarters, looking sharper and more focused than the gaffe-laden Patriots. But it was one critical decision — to play prevent defense on the Patriots’ final drive of the half — that cost the Giants a lead they had constructed on the back of those Patriots errors and their own stout defense.
The Giants held a 9-3 lead late in the second quarter, helped by a safety on the Patriots’ first offensive play of the game. Taking over after a Giants punt on their opening series, Brady, under pressure in the end zone by Justin Tuck, threw the ball deep downfield, with no receiver near the ball. He was called for intentional grounding, worth a safety and the game’s first 2 points. It was just the sixth safety in Super Bowl history, but the first mistake in a cascade of New England lapses.
When the Giants got the ball back, the Patriots were penalized for having 12 men on the field, negating a fumble by Giants receiver Victor Cruz. Two plays later, Manning rifled a 2-yard pass to Cruz in the end zone just as Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo hurtled past the play, failing to break it up. That gave the Giants a 9-0 lead that seemed greater than it was.
When the Patriots finally got the ball back — for just their second play, with 3:24 remaining in the first quarter — they drove deep into Giants territory. But Jason Pierre-Paul, the fearsome defensive lineman with a wingspan seemingly as wide as the field, batted down a Brady pass on third-and-4 from the 11, forcing the Patriots to settle for a 29-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski.
But it was a mistake by the Giants that ended another drive. With Manning driving them again with less than five minutes to play in the second quarter, guard Kevin Boothe was called for holding the Patriots’ mammoth defensive tackle, Vince Wilfork, negating a 10-yard gain on third-and-1 and effectively ending the drive.
That put the ball in Brady’s hands with 4:03 left before halftime. The Patriots deferred the opening kickoff the way they usually do because they crave the opportunity to double up an opponent: to score on the final drive of the first half, then again on the first drive of the second.
In this case, the Patriots got a significant assist from the Giants, who decided to play deep, taking away the big play but allowing an accurate Brady to chew up the field. The Patriots’ drive began on the Giants’ 4, and was pushed back another 2 yards on a holding call.
With Brady unleashing quick pass after quick pass to nullify the Giants’ pass rush — the safety was the only significant pressure of the first half — he shredded the defense, completing 10 of 10 attempts for 98 yards. A 4-yard touchdown pass to Danny Woodhead with eight seconds remaining was a gut punch, a reminder that the Patriots are rarely out of a game, no matter how poorly they start, as long as Brady is on the field.
Then, Belichick’s strategy worked perfectly when the Patriots went on a surgical 79-yard touchdown drive to open the second half.
Throughout, the Giants had no pressure on Brady. After Brady completed a 12-yard scoring pass to Aaron Hernandez that put the Patriots ahead, 17-9, he tapped the MHK patch on his jersey and pointed to the heavens, a revealing reminder that Brady and the Patriots were playing the season in memory of Myra Kraft, the wife of the team’s owner, Robert K. Kraft. Myra Kraft died last summer after a long struggle with cancer just as the lockout ended.
The Patriots’ defense was maligned all season, ranking 31st in the league in yards allowed, but it was merely in the middle of the pack in points allowed, the barometer that coaches care most about. When the Giants got the ball again, the Patriots proved why scoring defense is more critical.
The Giants drove down the field, but they could not finish the drive, settling for a 38-yard Lawrence Tynes field goal that barely sneaked inside the left upright.
The Patriots’ lead then was 17-12, but it felt as if the Patriots and Brady had taken over the game. Brady completed 16 passes in a row, a Super Bowl record. And even when the Giants finally put pressure on him again — their first sack of the game came with 5:40 remaining in the third quarter — they could not capitalize.
The Patriots’ defense held again, this time on a Giants drive that started with their best field position, at the New England 48. The Giants managed another field goal, this one from 33 yards, allowing the Patriots to hold on to a 17-15 lead going into the fourth quarter. And just as it was four years ago, the fourth quarter decided the game, and defined the legacies of Tom Coughlin, Eli Manning and the Giants.
RIP, Joe Paterno
latimes.com
Joe Paterno dies at 85; transformed Penn State into football power
The Ivy League-educated coach's career ended mired in scandal less than two weeks after he recorded his 409th career victory, a major-college football record.
Chris Dufresne7:58 AM PST, January 22, 2012
Paterno died Sunday morning in State College, Pa., his family announced.
He was diagnosed with lung cancer in November, only days after Penn State's board of trustees fired the legendary coach in the wake of the arrest of his former defensive coordinator, Jerry Sandusky, on multiple felony counts of sexual abuse of boys.
Paterno was not implicated in a grand jury's indictment of Sandusky but was criticized for not acting more aggressively in 2002 after a graduate assistant informed Paterno he saw Sandusky sexually molest a boy in a locker room shower at Penn State. Paterno had fulfilled his legal obligation by passing the information on to his superior, athletic director Tim Curley.
Paterno's inglorious exit shocked a community that watched him rise from a young assistant to become a national icon. His Coke-bottle eyeglasses and rolled-up pant legs came to embody the school's victories-with-virtue persona.
The coach was so beloved in State College that full-size cardboard cutouts of him were common sights around town. Even an ice cream flavor, "Peachy Paterno," was named after him.
In college football's fraternity, he was known simply as "JoePa."
But on Nov. 10, 2011, five days after the scandal broke, the Penn State trustees fired Paterno three games short of completing his 46th season as head coach.
The board of trustees denied Paterno's request to retire at the end of the 2011 season. Only days after he issued a tempered response to the initial Sandusky allegations, Paterno expressed heartfelt remorse over what had happened on his watch.
"I am absolutely devastated by the developments in this case," Paterno said in a statement released hours before he was fired. "I grieve for the children and their families, and I pray for their comfort and relief."
He vowed to "spend the rest of my life doing everything I can to help this university."
For more than six decades, Paterno had coached at Penn State after joining Rip Engle's staff in 1950 as a 23-year-old assistant. His career ended late last year less than two weeks after he recorded his 409th career victory, which moved him past former Grambling Coach Eddie Robinson on major college football's all-time list.
Paterno spent his entire career at Penn State, taking over as head coach in 1966. He was a five-time national coach of the year, won two national titles, fielded five unbeaten teams and was the first major college coach to eclipse Bear Bryant's victory record of 323.
Paterno ended his career as the all-time leader in bowl appearances (37) and bowl victories (24) and in 2006 was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. He is the only coach to have won all four of college football's major bowls: Rose, Fiesta, Orange and Sugar.
Voted into the same Hall of Fame class, Paterno and Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden spent years jostling for the all-time major college win record.
"Joe has done everything right," Bowden said in a 1998 interview. "He graduates his players, he's articulate and his character is impeccable, in my opinion."
During Paterno's tenure, Penn State produced 79 first-team All-America players, 33 first-round NFL draft picks and 16 National Football Foundation scholar-athletes.
The list of those who played for Paterno includes Jack Ham, John Cappelletti, Franco Harris, Lydell Mitchell, Curt Warner, Shane Conlin, Matt Millen, Todd Blackledge, Kyle Brady, LaVar Arrington, Larry Johnson, Courtney Brown and Kerry Collins.
Paterno's teams were known for their toughness and selflessness. The school's blue-and-white uniforms were famously nondescript — lacking player names, decorations or logos — a Brand X quality that came to symbolize the program's team-first image.
An English literature major at Brown University in Rhode Island, Paterno was a voracious reader whose favorite sayings included Robert Browning's "Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for?"
Paterno was a demanding and relentless coach, a meticulous note-taker and a stickler for detail.
For years, he devised the game plans and called plays for the offense and defense.
His brother, George, once told Sports Illustrated: "Joe's the most intensely competitive man I've ever known."
Penn State was a virtual autocracy under Paterno, who ruled without much resistance in a remote college town miles removed from the big-city media glare. His practices were closed and so, mostly, were his lips.
Ron Bracken of the Centre Daily Times, based in State College, once described Paterno as "cranky, tyrannical, dictatorial, blunt, scathing, charming, beguiling, entertaining and witty, all in the span of 30 minutes."
Playing football for Paterno wasn't always easy, and sometimes it took years for players to appreciate his motives and tactics. He did not forge close relationships.
Cappelletti, a running back who won the Heisman Trophy in 1973, told The Times in 1998, "I was co-captain, but I never remember approaching Joe one time to have a conversation with him."
Ham, the great Penn State linebacker and Pittsburgh Steelers star, once said, "All of us disliked Paterno. It made us closer. He was very cold to his players."
Years later, however, Ham chose Paterno to be his presenter at his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Ted Kwalick, a former Penn State tight end, once remarked, "The older I get, the smarter Joe Paterno is."
Paterno used his celebrity, income and pulpit as football coach to help enhance the university's reputation. He and his wife, Sue, who met when Paterno was a Penn State assistant and she was a student, donated more than $4 million to numerous Penn State projects.
"I do want to make an impact," he told The Times in 1998. "I'd hate to walk away from this after 50 years or so and look back and say, 'He had a couple good football teams.' I'd hope that apart from having some good football teams here, some people have benefited by being in the program, and were better people for having been a part of it."
Joseph Vincent Paterno, the son of second-generation Italian immigrants, was born Dec. 21, 1926, in Brooklyn, N.Y. Angelo, his father, and his mother, Florence, expected big things from the oldest of their four children. His father was a court clerk who earned his law degree at age 40.
"If we had a classroom spelling bee, I was expected to win it," Paterno said in the 1998 biography "No Ordinary Joe."
At Brooklyn Prep, Paterno was a scrappy, skinny and savvy quarterback and an inquisitive student. Summoned for military service after high school, he was training in New Jersey when World War II ended. After his 1946 discharge, he enrolled at Brown.
He played football and basketball in college and embraced academics, calling Brown an "intellectual feast." He was an accomplished defensive back — he still holds the Brown interception record with 14 — and a good enough quarterback to lead his team to an 8-1 record as a senior.
Rip Engle, Brown's coach, left the Ivy League program in 1950 to become coach at the Penn State powerhouse. He asked a young Paterno to join his staff.
Paterno postponed law school at Boston University to give coaching a try. He initially hated State College and told Engle he wouldn't return for a second season. "I'm going to go nuts in this hick town!" Paterno proclaimed.
Paterno advanced quickly on Engle's staff — "a brazen young man," one assistant said of him — taking on more and more responsibility. He used an offer from Yale in the early 1960s to leverage assurance he would succeed Engle. When Engle retired in 1965, Paterno got his Penn State job. He was 38.
He staggered into head coaching in 1966 by losing three of his first five games. His first team finished 5-5, and he opened the 1967 season with a loss to Navy.
"I wondered whether I really had it," he said of his abilities.
After a loss to UCLA on Oct. 7, 1967, Penn State went 31 straight games without a defeat.
It was during this time that Paterno went public with his "Grand Experiment" idea that emphasized academics.
"Everyone assumes if you have a great football team, there have been some sacrifices made in the area of standards," he told the Philadelphia Daily News.
Some would view the notion as holier than thou. Yet while Penn State had its share of off-the-field problems, the school never incurred major NCAA violations on Paterno's watch.
Earning football respect, though, was a battle Paterno waged for years.
His teams in 1968 and 1969 went 11-0 but finished second both seasons in the Associated Press poll.
Penn State, which played as an independent until 1993, was penalized by pollsters for facing inferior competition.
Paterno was a strong playoff proponent, and his frustration may have influenced him in 1972 to consider a $1.4-million offer to coach the NFL's New England Patriots. He accepted in principle before changing his mind.
He would remark at a 1973 commencement address, "Money alone will not make you happy. Success without honor is an unseasoned dish."
Paterno's frustration continued in 1973 when his 12-0 team ended up fifth in both major polls, the Associated Press and UPI. He bought his players championship rings and continued to press for a playoff.
His quest for a national title was finally realized in the 1982 season when a Penn State win over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl pushed the Nittany Lions to No. 1. Paterno claimed his second national title four years later after a hyped win over Miami in the Fiesta Bowl.
In 1993, after more than 100 years as an independent, Penn State became the 11th member of the Big Ten Conference.
In 1994, Penn State capped a 12-0 season with a Rose Bowl win over Oregon, but the Nittany Lions ended up No. 2 behind Nebraska in both the Associated Press and USA Today/CNN polls.
Competing in the Big Ten would become increasingly difficult.
Penn State endured four losing seasons in a five-year span beginning in 2000, prompting calls by some for Paterno to retire. There were websites devoted to his departure, but Paterno vowed to coach as long as his health allowed.
Paterno exacted revenge on detractors when his 2005 team finished 11-1 and defeated Florida State in the Orange Bowl.
His survivors include his wife, whom he married in 1962, and children Diana, Mary, David, Jay and Scott — all Penn State graduates — and 17 grandchildren.
chris.dufresne@latimes.com
Copyright © 2012, Los Angeles Times
The Day the LOLCats Died...
SOPA/PIPA blackout: ‘The Day the LOLcats Died’
Seattle Against SOPA isn’t the first to spread awareness of the bill through song. Last month, Leah Kaufman (who created “I Got a Crush on Obama”) and British rapper Dan Bull wrote songs about SOPA, firewalls, and Internet freedom. Watch here.
SOPA and PIPA...
Readers weigh in on SOPA, PIPA
By Brett Molina, USA TODAY
Updated 21m ago
Getty Images
USA TODAY readers have weighed in as well, voicing their opinions on SOPA and PIPA. Here are a few reader comments:
Allan Ranusch: "Wealthy corporations and unlimited contributions trumps freedom of speech."
D.j. Allyn: "Once again, Congress is trying to fix something that isn't broke, instead of dealing with what they SHOULD be dealing with."
@dodgr007: Old Spanish proverb: "Sopa isn't soap, ropa isn't rope & butter is mantiquilla" & censorship is fascism.
Chris Parker: "This bill is god awful. There's no reasonable "other side" to the argument. Yes piracy is an issue and has been for longer than the internet has been around. It's not the supposed intent of this bill that's the issue, it's the scope and methods with which they plan to enforce it. Government should not censor the internet by legally being able to pursue ISP companies like Time Warner to block traffic, period."
Gregg Lebovitz: "These bills do not solve any problems, weaken our position as a technology leader, and are driven by some an entertainment business who is failing their customers and trying to use the courts to increase profits. We are fed up with you."
Dave Smith: "Yep, when republicans and democrats came to the table, we got the Patriot Act. Why do we even question their abilities to protect the constitution? And, the bill allows the government to go after all ISPs, not just sites selling pirated materials. Where is George Orwell?"
ISML 2012: Nomination Period Results
The Nomination Period lasted from 1 January to 8 January. Over 5000 valid ballots were received.
The following characters advance to the Preliminary Round.
The following characters advance to the Preliminary Round.
Nova Division
|
|
Stella Division
|
|
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)