Super Bowl Slot Means Giant Business In NYC - CBS New York

Victor Cruz jersey (credit: CBS 2)

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) ? The Super Bowl-bound Giants will meet at the Meadowlands, board shuttle buses to the airport, then head to Indianapolis, but in town or not, local businesses are benefiting from Big Blue?s success on the field.

Victor Cruz, who got a hometown sendoff in Paterson this weekend is so popular, his jerseys and T-shirts are this week?s top sellers at Modell?s in Times Sqaure.

?Victor Cruz, he?s definitely number one in my book with the Giants,? fan Tracy Beck told CBS 2?s Mark Morgan.

?Cruz, anything with the word Cruz on it, customers are flocking in looking for them,? said Marc Sacks, assistant manager of Modell?s.

Asked if he was sick of people requesting Cruz gear, Sacks told Morgan: ?Sick of the phone ringing, for sure, yeah.?

Merchants, of course, are thrilled with Big Blue boost in business.

?That?s why we came in. We came in from New Jersey. Can?t get them in New Jersey anywhere right now, so we thought we?d take a ride in now while it?s quiet and see if we could get one, so here we go,? said Bob Schultz of West Milford, proudly showing off his Cruz jersey Sunday.

Next week, bars will be overflowing with fans.

?It?s just going to be great business for any bar with huge screens and the Super Bowl on,? said Angelica Cartagena, manager of Rumours Bar in Midtown.

?It?s going to be really crowded and I?m going to get here really early so I can have a seat at the bar,? fan Donna Pappalardo told CBS 2?s Dave Carlin. ?Watch them win, that?s the most important thing.?

As the Giants take the next step on the road to glory, fans remain confident in a repeat of Super Bowl XLII.

?We?re New Yorkers and we?re the best team out there. We?re in the best city in the world and I just think it?s time, once again, that the Giants win,? said Clara Panzini of Lake Grove, N.Y.

?Because we got it in the bag, that?s it, New York all the way,? said Rachel Carrillo of Canarsie. ?That?s right, in the bag? No doubt.?

CBS 2 even found a non-Giants fan whose dislike of the Patriots has pushed him into the G-Men camp.

?I?m a Jets fan and if it?s the Giants or the Patriots, I?m going with the Giants. That?s pretty much the way I see it,? said Richard Beck of Colonia, N.J.

Asked if that was hard for him to say, Beck answered: ?No, I?m a New Yorker. I?m for the Giants. Go Blue.?

Please leave a comment below?

Source: http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/01/29/super-bowl-slot-means-big-giants-business-in-nyc/

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Verizon Galaxy Nexus battery and charger, Cruzer Lite TPU cases, and Poweramp [Contest Winners]

If you're a registered member here at Android Central then you know our blogs and forums always have a contest happening. And if you're not registered, well -- now is as good a time as any. This week's winners are as posted after the break, and if you were chosen watch your email as we'll be following up shortly. Stay tuned for more upcoming contests folks. Congrats to this week's winners!

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/j3Ep7QG1Jg8/story01.htm

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After Leo DiCaprio Invests, Lance Armstrong Races To Promote, Advise Mobli

Mobli, the startup behind the eponymous, much-hyped realtime photo and video sharing service, has struck a partnership with road racing cyclist and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong. Armstrong, a seven-time Tour de France champion, will be making use of a private Mobli channel to keep his fans and followers up-to-date on his life through videos, photos and whatnot.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/GIzDwIGbRzs/

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HBT: Safeco Field retractable roof breaks down

The Mariners product on the field isn?t the only thing in need of repairs.

Seattle?s FanFest was dampened Saturday because two of the retractable roof?s panels remained stuck in place, the result of a broken wheel and axle.

The problem was discovered Thursday, but the Mariners went ahead with the FanFest anyway. While they were able to keep most of the field and activities covered, a light rain fell on the east side of the field.

?The good news is it?s now, and not when we?re playing baseball,? vice president of ballpark operations Scott Jenkins said. ?If it happened during the season, it could be a problem. But we have time to deal with it.?

The roof is expected to be fixed next week.

According to MLB.com?s Greg Johns, the Safeco roof has failed just once during a game, that leading to a 54-minute rain delay in a contest versus the Rangers on July 23, 2000.

Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/28/safeco-field-roof-breaks-down/related/

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Egyptians move to reclaim streets through graffiti

In this Monday, Jan. 23, 2012 photo, Egyptian women walk past graffiti depicting a military tank on a wall under a bridge in Cairo, Egypt. In May, Mohamed Fahmy, known in the graffiti world as Gazneer, made one of Cairo's largest and longest surviving pieces of street art under a bridge used by taxi drivers to urinate. It was an image of a military tank pointed toward a boy on a bike who, rather than carrying a traditional bread delivery, was carrying the city on his head. It was a symbolic reference to youth who care for the nation and are heading toward a collision with Egypt's military rulers. On his blog, Ganzeer wrote: "Our only hope right now is to destroy the military council using the weapon of art." (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

In this Monday, Jan. 23, 2012 photo, Egyptian women walk past graffiti depicting a military tank on a wall under a bridge in Cairo, Egypt. In May, Mohamed Fahmy, known in the graffiti world as Gazneer, made one of Cairo's largest and longest surviving pieces of street art under a bridge used by taxi drivers to urinate. It was an image of a military tank pointed toward a boy on a bike who, rather than carrying a traditional bread delivery, was carrying the city on his head. It was a symbolic reference to youth who care for the nation and are heading toward a collision with Egypt's military rulers. On his blog, Ganzeer wrote: "Our only hope right now is to destroy the military council using the weapon of art." (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

In this Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012 an Egyptian girl, left, posts an art piece made by Sad Panda, unseen, on a wall as flower vendors prepare a bouquet outside their shop in Cairo, Egypt. Taking control of the streets was critical for the thousands of Egyptians who eventually overthrew their authoritarian leader nearly one year ago, but the battle for freedom of expression continues to be fought by graffiti artists who support the country's military rulers and those who want them to relinquish power. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

In this Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012 photo, a man walks past graffiti depicting the Egyptian military in Cairo, Egypt. Taking control of the streets was critical for the thousands of Egyptians who eventually overthrew their authoritarian leader nearly one year ago, but the battle for freedom of expression continues to be fought by graffiti artists who support the country's military rulers and those who want them to relinquish power. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

In this Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012 photo, a man cleans a side walk as graffiti is shown on the wall with Arabic writing from top left to top right that reads, "the answer and the other answer, we will not forget these dates, the people will still revolt, raise the revolutionary flag, hit Tantawy, the revolution will bring justice, we are for Tahrir, " in Cairo, Egypt. Taking control of the streets was critical for the thousands of Egyptians who eventually overthrew their authoritarian leader nearly one year ago, but the battle for freedom of expression continues to be fought by graffiti artists who support the country's military rulers and those who want them to relinquish power. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

In this Saturday, Dec. 24, 2011 photo, two boys look through concrete blocks built by Egyptian military with Arabic writing that reads, "freedom," near Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt. Taking control of the streets was critical for the thousands of Egyptians who eventually overthrew their authoritarian leader nearly one year ago, but the battle for freedom of expression continues to be fought by graffiti artists who support the country's military rulers and those who want them to relinquish power. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

CAIRO (AP) ? The conflict between Egypt's ruling military and pro-democracy protesters isn't just on the streets of Cairo, it's on the walls as well, as graffiti artists from each side duel it out with spray paint and stencils.

Earlier this month, two young supporters of the ruling generals wearing Guy Fawkes masks ? the grinning face made famous by the movie "V for Vendetta" ? painted over part of the largest and most famous anti-military graffiti pieces in the capital.

The two made a 15-minute video of themselves stenciling slogans declaring, "The police, military and people are one hand," and, "The military is a red line." They posted the video online, calling themselves the "Badr Battalion" and describing themselves as "distinguished Egyptian youth who are against the spies and traitors that burn Egypt."

It was an ironic turnabout, with backers of the authorities picking up the renegade street art medium of revolutionary youth ? and even adopting masks that have become an international symbol of rebellion against authority.

During the regime of Hosni Mubarak, Egypt had almost no graffiti on the walls of its cities. But when the uprising against Mubarak's rule erupted a year ago, there was an explosion of the art.

Taking control of the streets was critical for the thousands of Egyptians who eventually overthrew the country's authoritarian leader. The battle continues to be fought by graffiti artists who support the country's military rulers and those who want them to relinquish power.

Since Mubarak's fall on Feb. 11, graffiti is everywhere in Cairo and other cities, proclaiming the goals of the revolution and mocking the regime. Graffiti artists have continued to work, using walls, buildings, bridges and sidewalks as a canvas to denounce the generals who took power after Mubarak as new dictators and to press the revolution's demands.

Usually anti-military graffiti has a short lifetime before it is quickly painted over or defaced with black spray paint. And just as quickly the artists put up more.

The graffito that the "Badr Battalion" painted over had survived remarkably long. Mohamed Fahmy, known by his pseudonym Ganzeer, put it up in May under a bridge. It depicts a military tank with its turret aimed at a boy on his bike who balances on his head one of the wooden racks that are traditionally used to deliver bread ? though instead of bread, he's carrying a city. It was a symbolic reference to revolutionary youth who care for the nation, heading into a collision with the generals.

Quickly after it was partially stenciled over, a new graffiti was up, depicting the country's military leader as a large snake with a bloody corpse coming out of his mouth.

Graffiti has turned into perhaps the most fertile artistic expression of Egypt's uprising, shifting rapidly to keep up with events. Faces of protesters killed or arrested in crackdowns are common subjects ? and as soon as a new one falls, his face is ubiquitous nearly the next day.

The face of Khaled Said, a young man whose beating death at the hands of police officers in 2010 helped fuel the anti-Mubarak uprising, even appeared briefly on the walls of the Interior Ministry, the daunting security headquarters that few would dare even approach in the past.

Other pieces mock members of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, the council of generals that is now in power, or figures from Mubarak's regime.

When a police officer was captured on an Internet video shooting at the eyes of protesters during clashes, his image immediately dotted walls, urging people to find the "Eye-Sniper."

State television is another frequent target because it has become the mouthpiece for the military's proclamations that protesters are vandals, thugs and part of a plot to throw Egypt into chaos. One graffito shows the word "Occupy" written in the shape of the State TV building. Stickers plastered on walls show the words "Go down to the street" emerging from a television set, a message to the so-called "Couch Party," people who sit and watch the protests on TV.

"It's about a message in the street. It reaches the poor, the rich, the trash collector, the taxi driver," graffiti artist Karim Gouda said. "Most of these people are away from the Internet and the social networking world so it's a way to reach them."

Not everyone is receptive. Gouda said he was accosted by residents as he put up posters depicting a rotting face with the words "open your eyes before it's too late" in the impoverished Cairo district of Sayeda Zeinab. They accused him of trying to create civil strife and of trying to encourage Egypt's Christian minority to take over from the Muslim majority. Such accusations about activists were rife at the time after an October protest by Christians in Cairo, which was crushed by soldiers, killing more than 20.

The residents tore down Gouda's posters and chased him out of the neighborhood.

Under Mubarak's nearly 30-year rule, political expression on the streets was repressed by his powerful police forces. Once every five years, parliamentary elections would see the country littered with posters for elections that always favored the ruling party. Billboards advertising a lifestyle that only a privileged few could afford for companies whose owners were often closely affiliated with the regime towered over the sprawling slums of Cairo, a bustling city of some 18 million people.

"It's liberating to see," blogger Soraya Morayef said of the proliferation of street art.

Morayef, who has dedicated her blog Suzeeinthecity to documenting graffiti artists' work, said the street art reflects what happened in the whole country.

"The fear barrier was broken," she said.

___

Soraya Morayef's blog on graffiti: http://suzeeinthecity.wordpress.com/

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-29-ML-Egypt-Graffiti/id-082f5bcb48dc4aaea9dfb2d030d5bc28

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GOP insiders rise up to cut Gingrich down to size

Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks after receiving an endorsement from national Hispanic leaders at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, in Miami, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks after receiving an endorsement from national Hispanic leaders at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, in Miami, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney campaigns at The Hispanic Leadership Network's Lunch at Doral Golf Resort and Spa in Miami, Fla., Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks during Hispanic Leadership Network conference at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, in Miami, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, accompanied by his wife Callista, speaks during Hispanic Leadership Network conference at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, in Miami, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, accompanied by his wife Callista, arrives before receiving an endorsement from national Hispanic leaders, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa in Miami, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) ? Republican insiders are rising up to cut Newt Gingrich down to size, testament to the GOP establishment's fear that the mercurial candidate could lead the party to disaster this fall.

The gathering criticisms are bitingly sharp, as if edged by a touch of panic, a remarkable development considering the target once was speaker of the House and will go down in history as leader of the Republicans' 1994 return to power in Congress. The intended beneficiary is Mitt Romney, a once-moderate Massachusetts governor whom many rank-and-file Republicans view with suspicion.

"The Republican establishment might not be wild about Mitt Romney, but they're terrified by Newt Gingrich," said Dan Schnur, a former GOP campaign strategist who teaches politics at the University of Southern California.

The anti-Gingrich statements have come from conservative columnists, talk show hosts including Ann Coulter, former Reagan administration officials and others. One of the harshest was written by former Sen. Bob Dole, the party's 1996 presidential nominee.

"I have not been critical of Newt Gingrich but it is now time to take a stand before it is too late," Dole wrote in the conservative magazine National Review. "If Gingrich is the nominee it will have an adverse impact on Republican candidates running for county, state, and federal offices."

As speaker from 1995 through 1998, Gingrich "had a new idea every minute and most of them were off the wall," Dole wrote. He said he struggled against Democrats' TV attacks in his 1996 campaign, "and in every one of them, Newt was in the ad."

Gingrich has reacted unevenly to the accusations, sometimes denouncing them, other times wearing them like a badge of honor.

"The Republican establishment is just as much as an establishment as the Democratic establishment, and they are just as determined to stop us," he told a tea party rally Thursday in central Florida.

The crowd cheered. But lingering near the back was an example of how the Romney campaign is taking advantage of the whacks at Gingrich: GOP Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah. Chaffetz is beloved by many conservatives, and he goes from one Gingrich event to another to tell reporters why he thinks Romney would be a stronger challenger against President Barack Obama in the fall.

Gingrich aide R.C. Hammond confronted Chaffetz on Friday at an event in Delray, Fla., noting that some Republican officials criticize such shadowing tactics. Chaffetz defended his presence, saying Gingrich has vowed to show up everywhere Obama campaigns this fall, if several hours later.

Romney has drawn other high-ranking surrogates, with mixed results. South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley annoyed some of her tea party supporters when she campaigned throughout her state for Romney, who lost to Gingrich by 12 percentage points.

It's unclear whether the anti-Gingrich push is driving a new wedge between establishment Republicans and anti-establishment insurgents such as the tea partyers.

"We don't like the Republican establishment anyway," said Mark Meckler, a Californian and co-founder of Tea Party Patriots. He said tea partyers are heavily focused on state and local races, and are wary of getting drawn into the presidential quarrels.

After all, Meckler said, "it's not as though Newt Gingrich hasn't been part of the Republican establishment."

Many other conservative activists also noted Gingrich's long history as a Washington insider, including 20 years in Congress and 13 as a well-paid consultant, writer and Fox News commentator. His history complicates his efforts to rally angry, working-class Republicans who feel that an "elite" cadre of officials, journalists and others look down on them.

"He's in one sense attacking the establishment he says he helped lead," said John Feehery, a former top House GOP aide who contends the tea party's influence is often overstated. The chief complaints about Gingrich focus more on his personality than his politics, which are hard to nail down, Feehery said.

The most damaging criticisms have come from former friends and colleagues who worked closely with him in Congress. It's Gingrich's egotistic behavior, more than ideology, that is driving the attacks, Feehery said.

Among those defending Gingrich are Sarah Palin, the 2008 vice presidential nominee who is admired by many tea partyers.

"Look at Newt Gingrich, what's going on with him via the establishment's attacks," Palin said this week on Fox Business Network. "They're trying to crucify this man and rewrite history and rewrite what it is that he has stood for all these years."

Palin and Rep. Michele Bachmann, who dropped out of the presidential race, are tea party favorites with minimal experience in Washington and in top GOP circles. Gingrich is trying to tap the sense of resentment among their followers. But his long and complicated Washington record and reputation for intra-party quarrels seem to leave some tea partyers unimpressed.

"It's truly a shame that this is where the Republican establishment has chosen to focus their energy," said Marianne Gasiecki, a tea party activist in Ohio. She added, however, that political activists should focus on congressional races. "If we have a conservative House and Senate," she said, "the power of the president is really insignificant."

As Gingrich's broadcast ads in Florida become more pointed, prominent Republicans are chiding him without endorsing Romney or any other candidates. Gingrich stopped running a radio ad that called Romney anti-immigrant after Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said it was unfair and damaging to the party.

So long as party insiders' complaints about Gingrich focus on his personality and quirks, the GOP can postpone a more wrenching debate about ideology, which may be in store if the once-moderate Romney is nominated. For now, conservative stalwarts seem determined to depict Gingrich as too erratic to be the party's standard bearer, let alone president.

Columnist Charles Krauthammer told Fox News: "Gingrich isn't after victory, he's after vengeance." He added: "This is Captain Ahab on the loose."

Some Republican voters are pushing back. "I want so badly to be for Gingrich, and I'm not going to be bullied out of my vote," said Barb Johnson, 52, who attended the tea party rally in Mount Dora, Fla., on Thursday. "I like his strong presence."

Florida's primary is Tuesday.

___

Associated Press writer Brian Bakst contributed to this report from Delray, Fla.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-27-GOP%20Campaign-Establishment/id-fc37a0671e8c4b0ba105aeb78a103dfa

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97% The Artist

"With pleasure!"Hollywood, 1927: As silent movie star George Valentin wonders if the arrival of talking pictures will cause him to fade into oblivion, he sparks with Peppy Miller, a young dancer set for a big break. REVIEWThis light-footed and warm-hearted souffl? of a movie is a reminder of just how much fun it can be to go to the movies. A film about a silent film star struggling with the transition to talkies that is itself a silent film is the kind of cutesy high concept premise that could go down in flames in the hands of the wrong team. But writer/director Michel Hazanivicius and his stars, Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo, know exactly how to sell the material so that it all works beautifully. What I liked most about the movie is that it doesn't spend all of its time winking to itself for its own cleverness, as you might expect it would. It doesn't use its silent film conventions to make any kind of commentary on silent films. Hazanivicius and company wanted to make a silent film because they thought it was the best way to tell this particular story, and that's just what they've done, without apologies.Dujardin and Bejo are being lauded for their performances, and rightly so. It would be easy to dismiss their work as being unchallenging, but I have a feeling both had more difficult roles than one might first assume, and that the fact that they both make it look so easy is part of why they're so good. And the movie looks stunning -- one of the benefits of it being silent is that with words removed from the equation, the images take on extra responsibility to communicate the movie's ideas to us, and what cinephile could resist anything that makes a film more cinematic? Captured with brilliant production design by Laurence Bennett and gorgeously shot by Guillaume Schiffman in scintillating black and white evoking the silent era to perfection. Glamorous and hear-felt with genuine pathos and peppered with enough knowing laughs (thanks largely to Uggie The Dog as Valentin's constant companion) the film is a masterpiece about movie-making and the magic of the movies. One of the year's best and a must see for cinemaniacs!

January 26, 2012

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_artist/

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Obama to spell out plan to target universities that don't control rising tuition costs (Star Tribune)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

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How to use AutoFill to automatically fill out web forms on iPhone and iPad [Daily tip]

Tired of filling out one tedious web form after another, and wondering how to get Safari on iPhone and iPad to automatically fill them out for you? Luckily, deep within the settings of Safari there is a way to setup AutoFill, something which allows you to automatically input your personal data on sites that permit its use.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/hW5XdgU__rw/story01.htm

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Minnesota Man Says 'Hidden' Traps Are Killing Pets ? CBS Minnesota

MERRIFIELD, Minn. (WCCO) ? A Northern Minnesota man is concerned that hunting dogs are becoming the hunted.

John Reynolds of Merrifield lost his dog Penni when she got caught in what?s called a ?Body Grip Trap.?

The traps are designed to kill raccoons, fishers and bobcats ? but there have been several reports of pet dogs getting caught in them.

Reynolds is a trapper himself. But the type of trap he demonstrated for us is the kind he wants nothing to do with.

?You can imagine what this would do to the neck of a dog,? said Reynolds, as he springs a body grip trap.

There are several names for this type of trapping device, but Reynolds and others call it the body grip trap. It lures prey in-between the springs with grouse or pheasant meat. And it kills quickly ? instantly breaking the neck or the windpipe of the animal. It?s a scenario, that last month, became all too real for Reynolds.

On Dec. 17, Reynolds and his springer spaniel Penni were walking around a lake near Emily, Minnesota. Penni ran off and got caught in a Body Grip Trap.

?It took about a half hour before I found her ? and she was dead,? said Reynolds.

And he?s not alone. Reynolds says at least four other dogs in the area have been caught and killed, as well.

What worries him most is that body grip traps can virtually be set on any public land in the state of Minnesota. Including some parks.

But Reynolds isn?t out to get rid of the traps, he just wants the rules to change.

?Every time you go in the woods with your dog you are playing roulette,? said Reynolds.

Because the bait is what attracts the dogs, Reynolds would like to see the traps moved off the ground ? where fishers and raccoons can still get them but dogs can?t. Twenty-five other states have that type of regulation, but Minnesota does not. And because of what happened to Penni, Reynolds now refers to body grips as ?hidden killers.?

?All we are looking for is a change in the method. It doesn?t seem like much to ask. They are good traps, we just don?t want them set where our dogs can reach them,? said Reynolds.

In 2010, the DNR created regulations that do not allow the traps to be placed near houses or buildings occupied by livestock.

The DNR says they continue to talk with trappers and concerned dog owners about the body grip traps.

Source: http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2012/01/26/minnesota-man-says-dnr-hidden-traps-are-killing-pets/

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Profile: Insider is surprise pick as new RIM CEO (Reuters)

FRANKFURT (Reuters) ? Insider Thorsten Heins, the new chief executive at BlackBerry maker RIM, is a surprise choice for those looking for a "transformational" leader from outside to turn around the Canadian group's fortunes.

Tall, soft-spoken and bespectacled, the Gifhorn-born Heins, 54, spent most of his working life at German engineering giant Siemens, where he oversaw a mobile telephone business which faced fierce pricing pressure and quality issues.

An avid fan of NBA basketball team the Miami Heat after having lived in Florida for four years, Heins rides a BMW motorbike when he is not road cycling or embarking on long-distance charity rides.

"We will take this to new heights," said Heins after taking over at Research in Motion from co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie, who finally bowed to investor pressure and resigned. "Innovation is endless, we will have a lot of fun."

Heins spent more than 20 years at Siemens, having joined straight from university in 1984 where he met his wife Petra, a mathematician and physicist. The couple have a 21-year-old son and a 23-year-old daughter.

Heins' German roots were evident when he was asked about his choice of motorcycle. "Of course it's a BMW, I'm German."

By the mid-2000s, he had worked his way up to the helm of Siemens's mobile phone business, so he was no stranger to mobiles when he joined RIM.

The business was sold to Taiwan's BenQ in 2005, after Heins was promoted to the management board of the new Communications business, which was dismantled a year later.

"Unfortunately, it was too late to turn mobile devices because this division was already in a difficult situation, and therefore missed its opportunity to accelerate and improve itself," said Thomas Ganswindt, who was Heins's boss on the Communications board.

Heins was a "very strong" leader and someone "able to recognize what is needed by an ailing business", he said.

In his career at Siemens, Heins worked in R&D, customer service, sales and product management, ending as chief technology officer. He joined RIM in December 2007.

BATTLING APPLE

By the end of a mid-2011 restructuring, Heins was one of two chief operating officers, responsible for sales and for both hardware and software product engineering. "He played key roles in the creation of RIM's product portfolio," the company said.

Activist investors have clamored in recent months for a new, "transformational" leader to compete with Apple's iPhone and iPad and the slew of large-screen and powerful devices from Samsung and others using Google's Android operating system.

RIM marked Heins's ascent to the top role with a seven-minute YouTube video in which the 6 foot 6 inches CEO gave his vision for success with a noticeable German accent.

"He is not very well known outside of the company. He has been working in both Balsillie's and Lazaridis' shadow," said Alexandre Peterc, analyst at Exane BNP Paribas.

"He does strike me as someone who knows the industry very well given his background at Siemens. On the plus side he is a veteran of the industry and he knows his stuff, but that said, his background is very much tech and process orientated as opposed to strategic vision orientated.

"You don't say 'this is the next Steve Jobs' because a Steve Jobs is hard to come by," Peterc said.

"In our view, a CEO with a strong consumer electronics and supply chain background would have been ideal," Shaw Wu, Senior Technology Analyst at Sterne Agee, said.

Most who knew him paid tribute to his leadership skills.

"It is not a job that many people would have taken," said Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi.

"Thorsten is highly respected in terms of his knowledge of the industry and given that this appears to be a rather sudden turn of events, they needed someone who can quickly takeover the helm," said CCS Insight's Ben Wood.

RIM has been at pains to underline the orderly nature of the handover.

However, one analyst, who asked not to be named because of his relationship with the group, said it was astounding that the COO at a company of this size should have been so invisible to the market and investor community.

He said he had heard previously from executives within RIM that Heins was very highly regarded and that he was very much on top of his brief. "His name came up repeatedly, with regards to people at RIM who really rate him."

As takeover talk swirled and the financial world pondered whether Heins had been appointed to lead a turnaround or prepare RIM for sale, he clearly now is going to have to communicate quickly, get to know investors and raise his public profile.

(Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Additional reporting by Marilyn Gerlach, Nicola Leske, Kate Holton and Paul Sandle)

This story update corrects city of birth to Gifhorn, not Munich

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personaltech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120125/tc_nm/us_rim_heins

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Illinois attorney general sues Standard & Poor's (AP)

CHICAGO ? The Illinois attorney general filed a lawsuit Wednesday accusing Standard & Poor's of misleading investors by assigning its highest ratings to risky mortgage-backed investments during the years leading up to the crash of the housing market.

The lawsuit from Lisa Madigan's office alleges the agency compromised its independence by issuing high ratings for unworthy or risky investments as part of a strategy to boost revenue and market share. The lawsuit cites internal emails and conversations, including an instant messenger exchange in April 2007 in which an employee tells another that an investment "could be structured by cows and we would rate it."

"Publically, S&P took every opportunity to proclaim their analyses and ratings as independent, objective and free from its desire for revenue," Madigan said. "Yet privately, S&P abandoned its principles and instead used every trick possible to give deals high ratings in order to retain clients and generate revenue."

Madigan's lawsuit singled out mortgage-backed securities, saying Standard & Poor's misrepresented the risks by giving the investments its highest rating of AAA.

A spokesman for Standard and Poor's rejected the claims.

"The case is without merit, and we will defend ourselves vigorously," said David Wargin.

A spokeswoman for Madigan, Robyn Ziegler, said the attorney general began investigating Standard & Poor's in early 2010. The probe is continuing, but Madigan determined that it had progressed enough to file the suit, Ziegler said. Madigan previously had been involved in discriminatory-lending lawsuits against Bank of America subsidiary Countrywide Financial Corp. and Wells Fargo.

The financial products singled out in the Standard & Poor's lawsuit involve the bundling of a pool of mortgages that are then sold as securities. They are backed by residential mortgages, including the subprime mortgages that have been blamed for much of the economic turmoil set off by the housing crash in 2007 and 2008.

Madigan's lawsuit said the S&P ignored the risks of those securities in giving them ratings that were favorable to the agency's investment bank clients and its own profits.

The performance of those investments had a significant impact on institutional investors in Illinois, including pension funds and 401(k) managers, the lawsuit said.

"The mortgage-backed securities that helped our market soar ? and ultimately crash ? could not have been purchased by most investors without S&P's seal of approval," Madigan said.

The lawsuit also cites testimony before Congress by a former managing director of the ratings agency who said "profits were running the show."

Madigan has also targeted mortgage lenders she accuses of having preyed on home owners.

Her office filed suit against Bank of America subsidiary Countrywide Financial Corp. in 2010. In that suit, Madigan accused Countrywide of consistently selling African-American and Hispanic borrowers riskier loans at a higher cost than it sold to white borrowers with similar credit ratings.

In December, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a settlement of $335 million with Bank of America that stemmed from that lawsuit.

Madigan is pursuing a similar lawsuit against Wells Fargo, which she also accuses of discriminatory lending.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personalfinance/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_bi_ge/us_standard___poor_s_lawsuit_illinois

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The Bachelor Ratings: Climbing Fast!

Ben Flajnik's season of The Bachelor is coming on strong after a slow ratings start.

The season launched to franchise-low ratings, but things are looking up after a steady dose of bikini skiing, cat fights and surprising, contrived plot twists.

Averaging 8.2 million overall viewers, and a 2.7 rating among 18-to-49-year-olds, last night's episode marked a season high for the ABC guilty pleasure.

Four episodes in, Ben Flajnik's Bachelor is fast approaching Brad Womack's season a year ago. Just wait until we get to the good stuff a few weeks from now.

How will it end? Read The Bachelor spoilers here for insight on how we believe the 16th season plays out ... or watch in video form below, if you dare.

REPEAT: Mega-spoiler alert for the link above and video below!

The Bachelor Spoilers: How Will It End?

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/01/the-bachelor-ratings-climbing-fast/

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Lego okays Minecraft set, landscaping love-in ends in marriage

The block-building stylings of Minecraft bares a more than passing resemblance that timesucking hobby from our childhood. Now Lego and Minecraft look set to symbolize their love of all things block-based in a forthcoming set. The idea was suggested through fan submission site, Lego Cuusoo, which offers the chance for new user-submitted building sets -- provided there's enough interest -- to reach retail. The Minecraft project is the latest to make it through, claiming over 10,000 supporters and managing to pass through the toy-maker's requirements. Lego is now readying a concept that "celebrates the best aspects of building with the Lego system and in Minecraft." We've been promised more details soon -- until then, we're getting back to the digitial mining.

Lego okays Minecraft set, landscaping love-in ends in marriage originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Jan 2012 05:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/25/lego-minecraft-set-incoming/

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Child's Play Communications Announces Addition of RRKidz and ...

By PR Newswire

Article Rating:

January 23, 2012 01:40 PM EST

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NEW YORK, Jan. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Child's Play Communications, the award-winning public relations agency specializing in reaching moms, is thrilled to announce the addition of LeVar Burton's RRKidz to the agency's client roster. Child's Play will launch RRKidz, re-launch the company's much loved Reading Rainbow brand, promote the Reading Rainbow classic library of episodes (DVD and streaming) and announce the Reading Rainbow Kidz App, the first of RRKidz' many innovative products and services to debut starting in 2012.

Originally a TV series designed to inspire a love of reading among young children, the Peabody Award-winning Reading Rainbow ran for 26 years on PBS (1983-2009) and was co-produced and hosted by actor LeVar Burton. RRKidz, a trans-media entity bringing enrichment products to the children's digital space, is run by Burton, Co-Founder, entertainment veteran Mark Wolfe and CEO Asra Rasheed. RRKidz will bring Reading Rainbow to today's digitally connected children beginning with a reading and book discovery app initially launching for iPad in early 2012. Child's Play Communications will generate awareness for the return of Reading Rainbow and the Reading Rainbow Kidz app through an extensive traditional and social media campaign, kicked off with a major New York City event.

RRKidz' goal is to become not only the leader in digital publishing for children, but also a major, multi-platform, kids' educational and enrichment brand?- one that delights children while maintaining parents' devotion and trust. The company is located in Los Angeles, CA.

"As major Reading Rainbow fans, we can't wait to help introduce Reading Rainbow to a new generation of children, and re-introduce it to their parents, who grew up watching the show," said Stephanie Azzarone, president, Child's Play Communications. "Today's moms and dads will now have the opportunity to share those special memories and that feel-good Reading Rainbow experience with their own youngsters."

"Child's Play Communications, with its powerhouse experience in reaching moms and their children, is the ideal partner to help us re-launch Reading Rainbow and develop the RRKidz brand," said Wolfe. "We're looking forward to a very productive relationship with this innovative and exciting company."

Located in New York City, Child's Play Communications specializes in public relations, social media and word-of-mouth communications for products and services targeted to moms.

Child's Play Communications
Child's Play Communications?specializes exclusively in public relations, social media and word-of-mouth communications for products and services targeted to moms. Based in New York City, the agency has launched an exciting array of proprietary services to engage this influential market through traditional media, online and in-person, including the award-winning Team Mom?, the agency's own network of mom review-bloggers. Recent company awards have included Bulldog's PR Innovation of the Year and Social Media Innovator of the Year. For additional information, please visit our Web site, our blog, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

RRKidz
RRKidz?(www.RRKidz.com) provides an enriching interactive platform for children to discover and explore exceptional digital media content that is both educational and entertaining. Headquartered in Los Angeles with an office in San Francisco, RRKidz?holds global rights to the trusted Reading Rainbow brand through a partnership with series creator, WNED-TV, a premier PBS station, based in Buffalo, NY. The?Reading Rainbow Kidz?subscription app, designed to instill a lifelong love of reading, will be available via the iPad and select Android operating system devices.

SOURCE Child's Play Communications

Source: http://buyersteps.ulitzer.com/node/2138071

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Tech Students Head to State Finals in Automotive Competition ...

Posted by: Brian Howard - Posted in Schools, Yorktown on Jan 23, 2012

Tech Center Automotive students Tom DeMasi, from Lakeland, and Austin Smith, from Carmel, placed second in the Greater New York Automotive Dealer Association Regional Competition held on January 11th in Whitestone, New York.

The students, who attend the Tech Center at Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES, performed tasks ranging from precision measurements to diagnostics. They will move on to the state finals on February 14th in Whitestone. Students Damian Diaz, from Ossining, and Dan Ferreira, from Lakeland, placed fourth in the competition, and Bryan Restrepo, from Bedford, won first place in the alternate division.

The Greater New York Automotive Dealers Association awards $5,000 scholarships to the top finishing teams in its Automotive Technology Competition, and also awards scholarships to students who write the best essays on Why I Hope to Work in an Automotive Dealership. The Association also presents up to 21 $300 awards to graduating high school seniors who participate in the Greater New York Automotive Technology Competition and display outstanding academic and technical achievements during their high school careers.

Photo: Automotive students Tom DeMasi from Lakeland, left, and Austin Smith from Carmel will go to the state finals in the Greater New York Automotive Dealer Association competition. Courtesy Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES

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Source: http://yorktown.lohudblogs.com/2012/01/23/tech-students-head-to-state-finals-in-automotive-competition/

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Virtual Styling And Fashion Community Polyvore Raises $14M From DAG Ventures, Goldman Sachs And Others

Polyvore, the startup lets web shoppers pull their favorite items any online store and mix and match to create personalized outfits online, has raised $14 million in Series C financing led by DAG Ventures and with participation from Goldman Sachs, Vivi Nevo (NV Investments), Benchmark Capital and Matrix Partners. This brings the company's total funding to over $22 million. The funding was originally reported by the New York Times. Polyvore allows users to create fashion ?sets,? which are digital collages that users create by combining their favorite products from across the web. The site says it has 13 million unique monthly visitors, an 80% increase over last year. And the Polyvore user community creates on average one Polyvore set every two seconds, a total of 1.4 million sets per month.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/JnSpWicPEyQ/

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In bin Laden town, father mourns another militant (AP)

ABBOTTABAD, Pakistan ? On Jan. 14 at 8:12 p.m., Khushal Khan's wife got a call on her cell phone.

"Your son has been martyred," the voice said at the other end of the line. The man then hung up.

The end for Khan's youngest son, Aslam Awan, came when a drone piloted remotely from the United States fired a missile at a house along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan. Awan was among four people killed, U.S. officials said this week, describing Awan as an "external operations planner" for al-Qaida. British authorities say he was a member of a militant cell in northern England who had fought in Afghanistan.

The Jan. 10 strike in the militant stronghold of North Waziristan that killed Awan was a victory for the CIA-led drone program at time when relations between Washington and Islamabad are very strained, in part by the missile strikes. It was one of the first drone attacks after a hiatus of some six weeks following a friendly fire incident in which U.S. forces killed 24 Pakistani border troops, nearly leading to a severing of ties with Islamabad.

The drone attacks generate anti-American sentiment inside Pakistan, but have been credited with significantly weakening al-Qaida in one of its global hubs.

For his family, the call came as a final curt word about the fate of a son they had heard little from in over a year.

Awan grew up in the northwestern Pakistani town of Abbottabad, a few kilometers away from the house where Osama bin Laden was slain. His father worked in a bank in Britain in the 70s and then in Abbottabad until he retired a few years ago. His four other sons remain in Britain, where they have prospered ? one is a surgeon, another is a doctor, the third an engineer and the fourth is a banker.

It seems doubtful Awan had any contact with bin Laden in the town. But Awan's background here reinforces a striking association between this well-ordered, wealthy Pakistani army town and al-Qaida militants, which began before bin Laden was killed here in May last year when a team of American commandos flew in from Afghanistan.

Now 75 and recovering from a heart operation, Khushal Khan answered questions Saturday from an Associated Press reporter in the garden of his house, making the most of some winter sun. He defended his son's memory against charges of militancy.

"I don't believe this is true, my son was not indulging in these things," he said. "It can't be correct."

Khan said Awan followed his brothers' footsteps and went to Britain in 2002 on a student visa.

Awan lived in Manchester for four years, during which time he joined a militant cell that aimed to bring Muslims to Pakistan for militant training, according to prosecutors at the time and a British media report. He told his father he was studying at Manchester University, but it's unclear whether he ever graduated.

The cell was headed by a British al-Qaida commander called Rangzieb Ahmed who was captured in Pakistan in 2006 and sent for trial in Britain, where he was sentenced to life in prison for directing terrorism, according to Britain's Daily Telegraph.

A letter he wrote a to a longtime friend and fellow Pakistani, Abdul Rahman, rhapsodized over the "fragrance of blood" from the battlefield of jihad and his commitment to militancy, according to prosecutors in the trial of Rahman, who was sentenced to six years in jail in 2007 for spreading terrorist propaganda in Manchester. It apparently referred to a stint fighting jihad in Afghanistan, but when that occurred is not known.

The judge said then Awan was believed to have left England for Afghanistan.

"Awan was very well connected to known extremists in the UK. It highlights that the threat is still there," said Valentina Soria, a terrorism researcher at the London-based Royal United Services Institute. "This group were not just wannabes, they were active and with links to al-Qaida central."

There are thought to be about 900,000 Pakistani Muslims in England ? many of them living in London and in northern cities. British authorities have said nearly all the plots and attacks on British soil have some connection to Pakistan.

Awan returned to Abbottabad in 2007, around the time that bin Laden was settling in to his large house, though that doesn't mean Awan was in touch with him or any of his couriers. U.S. officials have previously said the al-Qaida leader was cut off from the rest of his network and wasn't meeting other militants for security reasons.

Awan began to associate with Sipah-e-Sahaba, an extremist group that has a political wing as well links to al-Qaida, according to a police officer in the town who knows the family. The officer didn't give his name because he didn't want to be seen as adding to Khan's pain.

Khan said he last saw his son or heard his voice in 2010, when Awan asked for funds to build a house and they fought over the fact he wasn't working.

"That was the point when I had to forcefully ask him to go out earn some money," he said. "But my words hurt him, and he left home with only the clothes he was wearing."

Khan said he initially feared his son had been kidnapped when he didn't return or contact him. But after a few months, Awan called his wife and told her he was in Miran Shah, the largest town in North Waziristan. He said he was running a general store and dealing in second-hand clothes.

Local intelligence officials said Awan was known by the nom de guerre Abdullah Khurasani, and was highly prized in al-Qaida circles because of his education, computer skills and foreign contacts.

Al-Qaida, Taliban and other militants from around the world congregate for training and networking in North Waziristan, and Miran Shah is a key logistical base. The town is too dangerous for reporters to visit, but locals who have traveled there say hundreds of Pakistan and foreign militants live there openly, unmolested other than by the U.S. missile attacks on its outskirts. The Pakistani army says it doesn't have enough resources to launch an operation in the region.

The missile strike program began in earnest in 2009 and has been stepped up by the Obama administration.

Abbottabad is home to the Pakistan army's top military academy and hundreds of officers and soldiers live in what is one of the country's more secure towns. The fact that bin Laden hid there for so long in plain sight triggered intense international suspicions that the military was sheltering him.

Al-Qaida's No. 3, Abu Faraj al-Libi, lived in Abbottabad before his arrest in 2005 elsewhere in northwest Pakistan, American and Pakistani officials have said. Five months prior to the bin Laden raid, Indonesian al-Qaida operative Umar Patek was arrested in the town following the arrest of an al-Qaida courier who worked at the post office.

U.S. officials have said Patek's arrest in Abbottabad was a coincidence.

_____

Brummitt reported from Islamabad. Associated Press reporters Riaz Khan in Peshawar, Ishtiaq Mehsud in Dera Ismail Khan, Zarar Khan in Islamabad and Raphael Satter in London contributed to this story.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personaltech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120122/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan_slain_militant

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At 23, new treasurer works to save Harrisburg

HARRISBURG?? In the battle to repair the tattered finances of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, residents have turned to an unlikely city treasurer: a 23-year-old college student.

Whether John Campbell, who was installed as treasurer on January 3, is the right person to lead that charge for Harrisburg, the state's capital, remains to be seen. He is not without convictions of what is needed.

He supported the city's bankruptcy filing, which was later dismissed by a U.S. bankruptcy judge, and wants to sell the incinerator that is at the root of the city's crushing $317 million in debt.

But as a college student studying for dual bachelor's degrees in business administration and economics, Campbell will have to navigate a tough road.

The city council and mayor barely speak, little money is available for routine road and streetlight repairs, and high crime and poor schools have fueled suburban flight.

Not to mention that a receiver installed by Pennsylvania's governor -- David Unkovic, a long-time public finance expert -- has sole authority over how tax dollars are spent.

That does not seem to daunt Campbell, who faced little opposition in November's general election 3 after winning a primary election last spring.

As Harrisburg's part-time treasurer - a post that pays $20,000 a year - he is responsible for collecting taxes and other fees as well as investing what little money the city has.

"What the voters of Harrisburg are looking for right now is somebody who understands finance," said Campbell, whose term runs through 2016. "When we're talking about bonds and arbitrage, having someone who understands how campaigns work is not going to help."

Campbell, a former Democratic Party official who earned an associate's degree at a Harrisburg community college and hopes to complete his bachelor's degrees by 2013, is trying to use the power of his office, once considered a backwater of city government, to bridge the financial gap.

But with the state receiver in charge of the city's finances, Campbell's flexibility is limited.

Though he supported the city's bankruptcy filing, he opposes the sale of the city's parking garages, one of Harrisburg's most dependable revenue sources. He wants to sell the indebted incinerator and the city's large collection of Wild West and African-American artifacts, leftovers from a previous mayor's obsession with making Harrisburg a museum mecca.

City council members say that, so far, Campbell has proven himself a quick learner.

At a council meeting last week Mayor Linda Thompson's staff pushed to sell delinquent tax liens to raise cash that would help cull some debt, much of which is owed to Assured Guaranty

Campbell opposed the move, telling council members they could expect an immediate 20 percent loss if they sold the liens, while keeping them would pay off over time.

"It made no sense, logically, to sell them," Campbell said. "It would be like accepting one of those payday loans."

The information convinced the council to not sell the tax liens, helping it save more than $400,000 over time, said Wanda Williams, the city council's president.

"We were very surprised at how intense Campbell's report was," said Williams. "He was able to address all the questions council members had."

Some, however, are reserving praise.

Corky Goldstein, a Harrisburg attorney and resident for nearly 40 years, says Campbell's age - he turns 24 next month - may work against him as he moves through the community.

"I don't think he's the person in this particular case that will make a difference," said Goldstein, who sits on the board overseeing Harrisburg's parking garages. "But he's in a position to learn a lot of the players and learn how the decisions are made."

BARE-BONES

A self-described workaholic, Campbell also has a full-time job at a Harrisburg historical society.

He attends his boyfriend's synagogue on Fridays and the pair go to his Presbyterian church on Sunday. He owns two dogs, and like many his age is addicted to his iPhone.

As Harrisburg grapples with its debt, Campbell and other officials are awaiting next month's report from Unkovic, the receiver, that will outline how the city can spend and collect money.

Because Unkovic technically has complete control over the city's finances, that has s led to some confusion over whether Campbell can hire a full-time deputy, a position he says is critical. He's asked Unkovic how to proceed, but says he has yet to hear back.

"Our office is running at bare-bone levels, and it's evident by the amount we need to get done here," Campbell said. "It's a little confusing, because I'd like to hire someone right away. We're in a limbo at this point."

A spokesman for Unkovic did not respond to a request for comment.

In the interim, Campbell wants to update the city's technology to let residents pay bills online, something he aggressively promoted during his campaign.

He also wants to tax those who commute into Harrisburg and use its roads and other services for free.

"It doesn't help our tax base that half our population is below the poverty line and half of the land in the city is not taxable because it is state or federally owned," he said.

State officials have so far resisted a commuter tax for the capital city.

"This could be a great revenue stream, and we could then negotiate with our bondholders and try to level out our debt payments and pay it off in a reasonable amount of time," Campbell said. "This is a plan that you could do, if there's just courage in the political system, but that clearly is lacking at the state level."

Despite the somewhat bellicose talk, Campbell says he does not currently envision a role for himself in state politics, though he is quick to add that might change.

"If there's something that I think I can do better than the current person, or there's an opening and I think that my expertise can be applied and I can better serve my constituents," he said, "I'm completely open to that."

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46092885/ns/business-stocks_and_economy/

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Obama Sings Al Green (talking-points-memo)

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Military amputees inspire through softball (AP)

PLANT CITY, Fla. ? When a roadside bomb in Afghanistan shredded Marine Lance Cpl. Josh Wege's legs in 2009, the former high school baseball star wondered if he would even survive ? let alone walk, run or play ball again.

But on a recent Saturday afternoon, a crowd at a Tampa-area stadium watched him drill a pitch from former U.S. Olympic softballer Jennie Finch over an outfielder's head and use his high-tech prosthetic legs to run out a triple ? finishing with a belly-flop slide into third base. His Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team crushed an all-star squad that included former pro and college players 23-8.

Wege, 22, plays first base for the barnstorming bunch of Army and Marine combat veterans, most of whom rely on prosthetic limbs. Corporate sponsorships have allowed the team to travel around the country playing local teams for charity, amassing a 14-13 record going into a game Sunday against a team of first responders in Orange County, Calif. And their schedule is growing, with 75 games already booked for 2012.

All of the infielders are missing at least one of their legs. Two of the outfielders use those special carbon-fiber running legs, the ones that look like upside-down question marks, for speed. One outfielder is missing a hand, and the right-fielder plays without his entire left arm and shoulder.

His name is Greg Reynolds, and after most Wounded Warrior losses he challenges the toughest dude on the other team to a push-ups contest. He lets opponents use both arms, but the 27-year-old Massachusetts native has only lost once. Seventy is his record.

"There is no better feeling than to get on the field and have people think, `You can't play, you only have one arm,'" says Reynolds, a former soldier who survived a harrowing tour of duty in Iraq only to lose his limb in a motorcycle accident back home. "But watch me play. Watch me play. Watch what I do."

They play slow-pitch softball, but this is not your casual Thursday night beer league. And the in-your-face nature of their disabilities doesn't inspire pity or sympathy ? at least not after they start punishing the ball, flying around the bases and making highlight-reel plays in the field. Finch's Fellowship of Christian Athletes team won the other two games last weekend, including a 13-11 squeaker in the rubber match.

At Wounded Warrior games, kids ask for their autographs, women hug them and veterans pump their hands in gratitude.

"The first time we got to see him play with these incredible ballplayers, I couldn't see the field because I was crying too much," says Dave Wege, Josh's father, a Lutheran school principal in Waucousta, Wis. "It was such an emotional thing because at that point we knew that Josh was not only back, he was stronger than before in so many ways."

Coach David Van Sleet, who worked in prosthetics for the military for 30 years, started the team 10 months ago and retired in December to manage it full-time. He got some players from a tryout at the University of Arizona and picked up others along the way, relying on word of mouth at the Veterans Affairs hospitals and rehab centers. They come together for the weekend outings from around the country, always trying to fit in a practice before the games.

The team travels with 11 players who proudly wear around $2 million worth of prosthetic limbs, and no matter the weather they won't wear long pants. They want fans ? particularly those with disabilities ? to see they are different, but just as good.

"We got a good bunch of guys," says the 55-year-old Tucson resident Van Sleet, who is not an amputee himself. "A lot of amputees are depressed, sitting at home, not getting off the couch. And we say, `Look you don't have to do anything at this level, but you need to get up and go do something.' We try to encourage other amputees to maybe get back into a normal state of life, one way or another. They've got to get going."

Brian Taylor Urruela, 26, is the catcher and one of the players who wears a curvy running leg. The former solider from St. Louis lost his right leg below the knee to a roadside bomb in Iraq in October 2006, two days before he was scheduled to finish his tour and come home. The former high school baseball player said it took hundreds of practice swings and other physical therapy work to develop his hitting again, but he figures he's nearly as fast on the prosthetic as he was before.

"When you have a disability like this you have a feeling that you're never going to be able to do competitive sports again," said Urruela, who is going to school in Tampa. "If you look at us, we're just about as good as any team that plays as much as we do, and we do that with missing limbs. But we were ugly when we first started. It's just a testament to what kind of rehabilitation this game gives to us."

Josh Wege, the team's only double amputee, said he jumped at the chance to play ball again but acknowledged his initial fears that he might not be able to do it at a level that suited him. He got help and encouragement from his sister, a physical therapist who worked with him to develop balance and other athletic skills he would put to use on the field.

The morning of the first of three games against Finch's team, Wege's dad tossed batting practice to him on a Plant City, Fla., softball field. Dave Wege watched his son spray line drives all over the lot, grinning with each satisfying "thunk" of the aluminum Louisville Slugger.

"One thing we say as amputees is we're trying to get back our new normal," Wege said. "Our limbs aren't going to grow back any time soon, so this is the normal you're going to have to get used to. Without this team, my new normal wouldn't be complete."

___

Online:

Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team: http://www.woundedwarrioramputeesoftballteam.org/

___

Follow Mitch Stacy on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mitchstacy.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120119/ap_on_sp_ot/us_war_amputees_softball

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