Earning Her Stripes in College Football

Sarah Thomas and her fellow officials say that her sex has never been an issue.
NEW ORLEANS — Mike Henry could not get comfortable in his stance. He knew the line judge was watching him. This was only a scrimmage, but Henry, a 6-foot-5, 289-pound freshman lineman, was trying to move up the depth chart for the Tulane Green Wave. The whistle blew and a blur of black and white stripes came running his way.
“You need to get down, and stay down,” the official said in a voice that swiveled Henry’s head and widened his eyes. It was not the tone but the timbre of Sarah Thomas’s voice.

It was soft and lilting and grounded in the rhythms of her native Mississippi. Because Thomas’s long blond hair was tucked beneath a black hat swirled in stripes, Henry had had no idea the official was a woman.

Thomas, 35, is major college football’s only female referee. She has grown accustomed to startling players and coaches on Saturdays but said it did not occur as often as one might think.

“Most of the time they are so focused on what they are doing, they don’t notice me,” Thomas said. “And that is what every other official strives for. Our best games are the ones that no one knows we’re there.”

Neither Thomas nor those who work with and supervise her say it is odd that she has found her avocation amid big games and marching bands. She always loved sports and was the first athlete at Pascagoula High School to earn a letter five times in a sport, softball. She received a basketball scholarship to the University of Mobile, helpedthe team make the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics tournament and earned academic all-American honors.

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A Test of Faith in Argentina

Diego Maradona and Argentina were humbled, 3-1, by Brazil in a World Cup qualifying match Saturday night. It was Argentina’s third loss in the five qualifiers since Maradona was named the coach in November.
ROSARIO, Argentina — Diego Maradona reached into his bag of emotional tricks to try to conjure a victory for Argentina against its archrival Brazil, and save his country’s dimming chances of making next year’s World Cup in South Africa.
Maradona, the Argentine coach, had Saturday’s match moved from the capital, Buenos Aires, to a more intimate stadium here. He took the team to church on Thursday, to pray.

But none of it had the effect he was looking for. Argentina played listlessly, losing by 3-1 to Brazil, which clinched a World Cup spot and left Argentina hanging.

It was Argentina’s first loss to Brazil on Argentine soil in a Cup qualifier, and it left Argentina clinging to the fourth and final automatic qualifying spot in South America with three matches to play.

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Clark’s Goal Puts U.S. a Step Closer to World Cup

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (AP) — The United States moved within a win of its sixth straight World Cup appearance, beating Trinidad and Tobago, 1-0, on Wednesday night on Ricardo Clark’s goal in the 62nd minute.
The United States failed to win its first three road qualifiers this year and played a listless first half against the Soca Warriors. The Americans went ahead when Clint Dempsey played the ball wide to Landon Donovan, who cut the ball back to Clark.

Clark took a touch and let loose a bending 30-yard shot that swerved past goalkeeper Clayton Ince. It was only the second goal in 25 international appearances for Clark, a midfielder for the Houston Dynamo of Major League soccer. He also scored against Paraguay in the Copa America two years ago.

“It’s huge,” Clark said. “It gives a little bit of space when things are getting tight in our group. We knew we had to come out in this game and get a win.”

Donovan also assisted on both United States goals in Saturday’s 2-1 win over El Salvador at Sandy, Utah. He holds United States career records with 41 goals and 41 assists in 118 international appearances.

“He’s just a machine out there, man, he’s on his game,” Clark said. “He’s just a big-time player doing big-time things.”

The United States (5-2-1) moved into first place in the final round of qualifying matches in the Concacaf region with 16 points, 2 ahead of Honduras (4-2-1) and 4 in front of Mexico and Costa Rica (4-3), pending results in games played later Wednesday.

At the time Clark scored, United States Coach Bob Bradley was getting ready to replace him with Stuart Holden.

“I had a feeling that it was going to be me,” Clark said.

Bradley then decided to leave Clark in.

The United States could clinch when it plays at Honduras on Oct. 14. The American team closes the qualifying round four days later at home against Costa Rica in Washington.

The top three teams in the region qualify for the World Cup, and the No. 4 nation goes to a playoff against the fifth-place team from South America.

Trinidad and Tobago, which made its first World Cup appearance in 2006, was mathematically eliminated from qualifying for the 32-nation field in South Africa next year.

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What a Dreary Dish to Set Before the Fans

Sometimes even the Champions League takes the fans’ money under false pretenses.

Wednesday night at the San Siro was meant to be a classic, and turned into a goalless stalemate between Inter Milan and Barcelona in front of 77,321 customers.

The same 90 minutes in Belgium provided five goals in which Arsenal came from two down in the opening minutes to beat Standard Liege, 3-2.

Goals, it’s true, do not by themselves denote quality. But they are the purpose of the game, and as much as Liege has nothing to show for it by way of points, its players at least sent the fans home with the knowledge that they tried, they dared to take on superior foes, and they just ran out of stamina and luck in the end.

If we are wise, we will trust what we see rather than what the media-savvy managers tell us.

“Looking at the result, you might think zero-zero was not a great match. ” José Mourinho, the Inter coach, told television viewers from Milan. “But those who understand football and are able to analyze the true essence of the match can understand the importance of it.”

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Serena Williams Adds a Doubles Title and an Apology

Serena and Venus Williams captured their 10th Grand Slam doubles title with a victory over the top-seeded team Monday.
Serena Williams returned to Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday for the first time since her verbal assault of a line judge Saturday night, and finally apologized for her actions.
Williams issued a statement of apology on her Web site before she and her sister Venus defeated Cara Black and Liezel Huber, 6-2, 6-2, to win their 10th Grand Slam doubles title.

Serena Williams said she did not remember what she had said to the line judge during her singles semifinal match against Kim Clijsters. She did, however, apologize to the lineswoman, to Clijsters, to the United States Tennis Association and to the fans.

Williams said she wanted to apologize directly to the lineswoman, but said she did not know how to locate her. “I would like to give her a big old hug,” Williams said.

Williams received the maximum on-site fine, $10,000, for unsportsmanlike conduct, for using threatening language and gestures at the line judge. She was also fined $500 for racket abuse.

She could face additional penalties, including a fine equal to the money she earned at the United States Open ($350,000 for singles and $210,000 for doubles), and a possible suspension from a Grand Slam event.

Bill Babcock, the International Tennis Federation’s executive director for Grand Slam tournaments, has begun an investigation into the incident. There is precedent for suspending Williams from a Grand Slam. In 1995, Jeff Tarango walked off the court at Wimbledon in the middle of a match in protest of a call. He was suspended for the 1996 Wimbledon.

But there could be considerable pressure on the Grand Slam Committee and Babcock, its administrator, to avoid a ban.

No player receives television ratings as consistently high as Serena Williams does; she is immensely popular at the Open and is often a featured player in prime-time matches throughout the two-week tournament.

“Serena’s a great champion,” said Jim Curley, the United States Open tournament director. “She’s one of the most recognized female athletes ever. You always hate to see a marquee player not participating in the U.S. Open for whatever reason, whether it’s injury or what have you. We always want to have all the marquee players here. Sometimes that’s not possible.”

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For del Potro, the Landscape Has Changed

Juan Martín del Potro posed for photographers on top of the Empire State Building on Tuesday.
At some point between the mayhem of Monday night, when he lay crying on the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium, and the murmur of Tuesday morning, when he slowly waded through a string of interviews, Juan Martín del Potro remembered to shave.
Gone was the russet beard that had sprouted across his face through two weeks of the United States Open. And gone was the gritty buccaneer look that so perfectly complemented his savage forehand.

In the cool light of day, as he ate some pastry and doodled on a pad, del Potro was just a fresh-faced 20-year-old making sense of his first Grand Slam title.

“I didn’t sleep much,” he said Tuesday morning. “The last two days, it was difficult to relax, to be, I don’t know, quiet. But this is part of the game, this is part of the champions. It’s unusual for me, but I’m learning from this one.”

Over and over, del Potro has watched his final championship point, held his breath as Roger Federer’s backhand sailed long, exhaled as he watched himself collapse into tears. And each time, even though the details exist only in a blur of camera flashes and fans, the flood of emotion comes rushing back.

“When I saw the ball going out, my sensations ...” del Potro said, pausing. “It’s amazing, I can’t explain with words.”

When he called his parents Monday night, they barely got past hello before they all started sobbing into their telephones, overcome by emotion more than the 5,000 miles separating them.

“It was difficult to speak, but they are so happy for me,” del Potro said.

He had asked them to stay in Argentina for the match, leaving only three people in his private box at Ashe on Monday night, but he was scheduled to see them Tuesday night when he flew back home. Once he reaches his hometown, Tandil, a city in the mountains where del Potro has about 150 relatives, he said the party could begin in earnest.

“It’s going to be crazy,” he said.

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Federer Fined $1, 500 for Profanity at U.S. Open

Roger Federer argued a call with chair umpire Jake Garner during the final of the U.S. Open. Federer lost to Juan Martin del Potro.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Roger Federer has been fined $1,500 for using a profanity while arguing with the chair umpire during the U.S. Open final.

CBS microphones picked up the exchange during its live broadcast of the match.

Tournament spokesman Chris Widmaier says Federer is being docked the same amount as two other players -- Vera Zvonareva and Daniel Koellerer -- for audible obscenity.

Widmaier says a total of $31,500 in fines is being collected by the tournament, topped by Serena Williams' $10,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct. She also was fined $500 for racket abuse.

Daniel Nestor was docked $5,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct toward a fan.

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Drawing Service Lines in the Sand

Drawing Service Lines in the Sand

Nicole Melch hits the ball over the 5-foot-10 net used in beach tennis during the Women's Pro Finals in Long Beach, N.Y

LONG BEACH, N.Y. — Put him on any other tennis court, clay, grass or hard, and Paul Whitesell would not draw a second look: racket in hand, cap turned backward, synthetic T-shirt, long white socks, pale sneakers.

The only difference is that his shoes are full of sand. Whitesell is a professional beach tennis player.

Ever since he caught his first glimpse of the sport in 2005 at Beach Tennis USA’s inaugural event in Charleston, S.C., Whitesell has been hooked. Like many players who flirted with tennis’s big time, he found in the beach game a way to stay competitive long after his playing career had been hamstrung by injuries.

“I can still play at a high level and not beat up my body as much,” said Whitesell, who recently won the beach tennis national title here with his playing partner, Chris Henderson. “This has been my saving grace.”

The sport is played by two-person teams on a space similar to a beach volleyball court with a 5-foot-10-inch-high net. It preserves most of the rules of tennis with a few modifications for sand and speed. For instance, there is no second serve, no advantage scoring, and a match consists of a single eight-game set.

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Lions Have Changed Everything So Far but the Mind-Set of Fans

ALLEN PARK, Mich. — When Jim Schwartz, the new coach of the Detroit Lions, quoted Shakespeare on the day he made the rookie Matthew Stafford his starting quarterback, his choice of source material was painfully appropriate.
“Hamlet.” A tragedy.

The Bard was probably not imagining 0-16 when he wrote about the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. But as the Lions prepare for their home opener Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings with one blowout loss to the New Orleans Saints already in their pockets, Schwartz, the progeny of ultracompetent football mentors like Jeff Fisher and Bill Belichick, has been plunged into an alternate universe, where the Lions have struggled for so long that one fan compared watching games to self-flagellation.

“We watch for the humor,” said Rob Mizgalski, 44, who lives in Warren, a suburb north of Detroit. “We love the first pass of the game being intercepted. There’s no anger. It’s beyond that. There is a point where you accept it, it’s like when you know the marriage is over. It makes life a lot easier.”

Schwartz swears nobody in his vast network of football friends told him he was crazy to take the Lions job; they told him it was a great opportunity. Now that he is here, he feels a responsibility to field a team in which the economy-battered city can take pride. During minicamp, he even took top rookies with him to sign autographs at a truck assembly plant in Dearborn, Mich. But Schwartz is also pragmatic enough to know there is nothing he can say, no billboard slogan persuasive enough, to change minds like Mizgalski’s until the Lions manage to win. Instead, Schwartz has changed just about everything else he could, focusing on his bottomless job: where to go when you’re starting, literally, from zero.

A new coaching staff was hired. Uniforms were redesigned. Weight machines were replaced by free weights. The seating chart of the locker room was rearranged. Parking spaces were assigned. The practice schedule was upended.

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Another Sex Dispute, but This Athlete Has Four Legs

Martha Maxine might seem like an ill-fitting name for a 5-year-old male horse, but there is an explanation. He used to be a she.
Martha Maxine will be among the favorites Saturday in the $125,000 Tony Maurello Stakes at Balmoral Park outside Chicago, the same harness racing track where he won the filly division of the same race a year ago. He will make his fourth start since tests determined the horse was intersex, with male sex chromosomes.

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Suzuki Gives Seattle Stunning Win

Nick Swisher can only watch from the wall as fans try to catch a walk off home run hit by the Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki in the ninth inning.

Ichiro Suzuki hit a two-run walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth to lift the Mariners over the Yankees, spoiling a strong performance from Yankees starter A.J. Burnett.

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Russia’s Reaction on Missile Plan Leaves Iran Issue Hanging

President Obama’s decision to cancel an antimissile defense system in Eastern Europe earned a strong welcome from Russian leaders on Friday. Now, the question is whether Russia will do more to help prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons..

Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin, who had repeatedly assailed the antimissile system as a grievous threat to Russia’s security, called Mr. Obama’s decision “correct and brave.” President Dmitri A. Medvedev hinted that Russia would respond favorably to the decision to replace former President George W. Bush’s plan with a missile shield seen as less threatening to Moscow.

Still, neither leader offered any immediate indication that Russia would make specific concessions, especially on Iran, which has become a major stumbling block in relations between the countries. If Russia does not toughen its opposition to Iran’s nuclear program, analysts say, Mr. Obama may be vulnerable to criticism that he yielded to Russian complaints on the antimissile plan but received little in return.

“I hope our administration really thought this through and this was not about appeasing Russia, because I don’t think that justifies the decision,” said Riki Ellison, chairman of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, a nonpartisan group that receives financing from defense contractors as well as private individuals who support missile defense.

The White House described the missile defense announcement as a response to changing Iranian capabilities, not as giving in to Russia, and said there was no quid pro quo. But the Obama administration needs support from Russia, which has veto power in the United Nations Security Council, in order to increase sanctions on Iran. American and European officials argue that Iran has carried out significant advances in recent months in developing a nuclear weapon.

Russia and China so far have resisted taking strong diplomatic steps or imposing tougher sanctions against Iran. Mr. Obama’s decision to remove one of the main irritants in relations between Washington and Moscow seems intended, in part, to alter that diplomatic equation and help increase the chances of addressing the impasse over Iran without resorting to military force.

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Despite Warning, Thousands Rally in Iran

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Tens of thousands of protesters chanted and carried banners through the heart of Tehran and other Iranian cities on Friday, hijacking a government-organized anti-Israel march and injecting new life into the country’s opposition movement.
The protests, held in defiance of warnings from the clerical and military elite, served as a public embarrassment to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who had hoped to showcase national unity just two weeks before he is set to meet Western leaders for talks on Iran's nuclear Program.

He used the annual rally for Jerusalem Day also known as Quds Day, to deliver a fiery anti-Israeli speech in which he called the Holocaust “a lie” and impugned the West again for its criticisms of Iran’s disputed June 12 presidential election.

But his efforts to recapture the stage were largely drowned out by a tumultuous day ofStreet Rallies , in which the three main opposition leaders marched with their followers for the first time in months. Flouting the official government message of support for militants, they chanted, “No to Gaza and Lebanon, I will give my life for Iran.”

Coming a day after President Obama announced a revised missile defense system that aims to check Iran’s military ambitions, the rallies underscored the continuing vitality of the domestic opposition movement, which has rejected the election as fraudulent and fiercely criticized the violence that followed it.

In a striking contrast with earlier rallies, the police often stood on the sidelines as protesters faced off against huge crowds of government supporters — many of them bused in from outside the cities — and chain-wielding basij militia members. There were reports of arrests in Tehran and the southern city of Shiraz, but no shootings or deaths, with the police apparently showing greater restraint than during earlier protests.

The protesters, ignoring stern official warnings not to use the annual pro-Palestinian rally as a pretext for demonstrations, showed up in large numbers wearing the trademark bright green color of the opposition.

When government men shouted “Death to Israel” through loudspeakers, protesters derisively chanted “Death to Russia” in response. Many opposition supporters are angry about Russia’s quick acceptance of Mr. Ahmadinejad’s electoral victory.

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PROCESSOR

An information processor or information processing system, as its name suggests, is a system (be it electrical, mechanical or biological) which takes information (a sequence of enumerated states) in one form and processes (transforms) it into another form, e.g. to statistics, by an algorithmic process.
An information processing system is made up of four basic parts, or sub-systems:
input processor storage output An object may be considered an information processor if it receives information from another object and in some manner changes the information before transmitting it. This broadly defined term can be used to describe every change which occurs in the universe. As an example, a falling rock could be considered an information processor due to the following observable facts:
First, information in the form of gravitational force from the earth serves as input to the system we call a rock. At a particular instant the rock is a specific distance from the surface of the earth traveling at a specific speed. Both the current distance and speed properties are also forms of information which for that instant only may be considered "stored" in the rock.
In the next instant, the distance of the rock from the earth has changed due to its motion under the influence of the Earth's gravity. Any time the properties of an object change a process has occurred meaning that a processor of some kind is at work. In addition, the rock's new position and increased speed is observed by us as it falls. These changing properties of the rock are its "output."
It could be argued that[weasel words] in this example both the rock and the earth are the information processing system being observed since both objects are changing the properties of each other over time. If information is not being processed no change would occur at all.

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Tendulkar wants top spot for India to mark 20 years

Tendulkar wants top spot for India to mark 20 years

Sachin Tendulkar is hoping he can mark his 20 years in international cricket by leading India to become the world's top ranked one-day team.
The premier batsman made his India debut as a 16-year-old against Pakistan in November 1989, since setting many batting records, including test and one-day aggregates and hundreds.
India enter the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa starting next week as strong contenders after staying unbeaten in one-day series over the past one year.
India is third in the ODI rankings, just one rating point behind world champions Australia and South Africa going into the premier eight-team event starting on Tuesday.
"We definitely have the ability, the spirit, the desire, the hunger to get there (number one team)," the 36-year-old former skipper told the CNN-IBN channel on Friday.
"Playing cricket for India means the world to me. I grew up dreaming about playing cricket for India. I am living my dream."
Tendulkar underlined his continued desire to excel, scoring his 44th one-day hundred last week to set up a tri-series final win over hosts Sri Lanka in Colombo.
"It is going to be a challenging season, a lot of cricket," he said. "I wish we had more test cricket, we only have three test matches this season."
India's best performance in the Champions Trophy was finishing as joint winners in 2002 alongside hosts Sri Lanka .

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Bombs kill Canadian, US troops in Afghanistan

Bombs kill Canadian, US troops in Afghanistan

A U.S. service member and a Canadian soldier died in separate roadside bomb explosions in southern Afghanistan, officials said Friday, announcing new deaths from a day that claimed the lives of a total of nine international troops.
The American and Canadian died Thursday, the same day a car bomber killed six Italian troops in a brazen attack in the heavily guarded capital of Kabul. A NATO soldier also died Thursday of wounds from an earlier attack, adding to the toll in the deadliest year yet for the international forces in Afghanistan.
The resurgent Taliban has increased attacks sharply this year ahead of last month's presidential election and with the arrival of 21,000 more American troops. The Islamist extremists run a shadow government in the south and launch guerrilla attacks elsewhere.
U.S. military spokeswoman Capt. Elizabeth Mathias said the American died when his patrol struck a bomb planted in the road. She did not provide his name.
Canadian Brig. Gen. Jonathan Vance said Pvt. Jonathan Couturier, 23, was killed as he returned from a mission to root out Taliban weapons caches in the southern province of Kandahar.
Bombs planted in and around roads are one of the main weapons used by the insurgents, now accounting for the majority of U.S. and NATO casualties.
After Thursday's car bomb in Kabul, Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi said it would be best for international troops to leave Afghanistan soon. It was Italy's deadliest day yet in the conflict, but Afghans fared far worse in the explosion: 10 died and more than 50 were wounded.
The bomb left a crater about three feet (one meter) deep and nearly twice as wide. On Friday, Afghan men in traditional tunics peered into the blackened pit in the road — a major thoroughfare connecting the airport to the capital — and mourned the deaths of neighbors and relatives.
Ghulam Sakhi said the two storekeepers on each side of his carpentry workshop were among those killed in the fourth major attack in the capital in five weeks.
This year has been the deadliest for American and NATO troops since the 2001 invasion to oust the Taliban for sheltering al-Qaida leaders who plotted the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. Violence has been particularly harsh in the south, where thousands of U.S. troops have deployed to bolster the Canadian and British-led operations in the Taliban heartland.
The U.S. and NATO have a record number of troops in Afghanistan — nearly 100,000 in total — and the top commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, is likely to soon request thousands more

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Iran reformist attacked; Ahmadinejad slams Israel

Iran reformist attacked; Ahmadinejad slams Israel

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad lashed out at Israel and the West saying Friday the Holocaust was a lie and a pretext for occupying Palestinian lands, while hard-liners attacked a reformist cleric who was marching with the opposition at an anti-government rally in Tehran.

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