pimblr.com

This year the USGA US Open at Torrey Pines golf course will have one big change and that is the fact that spectators have to keep their butts off the golf course and no we are not talking about their backside. In 2008 at Torrey Pines golf course, they have a strict no smoking policy and this marks the first smoke-free major .
For all non-smokers like myself, this is great news, as we do not want to be around other people who are smoking away and making our clothes stink and not to mention what we breath in. The young children at the US Open will also benefit from not having to breath someone’s smoke they exhale.
If you have been to the US Open or another golf event and are a non-smoker, you may have experienced having to move away from a good spot when a smoker moves near you and your children. If a spectator is caught smoking cigars or cigarettes at this year U.S. Open they face up to a $100 fine.
Some people will be very unhappy with this change and they could have the view “I thought we were supposed to have freedom to do what we want”. This kind of talk is open for debate and I am sure many of us will have different views.
As a golfer myself, when I am on a nice course there is nothing like the peace, quiet and fresh air of playing golf. The clubs hate cleaning up the discarded cigarettes and second-hand smoke is a serious health issue.
I am happy about this change? Of course.
Source: Read | Latest updates on usopen.com

onlykent.com

PARIS — The kid is getting better.
It didn’t seem possible, but there it is. Sure, we knew Rafael Nadal was the master of clay coming into 2008 Roland Garros, but this is really starting to get ridiculous.
The muscular Spaniard, less than a week past his 22nd birthday, wrecked the best tennis player in the world on Sunday in the French Open final. Nadal defeated Roger Federer 6-1, 6-3, 6-0.
So it’s official: He cannot be beaten at this venue and, barring a plague of locusts or a serious injury, will not lose as long as he shows up every year. Nadal’s body of work includes a 28-0 record at the French Open and a perfect 41-0 record in best-of-five clay-court matches.
Nadal has won 23 straight sets at Roland Garros going back to last year’s final, when he dropped the second set to Federer. Since then? Nada.
An athlete’s physical peak is usually in the 24- to 25-year-old range, so he is likely to grow even stronger. People who know the game say Nadal’s forehand is deeper, more powerful and bounces higher than ever before. And then there is the mental maturity, a sense of invincibility that knows no peer.
Here are a few other things we learned during a gray and chilly two weeks at Roland Garros:
The window is closing on the Williamses: Venus turns 28 next week and Serena is 26 — fairly ancient by the standards of professional tennis. In the season’s first Slam they were bounced from the Aussie Open by the Serbs and here at Roland Garros they fell in the third round to unseeded players.
Since Serena won the 2005 Australian Open, some 13 Grand Slams have been contested. Only one occasion — when she won the 2007 Aussie — has Serena gone past the quarterfinals. Since Venus won Wimbledon in 2005 she has advanced beyond the quarters in only two majors, winning at Wimbledon last year, then reaching the semis in New York.

sports.espn.go.com

Give or take a nickel or two, that was the price we soccer junkies paid when the UEFA European Championship was conducted four years ago in Portugal. Not to go see a match in Lisbon, but to watch the tournament on television via pay-per-view. ESPN rescued us from that tyranny by securing the rights to the entire event — being staged concurrently in Switzerland and Austria — and placing the matches on its family of networks. In exchange for this, ESPN ought to be forgiven for “Dream Job” and “Madden Nation.”
All the rest of what you’ll need to know (most of it, anyway) in order to follow what some incongruously refer to as “Europe’s World Cup” is contained right here:
Five essential facts
5. This is the biggest international tournament outside the World Cup. Some purists claim this event is better because there aren’t any weakling entrants from Asia or North America. There are 16 squads drawn into four groups, with the top two from each advancing to the quarterfinals. And because these teams keep stepping on each other in qualifying for this tournament and the World Cup, there is a greater intensity throughout this event than in some early World Cup games.
4. England’s not coming. Because of some bureaucratic bungling at England’s Football Association that led to incompetent Steve McClaren being selected as manager, which led to David Beckham being prematurely dropped from the squad, which led to an embarrassing nil-nil tie with Macedonia, England fell one point short of qualifying.
That failure removed one of the most passionately followed teams from Euro 2008, as well as the star-power attached to Beckham, John Terry and Steven Gerrard. But there’s still plenty worth watching.
3. Greece is your defending champion. That’s easy to forget. Greece is not among the first names most would mention when pondering the list of European soccer powers, but the Greeks won with defense, chemistry and a sense of opportunism at Euro 2004. It’s doubtful they’ll be able to replicate that magic, but their success gives hope to a capable team such as Croatia.

sportingnews.com

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL — Major League Baseball has completed the first day of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft, which aired live on ESPN2 this afternoon from The Milk House at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex. In total, 202 players were selected through the first six rounds and the two compensation rounds — the first of which followed the first round and the second that followed the third round.
The First-Year Player Draft is scheduled to resume via conference call on Friday beginning at 11:30 a.m. (EDT). The Draft will have 50 rounds and will conclude after all 30 teams have passed on a selection or after the final selection of the 50th round, whichever comes first.
The following players chosen today have participated in events at Major League Baseball’s Urban Youth Academy in Compton, California: Tyler Chatwood (2nd round, 74th overall, LAA), Zachary Collier (Compensation Round A, 34th overall, PHI), Cutter Dykstra (2nd round, 54th overall, MIL), Anthony Gose (2nd round, 51st overall, PHI), Aaron Hicks (1st round, 14th overall, MIN), Mike Montgomery (Compensation Round A, 36th overall, KC), Clark Murphy (5th round, 153rd overall, TEX) and Kyle Skipworth (1st round, 6th overall, FLA).
On Friday, MLB.com will continue its comprehensive, live multimedia coverage from Florida on The Baseball Channel through the conclusion of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft. Live interactive pick-by-pick results will be available through the Draft Tracker.

mlb.mlb.com

While the summer time is traditionally even more barren for awards shows than Jennifer Aniston’s lonely, lonely womb, we can always count on the MTV Movie Awards to satiate our seasonal cravings for celebrity carpet walking. What this award show lacks in prestige, it usually makes up for in star power. After all, what star with a summer movie to plug would turn down a virtually risk-free opportunity to accept an award for “Best Same-Sex Tongue Kiss” while reminding millions of viewers to remind them of their film’s release date? This year’s awards, hosted by Mike “The Love Guru Opens June 20th!” Myers, will feature appearances from Adam Sandler (who is receiving the coveted “Best Actor With A Movie Opening Next Week” award), Will Ferrell, Sarah Jessica Parker, Ed Norton, Liv Tyler, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Wahlberg and more. While the show will have a tough time eclipsing the bar that Sarah Silverman set last year (her teardown of famewhore Paris Hilton elicited universal acclaim from everyone but Paris herself), we here at Defamer will be doing our best to puncture the cloak of celebrity using the best tool we have available — a liveblog! Yes, that’s right, we’ll be coming to you live from the red carpet — we don’t have any clue how we got on the list, either — of Universal Studios beginning at or around 3pm PST on Sunday afternoon and going straight on through until whenever the show ends. We hope you’ll join us, it ought to be exciting. [MTV Movie Awards]
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defamer.com.au

Although it’s obvious that David Archuleta will win "American Idol," beware: David Cook could still prove to be the biggest, ultimate champ when all kudos are counted some future day. As Jennifer Hudson kicks back in her mansion right now — buffing her Oscar and Golden Globe and getting ready for the premieres of "Sex and the City" and her debut album — do you think she ever pauses to weep hysterically over the fact that she only made it as far as No. 7 in the "Idol" runoff?
Obviously, there are strong parallels between David Cook and that other rocker to lose "Idol" -– Chris Daughtry. Although Taylor Hicks won Season 5, Daughtry, who came in fourth, has enjoyed far greater success fronting his own rock band. The group earned four 2008 Grammy nominations for their debut album ("Daughtry"). Meantime, hey: whatever happened to Hicks?
Here’s a look back at how some of the "Idol" stars, winners and losers, have fared in other top show-biz contests.
Season 4’s Carrie Underwood is a rare example of a champ who swept other kudos after her "Idol" win. She won the 2007 Grammy as best new artist and another for female country vocal performance ("Jesus, Take the Wheel") and repeated in that category in 2008 ("Before He Cheats"). She’s also snagged four American Music Awards, five Country Music Assn. Awards, five Academy of Country Music Awards and three CMTs.
Season 1 champ Kelly Clarkson enjoyed some success with her debut album, "Thankful," but it was her second album that won her two Grammys in 2006 — best pop vocal album ("Breakaway") and best female pop vocal performance ("Since U Been Gone"). Her third album, "My December," has met with less success.
Season 2 winner Ruben Studdard picked up a Grammy nom in 2004 for best male R&B vocal performance ("Superstar"), but he lost to his idol, Luther Vandross. He is currently without a record label.

goldderby.latimes.com

The first day of the 2008 NFL Draft was full of the big names that fans have become familiar with watching football on Saturdays and from reading five months of mock drafts.
Most fans enjoyed the first two rounds and then moved on to the NBA playoffs, cleaning out the garage or cutting the lawn… but there were some late round gems drafted on the second day.
Now before you bet on your favorite team to win the Super Bowl, take a look at some of the second-day prospects that may help your team win more games next season.
Arizona Cardinals – Kenny Iwebema DE Iowa 4th round
Strong, physical, run-stopping end. Very good at the point of attack.
Atlanta Falcons – Kroy Biermann LB Montana 5th round
72 tackles, 15 sacks, and five forced fumbles as a DE last season.
Baltimore Ravens – Tom Zbikowski S ND 4th round
Will help immediately on special teams. Smart and strong in run support.
Buffalo Bills – Reggie Corner CB Akron 4th round
Good instincts in coverage and possesses good closing speed.
Carolina Panthers – Dan Connor LB PSU 3rd round
Projected as a late first-round pick, he’s a tackle machine that slid to the third.
Chicago Bears – Craig Steltz S LSU 4th round
Starting safety for the national champions. Smart and tough.
Cincinnati Bengals – Mario Urrutia WR Louisville 7th round
6’6”, 242 lbs, and 17.5 ypc. Could be a steal in three years.
Cleveland Browns – Beau Bell LB UNLV 4th round
Thumper inside in the 3-4 scheme. Will compete for the starting spot.
Dallas Cowboys – Orlando Scandrick CB Boise St 5th round
Converted WR. All the natural tools, just needs some coaching.
Denver Broncos – Josh Barrett S ASU 7th round
4.35 in the 40. Has had injury problems, but a playmaker when healthy.

theonlinewire.com

Tonight’s full moon is the smallest and farthest full moon for all of 2008.
In the course of one month, the moon’s distance from Earth varies by about 50,000 kilometers – that’s 30,000 miles. Tonight, the full moon is also farthest from Earth for the month. That’s why tonight’s full moon is the smallest full moon of the year.
Around the world tonight, the full moon lights up the night from dusk till dawn. The precise moment for this full moon is 2:11 Universal Time on May 20. For the Central Time Zone in North America, that places the full moon at 9:11 p.m. this Monday evening.
Full moons recur in periods of about 29.5 days, but the moon returns to the farthest point in its orbit every 27.5 days. This variation will cause the full moons to come a bit closer to Earth and to loom a bit larger in our sky with every passing month. Seven full moons after the one tonight, we’ll see the closest and largest full moon of 2008 on December 12.
By the way, tonight’s full moon is the 3rd of 4 full moons to fall between the June solstice and the September equinox.
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earthsky.org

Apr 05, 2008 (The Spokesman-Review - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) — – Kaitey Mosgrove has always had a passion for art.
Her dad, Tim Mosgrove, is a well-known artist in Coeur d’Alene.
“I’ve always really been interested in art because of my dad,” said Kaitey, a freshman at Lake City High.
But Kaitey said she’s always been self-conscious of the art she’s created.
Now her talent has been validated.
The 15-year-old’s artwork has been chosen to appear on thousands of T-shirts awarded to finishers in the 2008 Spring Dash. The 5-mile race along the shore of Lake Coeur d’Alene is one of three races qualifying runners for second seeding in Bloomsday.
It’s also a fundraiser for United Way of Kootenai County.
Kaitey entered her drawing of a running tulip as an assignment for Lake City’s commercial art class.
“They had the criteria and it said it has to have tulips,” Kaitey said. “I was like, I want to be a little more creative than a couple of tulips.”
Kaitey’s colored-pencil drawing has a tulip bedecked in a jersey and headband running through a ribbon that says Spring Dash.
“She had very stiff competition,” Lake City art teacher Pam Asher said. “We had some awesome drawings. I was very proud of her. Very.”
The design was chosen from 50 entries.
“We had a lot of incredible entries,” said Caryl Johnston, executive director for United Way of Kootenai County.
Kaitey’s running tulip design was generic enough that men or women could wear the shirts, Johnston said.
“It wasn’t too feminine and it wasn’t too masculine,” she said.
In addition to bragging rights, Kaitey won a $100 savings bond.
She plans on participating in the Spring Dash, but said she’s nervous to see so many people wearing her artwork.
It’s good practice, though, for her possible future career as a tattoo artist.

tradingmarkets.com

JONESBORO — The NFL’s Carolina Panthers announced Monday they have agreed to terms with undrafted college free agent Darren Toney of Lake Village, who completed his career as a cornerback on the Arkansas State football team last season.
Toney was one of 10 undrafted college free agents the Panthers agreed to terms with and will participate at the team’s upcoming mini-camp, Friday, May 2, through Sunday, May 4, at Bank of America Stadium.
Despite missing four games in 2007 with an injury, Toney still posted two interceptions for 32 yards and a touchdown, 27 tackles, four pass break-ups, 2.5 tackles for loss and one sack. He recorded a career-high eight tackles against Florida International and 21 tackles over ASU’s final four games. He was part of a defensive backfield that ranked No. 2 in the Sun Belt Conference and 19th in the nation in pass defense.
Toney completed his four-year career with 95 tackles and six interceptions for 111 yards. He finished his career ranked second at Arkansas State and third in Sun Belt Conference history for kickoff return yards with 1,513 to his credit. He was named the Sun Belt Conference Special Teams Player of the Week twice during his career.
He posted career-best numbers of 39 tackles and three interceptions in 2006 as a junior. Toney joins over 90 other all-time Arkansas State players that have signed pro contracts with an NFL franchise. While fullback Oren O’Neal and safety Tyrell Johnson were both taken in the 2007 and 2008 NFL Drafts, respectively, Toney becomes the first ASU player to sign a free agent contract with an NFL franchise since running back Shermar Bracey, quarterback Nick Noce and running back Antonio Warren all signed in 2006.

arkansasbusiness.com