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Monday, May 16, 2016

Your Monday Briefing: Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Manchester United

Manchester United"s final home game was canceled over bomb scare
Photo President Obama took sharp swipes at Donald J. Trump during his commencement address at Rutgers on Sunday. Credit Zach Gibson/The New York Times

(Want to get this briefing by email? Heres the sign-up.)

Good morning.

Heres what you need to know:

G.O.P. support for Trump broadens.

After spending most of the past year opposing and condemning Donald J. Trump, social conservatives are starting to embrace the Republicans presumptive nominee.

Photo Credit Ty Wright for The New York Times

The party chairman is also urging unity. He said that people just dont care about reports like ours about Mr. Trumps treatment of women in the workplace.

Hillary Clinton says that Bill Clintons chief role in her White House would be revitalizing the economy.

Obama takes on Trump.

President Obama took sharp swipes at Mr. Trump on Sunday during his commencement address at Rutgers University. It could be the beginning of a forceful effort to help elect a Democratic successor.

Eight years ago, Mr. Obama was an antiwar candidate, but he has now been at war longer than any other U.S. president.

The transgender debate.

Breaking from her party, Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Miami Republican, will appear today in an ad for SAVE, an advocacy group for gay and transgender rights. Shell be joined by her husband and her transgender son.

Conservatives have called the Obama administrations directive on school bathrooms an illegal overreach, while advocates for transgender rights are hailing it as a breakthrough.

Battleground: Syria.

Al Qaeda is getting help in northern Syria from top operatives from the tribal areas of Pakistan. It signals an effort by the group to challenge the Islamic State militants in the Mideast.

Photo Credit Khalil Ashawi/Reuters

Foreign ministers, including Secretary of State John Kerry and Sergey V. Lavrov of Russia, are meeting this week to try to restart the collapsed peace negotiations.

Brazils ousted leader isnt alone.

By one count, more than half of the 594 members of the countrys legislature face legal challenges, including accusations of murder and drug trafficking.

The decline of the impeached president, Dilma Rousseff, and two other female South American leaders points to a persistence of macho attitudes in the regions political establishment.

Maoist anniversary.

Today is the 50th anniversary of the start of Chinas cultural revolution, a decade-long upheaval that had drastic, often violent effects across the country.

We tell the story of one son who is still awaiting answers on his fathers death.

Business

Want to become a venture capitalist? Beginning today, anyone can risk $2,000 a year or more investing in small companies in exchange for a stake in the business.

Broadcast networks are introducing their new shows to advertisers, and millennials are getting a great deal of the attention.

Over the Weekend

A soccer match between Manchester United and Bournemouth was canceled after a suspicious object was found in the stands. The police later determined that it was a fake bomb from a security exercise.

More than 20 U.S. cities, including Chicago, Las Vegas and Los Angeles, have experienced large increases in murders, data showed.

The pharmaceutical giant Pfizer blocked its drugs from being used in lethal injections, closing off the last official source for executions.

Missouri lawmakers passed an expansion of gun rights, allowing residents to carry concealed guns without permits.

New details emerged on hackers global bank heists.

Seven siblings and their mother won a $429 million Powerball jackpot.

Photo Credit Disney-Marvel, via Associated Press

Captain America: Civil War was the North American box office winner.

Catching up on TV: Episode recaps for Game of Thrones, Veep, Silicon Valley and Fear the Walking Dead.

Noteworthy

I want to go back to being who I was.

A Massachusetts man who is a cancer survivor has received the first p***s transplant in the U.S.

Scoreboard.

The Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder begin their Western Conference Finals series (9 p.m. Eastern, TNT). On Sunday, Toronto eliminated Miami in a Game 7.

On the ice, Pittsburgh looks to even their series with Tampa Bay (8 p.m., NBCS). St. Louis won the opener of their conference finals series against San Jose on Sunday night.

Retirement beckons.

An hourlong program on Sunday honored Morley Safer, who has served on 60 Minutes for all but two of its 48 seasons.

Worlds oldest person.

Susannah Mushatt Jones died in New York at 116, leaving Emma Morano as possibly the last person alive who was born in the 1800s.

Recipe of the day.

Try chicken Marbella, with a briny-sweet combination of capers and prunes.

Back Story

The winner of the Man Booker International Prize for Fiction is to be announced today in London. Its the sibling of the Man Booker Prize, which is second only to the Nobel in stature and awarded in October.

Photo Elena Ferrantes The Story of the Lost Child Credit via Man Booker Prize

Their names are a fusing of the names of its original and current sponsors, the Booker-McConnell global food conglomerate and the investment firm Man Group.

This year, for the first time, the international prize recognizes a single novel or collection of short stories written in a foreign language and translated into English.

Elena Ferrantes The Story of the Lost Child is among the works shortlisted for the award.

Its the finale of a best-selling quartet of novels about two girls from a poor Naples neighborhood born weeks apart in 1944 and who share a lifelong friendship.

The authors official biography says Elena Ferrante was also born in Naples. We know little else about the writer, who uses a pseudonym and has never revealed her true identity.

A couple of years ago, she granted us an interview, answering questions about her choice to be hidden. They are books that I have written to put my writing on display, not me, she said.

Theres no reason to think that will change, even if she wins today.

Your Morning Briefing is published weekdays at 6 a.m. Eastern and updated on the web all morning.

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Continue reading the main story

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/16/nytnow/your-monday-briefing-donald-trump-hillary-clinton-manchester-united.html

Weather presenter Liberte Chan made to wear cardigan on air after viewers complained about her dress

FULL: Liberte Chan meteorologist KTLA weather girl FORCES to cover SEXY BLACK UNDERWEAR live on air

A weather presenters live broadcast was interrupted by a colleague handing her a cardigan after viewers complained about the dress she was wearing.

LibertChan, a meteorologist and presenter for Los Angeles based local news station KTLA, was informing viewers of the prospective Californian weather for the weekend on Saturday morning when an arm appeared passing her a grey cardigan.

You want me to put this on? she asked. Why? Becauseits cold?

Were getting a lot of emails, replied an off-camera male voice to which Ms Chan exclaimed: What, really?

Ms Chan and her colleague later posted a video to Facebook where they read through several of the emails from apparently appalled viewers.

Im a regular watcher of KTLA news but Liberte Chans dress is totally inappropriate, it looks like she didnt make it home from her cocktail party last night, said one while another said the outfit choice was a display of very poor judgement.

Despite the apparent slew of negative emails, the clip soon went viral sparking a discussion about sexism in the workplace. Many viewers criticised the network on social media for the way the incident was handled and the double standards women on television face.

Since the incident did the rounds of the internet, Ms Chan wrote a blog post defending KTLA, claiming she was not ordered to put the sweater on by producers and was just playing along with my co-anchors joke.

Ms Chan was also keen for the conversation surrounding what she was wearing not to ultimately overshadowthe job she was there to do, writing optimistically:More importantly, I hope my viewers were able to plan their Saturday once they heard my forecast and enjoyed the sunny weather after the clouds cleared, she wrote.

Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/weather-presenter-liberte-chan-made-to-wear-cardigan-on-air-after-viewers-complained-about-her-dress-a7031446.html

Western Conference Final Preview: St. Louis Blues vs. San Jose Sharks

Shootout: Stars vs Blues

Either the St. Louis Blues or the San Jose Sharks are going to be playing for the Stanley Cup in about two weeks.

Let that sink in for a moment.

How"d They Get Here?

The St. Louis Blues (49-24-9, 107 points) outlasted both the Chicago Blackhawks and the Dallas Stars in seven games, losing in Game 6 in both series and then coming back with impressive efforts in the final game.

The San Jose Sharks (46-30-6, 98 points) also vanquished a hated rival in the first round, topping the Los Angeles Kings in five games. The Nashville Predators pushed them to seven games; but luckily for the Sharks, Shea Weber decided to have the worst game of his career at the most inopportune time.

Their Last Playoff Meeting

The Blues rolled the Sharks in the first round in 2012, winning 4-games-to-1. The Sharks won Game 1 in double-overtime, but it was all downhill after that for San Jose against Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott.

Schedule

Sunday, May 15 8 p.m. San Jose at St. Louis NBCSN, CBC, TVAS

Tuesday, May 17 8 p.m. San Jose at St. Louis NBCSN, CBC, TVAS

Thursday, May 19 9 p.m. St. Louis at San Jose NBCSN, CBC, TVAS

Saturday, May 21 7:15 p.m. St. Louis at San Jose NBC, CBC, TVAS

*Monday, May 23 8 p.m. San Jose at St. Louis NBCSN, CBC, TVAS

*Wednesday, May 25 9 p.m. St. Louis at San Jose NBCSN, CBC, TVAS

*Friday, May 27 8 p.m. San Jose at St. Louis NBCSN, CBC, TVAS

Offense

Both teams have shown impressive balance offensively, which is a welcome change from previous playoff disasters.

The Blues are powered by the STL Line of Jaden Schwartz (3 goals, 8 assists), Jori Lehtera (1 goal, 6 assists) and Vladimir Tarasenko (7 goals, 6 assists). When theyve played together, theyve driven possession in power-vs.-power matchups and dominated for stretches at even strength. Tarasenko has scored six of his seven goals at even strength, for example.

The real revelation for the Blues offensively has been rookie Robby Fabbri, with three goals and 10 assists in his first playoff run. Paul Stastny (3 goals, 6 assists) and Troy Brouwer (5 goals, 5 assists) roll with him.

In the past, David Backes (6 goals and 6 assists) and Alex Steen (4 goals and 4 assists) would have been called out for a lack of offense. But theyre not only contributing, but playing well overall. Expect them on a line with fellow Blues mainstay Patrik Berglund.

Scottie Upshall, Kyle Brodziak and Steve Ott fill out the lineup.

The Blues also get some help from the back end, with Kevin Shattenkirk scoring 10 points and Alex Pietrangelo adding seven points.

The Sharks second-leading scorer is also found on the blueline: Brent Burns, who has 15 points in 12 games. Something electrifying happens every time hes touched the puck this postseason, and the Blues are going to have to do something to counteract that offensive push. (Theyve also gotten eights assists from Marc-Edouard Vlasic.)

The Sharks top line is the Joe(s) Show. Joe Pavelski has an NHL playoff best nine goals, and has been an emotional catalyst for the team as captain. The laidback former captain, Joe Thornton, has three goals and eight assists, calmly directing Pavelski and Tomas Hertl (2 goals, 3 assists).

Logan Couture is the Sharks leading scorer in the playoffs with 17 points, including seven goals. Patrick Marleau (4 goals, 5 assists) has moved around a bit in the lineup, but was last seen with Couture and Joonas Donskoi, who has three goals and four assists and a name that sounds like it was invented for STAR WARS fanfic.

Joel Ward, playoff warrior, anchors a third line with Melker Karlsson and Chris Tierney. Nick Spalding, Tommy Wingels and the ageless Dainius Zubrus help will out the lineup.

Advantage: Sharks. The Blues might have a little more depth, but the Sharks have posted the NHLs best goals-per-game average in the playoffs (3.42) against strong defensive competition.

DALLAS, TX - MAY 11: Jay Bouwmeester #19 celebrates with Brian Elliott #1 after a 6-1 win against the Dallas Stars

Defense

The Blues waited for years to get a goaltending performance like the one Brian Elliotts given them. (In some cases, waiting on Elliott himself; in others, waiting on goalies they hopes would eclipse him.) Elliotts posted a 2.29 save percentage overall and a .941 save percentage at even strength. In both series, he played arguably his worst game in Game 6, only to rebound in Game 7.

Martin Jones has been overall pretty good in his first postseason as a starter, with a .923 even strength save percentage. He had a couple of clunkers in the Predators series after outplaying Jonathan Quick in Round 1.

The Sharks (2.33 GAA) have been a tick better than the Blues (2.43) defensively this postseason, but also didnt have to face Patrick Kane and Jamie Benn in the previous two rounds. Theyve also been the slightly better possession team at 49.65 score-adjusted Corsi (via Corsica).

Vlasic and Justin Braun are the Sharks top pairing, and have driven possession and eaten minutes. Paul Martin has been solid in covering for Brent Burns when he goes on offensive adventures, but Burns has also excelled in his own zone. Brenden Dillon and Roman Polak round out the group.

The Blues have plenty of familiar names leading the blue line: Jay Bouwmeester and Alex Pietrangelo, along with Shattenkirk. But among the difference between this Blues team and previous ones is the play of the rookies: Joel Edmundson, who plays with Shattenkirk, has the highest score-adjusted Corsi of any St. Louis defenseman (54.65); and Colton Parayko, who has built on his stellar regular season and is logging over 20 minutes per game. Carl Gunnarsson fills out the top six, with Robert Bortuzzo in reserve.

Advantage: Blues. Deeper defense, and Elliott trumps Jones.

Special Teams

The Sharks have the best power play remaining in the postseason, clicking at 30.9 percent in including 45 percent on home ice. Theyve had 42 power-play chances; the Blues have had 40, and have a not-too-shabby 27.5 percent conversion rate. Couture has eight power-play points; Tarasenko had six.

The Sharks have the slightly better penalty kill: 82.3 percent to the Blues 79.5 percent. St. Louis rolls out Pietrangelo and Bouwmeester as their top killers, long with Backes, Steen and Kyle Brodziak. Martin, Burns, Vlasic, Braun, Tierney, Karlsson, Spaling and Couture get rolled out for the Sharks.

Advantage: Sharks.

Coaching

What a journey for both of these guys.

Peter DeBoer has had his typically great first season with a team. His temperament and work with both the veteran players and younger ones has been a master-class in how the right guy behind the bench can soothe lingering animosity, provide motivation and put the past in the past.

Ken Hitchcock nearly didnt return after last season, with the Blues flirting hard with Mike Babcock. But he came back on a one-year deal, and has coached the h**l out of these playoffs: Making some controversial moves (see Tarasenko, Ice Time) but also showing calm in the face of adversity (see Elliott, Brian, goaltending decisions).

Advantage: Blues.

Five Key Questions

1. Can the Sharks win without home ice?

San Jose was a different team on home ice than in Nashville last round including their awesome power play. Theyre obviously going to have to take one game in St. Louis to win it. The good news: The Blues are 3-4 on home ice.

2. Can the Blues keep going deep?

Seven of the top 25 players in total ice time this postseason are on the Blues. Theyve played two more games than the Sharks. If this series goes the seven games that their previous have, can the Blues go the distance again?

3. Can the Blues shut down more offensive dynamos?

Kane and Benn both just had one goal in their series against the Blues. What kind of number can they do against the Joes in his one?

4. Is Martin Jones Cup ready?

Jones has shown a few shaky moments in the postseason, including a rough Game 6 against the Predators. If for whatever reason a change needs to be made for the Sharks, James Reimer is more than capable as the backup.

5. How nasty is this going to get?

The Blues love throwing their body around, including Backes and Brouwer up front. The Sharks just came off a physical little series against the Predators. The hate quotient for this one is potentially quite high.

Prediction

Sharks in 6. Due respect to the Blues, but the Sharks are going to win any series in which their stars are leading the way (and they have) and they get solid goaltending (and they will). They take one of two in St. Louis to open the series, and then eventually close it out in the Shark Tank.

Greg Wyshynskiis a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him atpuckdaddyblog@yahoo.comorfind him on Twitter.His book,TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK,isavailable on Amazonand wherever books are sold.

Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&ct2=us&usg=AFQjCNGT-3MzHmw_zalwIZW_jrvmRXjaqg&clid=c3a7d30bb8a4878e06b80cf16b898331&ei=5-w5V_CSM4rO3AGzqqq4Cw&url=https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/western-conference-final-preview--st--louis-blues-vs--san-jose-sharks-142517531.html

Morley Safer retires on Sunday

Morley Safer Honored By 60 Minutes As He Retires

The official word: Morley Safer, the CBS Newsman and 60 MINUTES longest-serving correspondent, will formally retire this week. His unparalleled career will be celebrated in a special hour directly following this Sundays regular edition of 60 MINUTES. Morley Safer: A Reporters Life will be broadcast Sunday, May 15 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Watch an excerpt.

Safers first season as a regular 60 MINUTES correspondent began in 1970 with a story about the training of U.S. Sky Marshals. His last 60 MINUTES report -- number 919 -- a profile of Danish Architect Bjarke Ingels, was broadcast in March. After more than 50 years of broadcasting on CBS News and 60 MINUTES I have decided to retire. Its been a wonderful run, but the time has come to say goodbye to all of my friends at CBS and the dozens of people who kept me on the air, said Safer. But most of all I thank the millions of people who have been loyal to our broadcast.

Morley has had a brilliant career as a reporter and as one of the most significant figures in CBS News history, on our broadcast and in many of our lives, said Jeff Fager, executive producer of 60 MINUTES. Morleys curiosity, his sense of adventure and his superb writing, all made for exceptional work done by a remarkable man. The best of Morley Safer will be on display in our special broadcast this Sunday. Fager, a personal friend who once produced 60 MINUTES stories for Safer, is interviewed for Morley Safer: A Reporters Life.

The hour-long special traces Safers life from his birth in Toronto to his rise in the 50s and 60s as a distinguished war reporter and then 60 MINUTES correspondent, whose inimitable style, wonderful writing and broad range captivated millions on the most successful broadcast in television history.

Safers record of forty-plus years on primetime television will never be matched.

Safer speaks in interviews about some of the impactful work he is known for, namely his 1965 CBS News dispatch that changed war reporting when it showed Marines torching the homes of Vietnamese villagers, and his 60 MINUTES investigation that freed Lenell Geter, a black man wrongly convicted and sentenced to life in prison in Texas. In an appearance on the special, Geter credits Safer with saving his life. The hour recalls his classic profiles, including those of Jackie Gleason, Katharine Hepburn and Anna Wintour.

The program also features interviews with former NBC News Anchor Tom Brokaw and the historian David McCullough, and retired U.S. Brig. Gen. Joe Stringham, who commanded a Green Beret unit Safer accompanied into battle in Vietnam. Safer and Stringham have remained in touch; he remembers their time 51 years ago. [Safer] was all business and he reported what he sawWe looked at eternity right in the face a couple timesand he was as cool as a hog on ice.

Viewers will get a look at the off-camera Morley Safer, too, the man who could play a mean hand of poker, had artistic talent and loved driving a sports car at top speeds. And Safer makes this surprising confession: I really dont like being on televisionIt makes me uneasy. It is not natural to be talking to a piece of machinery. But the money is very good.

Source: http://www.ohio.com/blogs/heldenfiles/the-heldenfiles-online-1.258385/morley-safer-retires-on-sunday-1.682305

Honoring Morley Safer"s career in only one hour

Morley Safer on art

"I knew this day was coming, and I just never wanted it to arrive." That"s how 60 Minutes Executive Producer Jeff Fager describes this week"s news that correspondent Morley Safer is retiring after 46 years on the broadcast.

To celebrate Safer"s remarkable tenure, Fager called on an in-house dream team - editor Warren Lustig and producers David Browning, Katy Textor and Michelle St. John -- to create the tribute that aired Sunday night.

But how do you condense five decades -- that included more than 900 stories -- into a one-hour broadcast? That was the enormous challenge they faced.

"In the simplest terms, we set out to capture Morley," says Browning, Safer"s longtime producer, in the 60 Minutes Overtime video above. "You want to make sure that what you"re showing is representative of his work and the great variety of work that he"s done."

That work included a groundbreaking 1965 CBS News report from Cam Ne, Vietnam, where Safer showed U.S. Marines torching villagers" huts, and a 60 Minutes story on Lenell Geter, a black man in Texas wrongly accused of armed robbery and later exonerated as a result of Safer"s report.

There were countless stories, on every imaginable topic, each tale uniquely his own. "They were works of art almost," Fager explains. "What makes a story a Morley story is his original voice. And by that I mean not just the timbre, but [also] the quality of the storytelling, his writing."

Fager recalls working as Safer"s producer and bringing him the first draft of a script. Safer would look at it, stare out the window for a few seconds, and then quickly scroll a piece of paper into his trusty typewriter and rework it to his own satisfaction. Textor showed Overtime one of her scripts with a yellow piece of paper taped on where Safer had added his own better-written line.

"He simply had this ability to take it to the next level," Browning explains. "There"s an old saying of Mark Twain"s that the difference between the right word and the almost-right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug. And that"s what Morley did. He was lightning."

While Safer claims his stories were aimed more at the ear than the eye, Fager says the correspondent"s genius was his ability to link the two. "You see lines. You hear lines. You experience while you"re watching a connection with his writing to the picture," he says.

Safer didn"t take himself too seriously, his colleagues say, and liked to entertain his viewers. "Morley"s advice was always: if you can get them to laugh, you"re home free," recalls Textor. "He knew that if he could get a chuckle, you were pretty good. You were going to be okay."

He also had an eye for the absurd. An amateur artist in his spare time, Safer got a kick out of ridiculing pretentiousness in the art world, even if it meant gently mocking collectors as they showed him around. "Morley has always had a great sense of smoking out phonies and smoking out phony stories and things that just aren"t right," Browing says.

Some of Safer"s most memorable pieces were offbeat - or downright bizarre: A story on the popularity of tango in Finland, for instance, or a tale of crime and punishment on Furudu, a tiny island in the Maldives.

"Morley discovered [that] a story could be essentially what you made it to be," says Browning. "If you found an interesting place to go and an interesting cast of characters, it really didn"t matter if there was a huge headline there. As we say in the broadcast, the journey was really the story."

It was a journey Safer enjoyed immensely. "I"ve led a charmed life," he said in an interview. "I mean, in every respect, I"ve led a charmed life as a reporter, as an individual. A lot of it is, as I said, blood, sweat, toil, and tears, but a lot of it is pure, unadulterated luck, and I"ve been a very lucky guy."

Morley Safer"s 2000 interview courtesy of the Television Academy Foundation"s Archive of American Television

Photos courtesy of CBS News, CBS Photo Archive and Morley Safer

The video above was produced by Lisa Orlando, and edited by Lisa Orlando and Will Croxton.

Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/60-minutes-honoring-morley-safer-career/

Sunday, May 15, 2016

Manchester United transfer news: Zlatan Ibrahimovic confirms deal done

All Goals & Highlights ~ West Ham United 3-2 Manchester United 10/5/2016 [Premier League]
Who will sign the giant Swede? (Picture: Getty Images)

Manchester United transfer target Zlatan Ibrahimovic has confirmed he already knows where he will be playing next season.

The Sweden international will leave Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer this summer and has been linked to a big-money move to several locations around the globe.

MLS sides and AC Milan have also been linked to the 34-year-old who is one of the finest strikers in world football.

And Ibra revealed that he has decidedwhere he will move to in the summer.

Who will land him? (Picture: Getty Images)

I know where I will be going next season, but I will not be saying where tonight, he told beIN Sports.

MORE: LvG blames this legend for sack talk

Source: http://metro.co.uk/2016/05/15/manchester-united-transfer-target-zlatan-ibrahimovic-confirms-he-knows-his-next-destination-5882960/

Olympic Park venue manager comes full circle with Pan Am Games

Dragon Ball Super Episode 43 Review/Episode 44 Predictions: Pan & The Pilaf Gang

May 15, 2016 1:00 a.m.

As 9-year-old Morgan House watched the Centennial Olympic Games from the shores of Lake Lanier, the worlds best kayakers paddled through the lakes still waters.

Little did he know he would be managing those waters nearly 20 years later.

Today, House is venue manager at the Lake Lanier Olympic Park on Clarks Bridge Road in Gainesville. Hes something of a Gainesville kayaking legend, having competed professionally in more than 30 countries before coming back to his hometown.

This week, the Olympic park will host the Canoe/Kayak Pan American Championships for the first time in its history. The games are the continental qualifier for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, meaning any canoe or kayak athlete on the continent seeking to compete in the Rio Summer Games must come through Gainesville first.

Those are high stakes House knows well, having competed in the Pan Am games himself years ago.

I started paddling in 1995, when I was 8 years old, House said. By 1996, I came and watched the Olympics here, and I was obviously very inspired. So I joined the club on the first day they opened.

House trained with the Lanier Canoe and Kayak Club recreationally, becoming more involved in middle school.

In 2003, I qualified for the Junior World Championship team, to compete at the Junior Worlds in Komatsu, Japan, he said. Thats when I really got excited.

House said he did really poorly in Japan, but he qualified again in 2005 for the Junior Worlds, placing fifth in the world in Szeged, Hungary. To this day, that is still the best American kayaker performance in Junior Worlds history.

He lived and trained at the Olympic training center in Chula Vista, Calif., for five years, which would lead him to win the U.S. Olympic trials in 2008 and the Pan Am games in 2008.

Its a crazy selection process, and I wasnt selected to go compete in Beijing, he said. I did not make the team in 2012, so I decided to pursue a professional career path of some sort.

In total, he competed in 12 world cups and six world championships in more than 30 countries.

House is a Gainesville High School graduate who today has a bachelors degree in marketing and public relations from Ashford University. He previously served as a high-performance canoe/kayak coach for the Lanier Canoe and Kayak Club before assuming the position as venue manager for the Olympic park.

House entered the bid for the venue to host the Pan Am games last year. The Lanier site beat out bids from Montreal, Canada, and Curitiba, Brazil.

The championships are the latest in a long line of international events Lake Lanier has held since the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. Most recently, it served as host to the U.S. National Team trials and team trials for Canada.

For House, bringing the Pan Am games to Gainesville is coming full circle.

Its really exciting, he said. It makes me very nostalgic. I want to be out there competing, and a lot of the same people I competed against will be here. Its fun seeing them and reconnecting.

House has been venue manager two years now, and he said the current $1.1 million renovation project at the park is one of the highlights.

But the big highlight now is seeing the community rally around this place, he said. I think the community cares more about this venue now than they ever have ever, except maybe in 1996. So thats a really big highlight and its great to see.