College World Series memories: Shock the World

Kate Morrison, WFAA Sports 2:22 p.m. CDT June 13, 2015

Pat Cantwell of the Frisco RoughRiders(Photo: Melisa Oporto)

The College World Series is upon us, with the first four teams facing off Saturday, June 13th. To get an insight into what it's like to travel the road to Omaha, and make it there as an underdog, I spoke with current Frisco RoughRiders catcher Pat Cantwell, who was the starting catcher for the Stony Brook Seawolves in 2012. The Seawolves were the fourth-seed in their region that year, and won four elimination games to advance to the College World Series, adopting the slogan "Shock the World" along the way.

What was it like, getting to the college playoffs with Stony Brook?

'We were underdogs the whole year - coming from the northeast, no one really gave us a shot anyway, but if anything it made us closer and it probably helped us out. I wouldn't trade that experience for the world."

What was the best part of your journey to the College World Series?

"Probably winning at LSU, because we were such big underdogs. I tell people this all the time when people ask me about it - going to Omaha was great, we were the Cinderella story, everybody was cheering for us, but there's something different about being the underdog when nobody wants you to win, nobody expects you to win, and our guys came out and answered the call. It was just one of those things where everybody came together at the right time and we got hot. It was a pretty special two or three days."

General view of logo before the 2015 College World Series(Photo: Steven Branscombe, Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports)

Stony Brook faced top pitcher Kevin Gausman in the LSU super-regional. What was that like?

"He [Gausman] was the best pitcher in college baseball that year, he closed out game 1 - the game that we actually lost because of the rain delay, so he finished out that game and [started] in Game 2. He did what he's best at - used both sides of the plate, good offspeed, good changeup, good slider. We were fortunate enough to get a couple of big hits, couple of guys on, and a couple of runs, and our pitching staff and bullpen did a great job, our defense was - I think it was nationally ranked that year, top 10 in the country. We made all the plays that we needed to make and fortunately we came out on top against a great pitcher and better competitor."

What advice would you have for someone with a team that's made it to Omaha this year?

"My advice would be to enjoy it, but don't let it take away from your competitive edge. Guys go there and they fall in love with the city and the people, everybody's very welcoming and very nice to you, everybody knows you're a baseball player when you're walking around. Go and enjoy it but you have to be ready to play when the time comes, so don't lose that competitive edge, but it's an experience you'll remember for the rest of your life, so you've got to try to have some fun with it too."

Any last thoughts or favorite memories of the College World Series?

"I mean, just the city of Omaha itself. You know, it was real cool when we got there - all the streets where the hotels are are named after the teams that are there, that was awesome. Everywhere you went there was some type of memorabilia from each school that was playing that year. The field was amazing, we played the first year at the new ballpark, and that's a beautiful facility. It was just a great experience. Everything that that city does for this time of the year is amazing, and I wish everybody could experience it once in their life, but it's just one of those things that you have to see for yourself."

The College World Series begins today at 2:00 PM CT when the Arkansas Razorbacks face off against the Virginia Cavaliers (ESPN), and continues with Florida versus Miami (FL) at 7:00 PM CT (ESPN). TCU will kick off its campaign for the title against LSU on Sunday at 2:00 PM CT (ESPN), with Cal State Fullerton facing defending champions Vanderbilt at 7:00 PM CT (ESPN2) that night.

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Source: http://www.wfaa.com/story/sports/mlb/rangers/2015/06/13/college-world-series-stony-brook-pat-cantwell/71177056/

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Lark Voorhies' husband wanted by police

Lark Voorhies' husband wanted by police

Lark Voorhies' new husband is wanted by police.

The 'Saved By The Bell' star's spouse Jimmy Green, who she wed in a Las Vegas chapel ceremony on April 30, is facing arrest for disorderly conduct and threatening to intimidate in Tucson, Arizona, following an incident in 2012.

A representative for the actress told PEOPLE: "We're looking into the matter and are obviously concerned about these allegations."

Lark, 41 - who met Jimmy, 31, via Facebook a year ago - confirmed that the pair had tied the knot last month and had honoured their love for each other in a commitment ceremony on April 1 on Friday (12.06.15).

She said in a statement: "We have known it was meant to be for a while now and are so happy we found each other.

"I look forward to all the wonderful moments and memories we will create together. Thank you so much for all the well wishes and we appreciate them indeed!"

The raven-haired beauty - who played Lisa Turtle on the hit NBC show - is also planning another huge celebration with all their family and friends next year.

Prior to her whirlwind romance, Lark was married to Miguel Coleman from 1996 to 2004. She was also reported to have wed Andy Price in 2007, with whom she has one child.

Source: http://www.sundayworld.com/style/showbiz/lark-voorhies-husband-wanted-by-police

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Thailand beat the Ivory Coast 3-2 on a brace from Orathai Srimanee

Orathai Srimanee of Thailand celebrates with teammates after scoring her second goal vs. the Ivory Coast.

Thanatta Chawong scored an insurance goal in the 75th minute which proved the difference as Thailand beat Ivory Coast 3-2 in their Women's World Cup opening group game on Thursday in Ottawa, Ontario.

Thailand's group record improved to 1-1-0 with three points while Ivory Coast, 10-0 losers to Germany in their opener, fell to 0-2-0.

Ivory Coast opened the scoring just four minutes in. A corner kick pinballed in the 6-yard box until Ange Nguessan was able to get her left foot on it and beat Thailand goalkeeper Waraporn Boonsing for a 1-0 lead.

In the 26th minute, Anootsara Maijarern took a seemingly offside long feed on the left wing and passed to Orathai Srimanee, who volleyed it by goalkeeper Dominique Thaimale to even the game.

Srimanee made it 2-1 in first-half stoppage time, heading home a service from Rattikan Thongsombut. The ball hit the crossbar and came straight down, but review confirmed it completely crossed the goal line.

Josee Nahi cut the deficit to one in the 88th minute, but a tying attempt by Christine Lohoues in injury time hit the crossbar and deflected out of bounds.

Source: http://www.espnfc.com/womens-world-cup/match/410226/ivory-coast-thailand/report

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From Phineas and Ferb to Supreme Court Season, These Were the Best Stories ...

Back in the real world, however, there were, of course, more serious matters to consider. Relations between law enforcement and the public continue to dominate our attention. Slate had two pieces this week that did a great job of pulling back from the breaking news to examine more complex issues. Dahlia Lithwick looked at whether excited delirium is a legitimate medical diagnosis or just something convenient for cops to cite when suspects die in custody. And in the wake of the McKinney, Texas, pool party controversy, Jamelle Bouie reminded readers that America has a long (and ugly) history of segregating our swimming pools.

Amanda Hess has a heartrending article on Izabel Laxamana, the Washington state teenager who committed suicide after her father cut off her hair and made a video shaming her for disobeying him. Hess notes that shaming is a medieval practice that takes on a whole new dimension in a society dominated by social media and YouTube.

The big finale of the Supreme Court season is coming up, and Slate is on it. Adam Winkler reviews John Roberts not-so-conservative record so far, and Dahlia Lithwick looks into her crystal ball and predicts that the justices just might consider how their decisions on Obamacare and gay marriage will affect the 2016 election. Away from the Supreme Court, Mark Joseph Stern is casting a critical eye on how states are seeking to limit rights for gay couples even as SCOTUS appears (maybe) ready to make gay marriage the law of the land.

Thats a lot of heavy stuff. Maybe you need a mental health break, something more lighthearted. As it turns out, our culture editor Dan Kois has just the thing for you. He spent some time with the good folks at ClickHole, the site that mocks buzzing, feedy things that buzz all over your feed.

Before I go, one of the delights of working at Slate is stumbling across the pieces that make you go hmmmm. Things that defy expectations or answer questions that you never thought to ask. The disparate entries in that category this week are this video that shows you how to use chickpea liquid as an egg white substitute and a science piece that looks at whether a subdivision built on ancient Pueblo lands can actually be good for archaeology.

Thank you so much for being a member, and have a great weekend.

Source: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/slate_plus/2015/06/the_best_of_slate_rachael_larimore_on_her_favorite_reads_of_the_week.html?wpsrc%3Dsp_all_native_recent

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The Launch Trailer For 'LEGO Jurassic World' Spares No Nostalgia

Jurassic World finally hits theaters today and, well, it might be a bit of a battle to get a seat. But hey, if you happen to be left out in the cold, you could still console yourself with LEGO Jurassic World, the new game that actually covers the entire Jurassic Park series.

The final trailer for LEGO Jurassic World mostly focuses on the games take on the original Jurassic Park. Dr. Grant seeing the Brachiosaurus for the first time, the velociraptors in the kitchen scene, that d**n sexy, snarky Jeff Goldblum. Its all here. Theres also some new stuff, like a shot of a raptor constructing something out of LEGO blocks. Oh G*d, even our building toys arent safe.

Source: http://uproxx.com/gammasquad/2015/06/the-launch-trailer-for-lego-jurassic-world-spares-no-nostalgia/

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Farewell To Dusty Rhodes, The American Dream

This one hurts.

A pro wrestlers sudden death is by now no more surprising than the passing of another worlds oldest human. But todays news that Dusty Rhodes was gone shook me.

Try as my parents surely did, traditional theater never did anything for me. But d**n if I wasnt awed every time I watched the guy born Virgil Runnels Jr. in character as the wrestler Dusty Rhodes. Here was thislets be honesthideous-looking man with hair and a body type of a sort only found in pro wrestling delivering scripted boasts about his physical and intellectual prowess in an exaggerated Southern drawl and cartoonish lisp, even taunting all ring rivals with claims that he was familiar with their lady friends.

My brother and some buddies and I, none of whom ever were ring obsessives, have been trading impersonations of Rhodes promos for the last few decades: Im jutht a plumberth thon! and Whithkey bent and glory bound! and, my fave, Im bethide mythelf, and thatth five-hundred and sixthty poundth, if you know what Im thayin. Standard wrestling fare, for sure, and nothing as poetic as Ric Flairs If you wanna be the man you gotta beat the man! But to me, everything coming out of the mouth of the American Dream oozed thespian brilliance. I can only hope my folks got as much entertainment out of Laurence Olivier as Richard III.

Rhodess ring persona hit home with me for geographic and cultural reasons, too. He was a star all over the world, but especially for National Wrestling Alliance promoters in the Carolinas and Florida, and that meant a few things to me.

I grew up in the 1970s in Northern Virginia, about seven miles from the Washington, D.C. border, and was always proud that the city was the birthplace of the NWA rival now known as the WWE, which grew out of weekly broadcasts filmed at a downtown gym called Turners Arena, off 13th and W Sts NW. Vince McMahon dominated the D.C. market when I was a kid, and NWA wrestlers had no presence in town before cable television, so I only saw stars like Rhodes and Flair on the covers of wrestling magazines, always bloodied like nothing Id ever seen on McMahons Saturday morning wrestling shows.

Coming from the Virginia side of the Potomac River, though, meant I also grew up a fan of the New South, of bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Allman Brothers and politicians like Jimmy Carter and basically of anything that might make the South cool again for the first time in at least a century. So I found something romantic about these bloodied bottle-blond cover boys, and when the wrestling civil war for ring domination commenced on cable when I was a little older, I rooted hard for the NWA (and, eventually, its cable-friendly successor, WCW). Rhodes made that decision easy.

Beginning in the mid-1980s, despite the efforts of Rhodes and Flair and endless broadcasts on Ted Turners TBS, McMahons organization took the upper hand in the wrestling war. With its USA Network telecasts and Wrestlemania on its way to becoming the Super Bowl of the sport, what is now WWE became a national concern; the NWA troupes, by contrast, were never quite able to overcome their reputation for Southernness. This meant, among other things, that my exposure to Rhodes came almost totally via the TV. That was okay, since his actual wrestling abilities, capped by his finishing move, the Bionic Elbow, werent nearly as otherworldly as his work with the microphone. But I was excited when I heard Rhodes was coming to town for a July 3, 1986 show at RFK Stadium called the Great American Bash.

The card featured Flair vs. Rhodes for the NWA title. The match, and the whole card, was a bust. The crowd was announced as 6,000, but the giant venue didnt even seem to have even that many people inside. But, as I reminded myself again and again today since hearing of his death, I saw Dusty Rhodes battle for the belt! I dug out my ticket stub from the Bash, and was at my laptop guffawing at the above period-piece promo Rhodes cut for that showAnd Ronald Reagan, you and Nansthy better get your seatsth!when my phone rang.

My brother was on the other line. Jutht a plumberth thon, he said. Im bethide mythelf, and thatth five-hundred and sixthty poundth, if you know what Im thayin, I countered. We laughed. Thanks for that, Dusty.

Contact the author at dave.mckenna@deadspin.com.

Source: http://deadspin.com/farewell-to-dusty-rhodes-the-american-dream-1710727229

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Tonight in L.V.: Calvin Harris at Wet at Night; 'Skin Wars'; Ministry; Skrillex

Eric Jamison / Invision / AP

Calvin Harris arrives at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on Sunday, May 17, 2015, in LasVegas.

By Robin Leach (contact)

Wednesday, June 10, 2015 | 4:58 p.m.

Skin Wars judge and producer Robin Slonina premieres the first episode of Season 2 on the Game Show Network at Inspire Theater on Fremont Street with a screening party with a living red carpet, body-painted models, photo booth and temporary tattoos for attendees older than 21. Our Q+A with Robin was posted last Friday.

Surrender Nightclub and Encore Beach Club celebrate their fifth anniversaries with DJ Skrillex (be sure to read our esteemed Entertainment + Luxury Senior Editor Don Chareunsys Q+A with Sean Christie, managing partner of Surrender, EBC and the adjoining restaurant Andreas.

DJ Calvin Harris spins at Wet at Night at Wet Republic in Mandalay Bay. Will girlfriend Taylor Swift and her entourage of BFFs accompany Calvin at the late-night pool party?

Ministry headlines at House of Blues in Mandalay Bay.

Singing tenor Joe Spinella launches his show Illusion Aria of music ranging from Italian opera to Grammy-nominated popera with magical illusions and storytelling at Marriott Springhill Suites near the Convention Center. Lady Gaga songwriter and producer Joe Vulpis has created the musical portion of the unique show.

Nintendos Legend of Zelda plays out with a symphony of The Goddesses Master Quest orchestra concert at the Venetian.

Summerlin artist Dorit Schwartz presents six 3-D, 5-feet-tall sculptures at St. Jude Celebration of Life at Springs Preserve.

TOMORROWS TEASE

Meet banker David Perisset, who invested a multimillion-dollar fortune to bring Exotics Racing to Las Vegas with 200 mph, high-priced cars. Plus, the Venetians Carnival of Cuisine with star chef Mario Batali.

Robin Leach of Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous fame has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past 15 years giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the worlds premier platinum playground.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.

Follow Sun Entertainment + Luxury Senior Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.

Encore

Encore is nearly a mirror image of the Wynn Las Vegas, from the brown glass exterior to the style and placement of the logo and it's just as luxurious as the original. Some call Encore the younger, hipper sister of Wynn.

Located steps from Wynn Las Vegas, yet under the same roof, Encore's fanciful and intimate atmosphere is unlike anything anywhere, with an environment that is uniquely Wynn and distinctly Encore.

Steve Wynn spared no detail in his newest property when designing Encore. The casino floor is decorated in rich reds, browns and purples with mosaic butterflies embedded into the marble floors and fresh flowers greeting guests in the casino atrium.

Luxury doesn't end of the casino floor. Encore boasts 2,034 impeccable guest rooms and suites. The standard suites resort accommodations are 700 square feet with the larger suites measuring in at 5,800 square feet. Standard suites guest rooms feature plasma screen TVs, high-end bath products, spectacular views of the Strip, and also plush linens and mattresses, which can be purchased in the Encore store, in case you can't get enough.

Dining options include Chef Theo Schoenegger's fine Italian cuisine at Chef Theo Schoenegger's, Sinatra's and the pan-Asian caf creations of Chef Jet Tila at Wazuzu.

Guests can also dine on steaks and chops at star Botero Steak. At Switch, Encore's French restaurant, the walls come to life mid-meal and your surroundings appear to change before your eyes. For decadent, hip Asian dining before or after a night at one of resorts ultra-chic nightclubs, visit Andreas, the newest dining experience at Encore.

XS headlines Encore's nightlife and pool party scene while Danny Gans takes care of humor and entertainment. Encore also features two of the most celebrated nightlife experiences in Vegas, XS Nightclub and Surrender. Both feature main room dance floors that flow outside to pools, patio spaces and gaming areas.

When the temperature rises, dont miss Encore Beach Club, the premier daylife destination that features three tiered pools and luxurious cabanas and bungalows with private infinity pools.

Encore Esplanade features 11 high-end retail stores, with brands like Hermes, Chanel, Loro Piana and Rock, and Republic Piaget luxury watches. The resort also has a Forbes Five-Star spa, a salon and an 18-hole, on-site golf course, which is adjacent to the Wynn.

3131 South Las Vegas Boulevard Las Vegas,NV 89109

702-770-8000 MGM Grand Hotel and Casino

MGM Grand, a AAA Four Diamond resort, offers 5,044 rooms and suites.

MGM Grand features K by Cirque du Soleil; Brad Garretts Comedy Club; and world-class entertainment at the Grand Garden Arena and Hollywood Theatre.

The resort offers signature restaurants by celebrity chefs including Tom Colicchios Craftsteak, Emeril Lagasses New Orleans Fish House, Wolfgang Pucks Bar & Grill and Michelin three star and Forbes Five Star restaurant, Jol Robuchon.

As part of its ongoing Grand Renovation, MGM Grand has remodeled all rooms and suites in its main tower and is adding several new experiences to its lineup including Hakkasan Las Vegas Restaurant and Nightclub, a new upscale dining/nightlife concept (coming in April 2013).

MGM Grand also features a state-of-the-art, non-smoking conference center, the Grand Spa, Cristophe Salon, "CSI: The Experience" and an inviting pool complex featuring the tantalizing daylife of Wet Republic.

Upscale accommodations include The Mansion, an exclusive hotel within the hotel; the luxurious two-story SKYLOFTS at MGM Grand; and The Signature at MGM Grand, a luxury all-suite, non-gaming hotel located adjacent to the main resort.

3799 Las Vegas Boulevard S. Las Vegas,NV 89109

702-891-1111

Source: http://lasvegassun.com/vegasdeluxe/2015/jun/10/calvin-harris-wet-night-skin-wars-ministry-skrille/

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