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Friday, November 4, 2016

Melania Trump, Cruz hit trail as surrogates for Donald

What was Melania Trump like in Slovenia? - BBC News

Melania Trump and Ted Cruz both made their post-convention debut as Donald Trump surrogates on the campaign trail Thursday -- though the Texas senator and former primary contender did so without mentioning the GOP nominee by name at his initial appearance.

Cruz joined Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence on the campaign trail in Prole, Iowa, a month and a half after he posted a tepid endorsement of Trump on Facebook.

This election has been one wild ride, but the stakes in this election have never been higher, Cruz told the audience. He noted that maintaining GOP control of Congress and putting a Republican in the White House amounted to the whole enchilada.

Standing at a podium with a Trump-Pence logo, Cruz praised several Iowa Republicans, including Rep. Steve King and Sen. Charles Grassley, but did not name Trump.

Cruz did mention Trump at a later stop in Michigan, telling the crowd in Portage, "You oughta vote for Donald Trump and Mike Pence and Republicans up and down the ticket."

In Iowa and Michigan, Cruz delivered his pitch to the base, while Melania Trump made her first solo appearance in suburban Philadelphia, where Donald Trump is trailing Clinton.

He knows how to make real change. Make America great again is not just a slogan, she said, adding that as first lady she would be an advocate for women and children.

Despite her husbands reputation for frank, sometimes crude talk, the native of Slovenia focused on family issues saying that the culture has gotten too mean and rough.

Prior to her address, the Pennsylvania state Democratic Party sent out a copy of an old Michelle Obama speech that was labeled as an advanced copy of Melanias speech, a reference to allegations of plagiarism that emerged after her Republican National Convention speech.

Cruz and Melania Trump are the latest in a growing pool of surrogates campaigning for Trump, as Hillary Clinton deploys influential Democrats ranging from President Obama to Bernie Sanders to the trail.

Surrogates can be very helpful in the final days of the campaign when it is far more important to energize and excite voters than to persuade them, Republican campaign strategist Chris Jankowski told FoxNews.com.

I think it would have been wiser to have heard more from Ivanka and Melania all throughout September and October. This speech may have some impact ... but I am doubtful that it will have enough of an impact, Sarah Lenti, a Colorado-based Republican consultant, added.

In battleground states where the margins are narrowing, the surrogates are making the biggest showing.

Michigan, which has not voted for a Republican candidate for president since President George H. W. Bush in 1988, is such a case.

A Fox2/Mitchellpoll released on Wednesday showed Clintons lead in the Great Lakes state has narrowed to 3 percent.

The week began with Trump rallying on Monday, while Donald Trump Jr. arrived mid-week to make stops at Michigan State University and Grand Valley State University. Ivanka Trump appealed to suburban women voters during a Michigan Women in Business Roundtable event.

Not new to the role of surrogate, Obama fired up a Florida crowd with a feisty speech that went off-script as much as Trump.

This is the guy who spent 70 years -- his whole life -- born with a silver spoon, showing no respect for working people. Hes spent a lot of time with celebrities, Obama told the audience in Miami.

But Trump, the president said, does not hang out with working people unless theyre cleaning his room or mowing the fairways.

Youre going to make this guy your champion if youre a working person? he asked the crowd.

FoxNews.com"s Jennifer Hickey and Dan Gallo contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/11/03/melania-trump-cruz-hit-trail-as-surrogates-for-donald.html

Does ex-wife of Jared Fogle have a case against Subway?

Ordering A Really Messy Subway Sandwich! MESSIEST EVER! Public Pranks

November 4, 2016, 7:38 AM| CBS News legal analyst Rikki Klieman joins "CBS This Morning" to discuss whether Katie McLaughlin, ex-wife of former Subway spokesman Jared Fogle, has a case against the sandwich chain. She alleges Subway was notified about Fogle"s sexual interest in children at least three times during his stint as company spokesman, but it failed to tell police.

Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/does-ex-wife-of-jared-fogle-have-a-case-against-subway/

Javier Baez Is Conquered, This Time, in a Game Bursting With Pressure

SSK Javier Baez Q&A

A couple of hours before Fridays game, I watched Baez as he was escorted to a television interview. He was giggling into his sweatshirt. During batting practice, he could not stop laughing. Perhaps the moment was a parrot jabbering too fast in his ear. Before the game, his manager, Joe Maddon, a reluctant seer, acknowledged as much.

Javys tried to do too much, he said. The foots getting off the ground again, too high.

Sure enough, in the bottom of the ninth, in a game taut as a tarp, Baez ended up being a p**n when the Cubs needed a rook. On a 2-2 count, the final fastball of the game rode up between Baezs chin and his nose, which is to say it was a good foot out of the strike zone. As is true of so many of the young Cubs hitters, patience is not yet Baezs friend. He lifted his foot and unleashed that electric swing, trying to catch the pitch.

That was the definition of an impossibility.

Baez unpretzeled himself and walked to the dugout, and a stadium packed beyond capacity fell silent. The Indians pumped fists and exchanged leaping high-fives, celebrating a 1-0 win. To steal a Series game in an opposing stadium evokes the warmth that a pickpocket feels when he filches a wallet from a swell.

And the Indians have now done it twice, winning Game 4 on Saturday night by a 7-2 score that was as uncompetitive as the numbers suggest.

These Midwestern teams would seem to offer a striking contrast: the small-ball Indians, generally thriving with singles and doubles and running. And the Cubs, with their big-bopping kids, competing to muscle b***s into the jet stream over Chicago.

Francona, whose sore back gives him a penguins walk, is about happy pain. He talks of his anxiety and his penchant for second-guessing like a priest who has grown comfortable with his small sins. He noted that Series games in a National League park which thankfully come shorn of the designated hitter required more work of a manager. But he acquitted himself well in Games 3 and 4 even as he worried his strategy would blow up.

That was agonizing, he said after Game 3, describing how he had spent the last innings worrying the Cubs would tie the score and expose him. I always get nervous.

Before that game, Maddon blew into his news conference holding a steaming cup of coffee, Mr. Mellow Yellow in the flesh. He wanted to talk of his commute, the blue-clad Cubs fans with the names of old heroes on jerseys Banks, Santo, Williams who wandered into the street, oblivious to his car.

He dug the nuttiness of it all. The fact that people are flying in just to be at a bar, not even be at the ballpark thats pretty impressive, he said.

Maddon likes to stand on the top step of the dugout and peer into Wrigleys distant reaches. There is the last seat that I can see in the right-field corner, he said the other day. I love that that seat is filled every night. I think that is outstanding.

In the fifth inning of Fridays game, I set out to visit that seat. Decades back, I passed a few nights sleeping in the Calcutta train station; navigating the dark, intensely narrow, crowded and joyous aisles of Wrigley called that experience sharply to mind. If there was a fire safety inspector within four miles of Wrigley Field on Friday night, she must have willfully blinded herself.

I reached that chair, just beyond the foul pole in right, and told its inhabitant, a wiry steelworker named Mark, of Maddons observation. He shrugged. As if this surprised him?

How long has he been a Cub fan? Fifty-six years. How old? Sixty. Last name? He shook his head. I aint handing that out, he said.

I moved to another remote seat and found Donovan Arndt, 33. He was here with his older brother and father. His mother and his sister, for reasons not immediately clear, were sitting at the other end of the stadium. He pointed behind him, to old apartment buildings where fans pay premium prices to peer at maybe half the playing field.

Crazy, right? he said. Beers before the game, beers during the game, and beers after the game, and a Cubs World Series. Im living the dream.

I wound my way back to the crows nest that passes for Wrigleys press box. I got back in time to see an aging Indians journeyman with a delicious baseball name, Coco Crisp, drop a pinch-hit into right field to drive in the only run of the game. Two innings later, Baez stands in and then departs, despondent.

Maddon is riding a sometimes confounding horse. On a good night, his team can accumulate clumps of runs that make the score look like a football game. But his young sluggos can become too enraptured with slugging; they have been shut out twice in the first four games of the Series and have won only once.

Just check out these guys in a couple of years, Maddon told reporters.

His stab at playing Nostradamus could look smart in another year. In the 2016 Series, however, the Cub hitters, Baez in particular, swing mightily and most often take seats, where they watch slashing Indian hitters and crafty pitchers pile dirt on the Cubs grave.

Once Baez hooks a harness to his talents, he could well put up big numbers, but that may not happen during the rest of this Series. He spent Friday and Saturday evenings taking wild, futile, roundhouse swings, striking out and popping up.

Maddon had spoken after Fridays loss of the Cubs pressing need to shrink their strike zone. Its not really that complicated, he said.

After Saturdays loss, the Cubs predicament is not complicated, either. Their young would-be star Baez made the final out of the game, and with that the Cubs are one loss removed from deaths door.

Continue reading the main story

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/30/sports/baseball/javier-baez-chicago-cubs-game-3.html

#ImWithTur Still Trending After Donald Trump Taunts NBC Reporter Katy Tur Again

Morning Joe Confronts Conway Over Trump Calling Out NBC"s Katy Tur

Donald Trump had gotten to the Media Are Disgusting portion of the festivities at a campaign stop in Miami today, when he spied NBC News Katy Tur.

We have massive crowds. There is something happening. Theyre not reporting it, the GOP nominee bellowed, pointing to the cameras and media pen at his rally. Katy, youre not reporting it, Katy. But there is something happening, Katy. There is something happening, Katy.

Once again #ImWithTur began trending this morning, and still was trending hours later, as journalists and Trump nonfans tweeted in support of the reporter who has been embedded with the Trump campaign. Its not the first time the media has risen to Trumps bait when hes taken off after Tur; the hashtag reportedly was born in the summer after he repeatedly singled her out with his elementary school-style bullying.

Among Trumps taunts: He once told Tur to be quiet during a news conference; he told pals at Fox & Friends his campaign does not let people talk to Tur because shes not a very good reporter; and, during another of his well-received Media Are Scum spouts at a rally, he told enthusiastic supporters where they could find Little Katy, third-rate journalist.

On the bright side, Tur got a great Marie Claire piece out of Trumps taunts.

As Marie Claire noted after todays Trump tantrum:

Today, Turs colleagues seemed especially angry about Trumps taunts:

Of course, not everyone was tweeting in support:

LIVE FC Barcelona B - Valencia Mestalla - Segunda B Grupo III - 3 ...

FC Barcelona: training session in Manchester

Segunda B Grupo III Follow the Football match between FC Barcelona B and Valencia Mestalla live with Eurosport. The match starts at 04:00 on 3 November 2016. Our live coverage lets you follow all the key moments as they happen.

Have your say by voting on who will win between FC Barcelona B and Valencia Mestalla? Enjoy some pre-match reading with related articles about these two Enjoy some pre-match reading with related articles about these two Football teams.Head-to-head: see historical stats and visit our detailed profiles for FC Barcelona B vs Valencia Mestalla. Get all the latest on Football: fixtures, results and tables.

Source: http://au.eurosport.com/football/segunda-b-grupo-iii/2016-2017/live-fc-barcelona-b-valencia-mestalla_mtc889030/live.shtml

Banner night for Big Ten in initial College Football Playoff rankings

NCAAF : College Football Playoff Rankings Unveiled

On Oct. 1, Penn State fans had to be thinking: Why us? The Nittany Lions were 2-2 and getting drubbed at home by Minnesota.

On Nov. 1, as in Tuesday night, those fans had to be asking: Why not us?

The first release of the College Football Playoff rankings didn"t bring any major surprises, but it did bring hope to Nittany Lion fans. The selection committee ranked Penn State 12th eight slots higher than its (insignificant) AP ranking.

What that means is that Penn State, even at 6-2, has a puncher"s chance of making the playoff. The Nittany Lions would need to: a) win out (Iowa, at Indiana, at Rutgers, Michigan State) and b) have Michigan lose twice (Maryland, at Iowa, Indiana, at Ohio State) to reach the Big Ten title game, where a victory could vault them into the final four.

Climbing from 12 to 4 still would be no cinch, but consider this: The CFP committee ranked Ohio State 16th in the first-ever rankings in 2014. The Buckeyes rose to No. 4 before taking down Alabama and Oregon to win the national title.

The other Big Ten teams still alive for a playoff spot Michigan (3), Ohio State (6), Wisconsin (8) and Nebraska (10) were all ranked about where they were expected.

Michigan and Nebraska control their own playoff destiny, as everyone likes to say. Nebraska (7-1) would surge with a victory Saturday at Ohio State and a victory in the Big Ten title game.

Wisconsin needs to win out (at Northwestern, Illinois, at Purdue, Minnesota) and have Nebraska lose at least another game (at Ohio State, Minnesota, Maryland, at Iowa).

Ohio State needs to win out (Nebraska, at Maryland, at Michigan State, Michigan) and either have Michigan win its next three games (Maryland, at Iowa, Indiana) or Penn State lose one of its next four.

If all that is too much to digest, then just focus on the top of the rankings for now: Alabama is No. 1, followed by Clemson, Michigan and Texas A&M.

The Aggies got drilled by the Crimson Tide, 33-14, but they"re ranked one spot ahead of 8-0 Washington because of more quality victories. Louisville is lurking at No. 7.

Washington is the Pac-12"s only real hope, and the Big 12 is all but dead. Its highest entrant is No. 14 Oklahoma, and the league has no title game.

Think about this: Five Big Ten teams are ranked higher than the best of the Big 12.

If you heard some fireworks go off Tuesday night, they were coming from Big Ten headquarters in Rosemont, not Wrigley Field.

tgreenstein@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @TeddyGreenstein

Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/ct-greenstein-big-ten-playoff-rankings-spt-1102-20161101-column.html

Thursday, November 3, 2016

Ainge hasn"t said whether Ray Allen"s No. 20 will hang in rafters

Ray Allen Top 10 Plays of Career

WALTHAM, Mass. -- How should we describe Ray Allen"s legacy with the Boston Celtics? Well, it"s complicated.

No one could credibly deny Allen"s impact on the success of Boston"s most recent Big Three era, especially the team"s 2008 title. But while Paul Pierce"s No. 34 and Kevin Garnett"s No. 5 seem certain to hang in the rafters at TD Garden, the same cannot be said for Allen"s No. 20 jersey.

Allen, who announced his retirement after 18 seasons on Tuesday, logged three All-Star appearances in five seasons with Boston. If not for his arrival in a trade on draft night in 2007, the Celtics probably wouldn"t have had enough talent to convince Garnett to accept a trade from Minnesota. Without Allen"s shooting, the Celtics don"t hang Banner 17.

Yet for all of Allen"s memorable moments, some fans recall only his struggles. Such as his inconsistencies in the 2010 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers, which included an 0-for-13 performance in Game 3 (he scored 2 points in 42 minutes) and a 3-for-14 night in Game 7 (13 points in 45 minutes).

When Allen"s ankles balked in 2012, he was replaced in Boston"s starting lineup by second-year guard Avery Bradley. Allen only got his starting spot back when Bradley"s shoulder injuries forced him out of the playoffs, and Allen struggled again in a postseason that saw LeBron James and the Heat rally from a 3-2 deficit in the conference finals. For Boston"s Big Three, it would be the team"s final run as a true title contender.

And many Celtics fans will simply never forgive what happened next. That summer, little more than a month removed from the sting of that Game 7 loss, Allen signed with the rival Heat, taking the backup role that seemed to bother him so much in Boston.

Boston"s Big Three brought a 17th banner to Boston, but Ray Allen"s departure left hurt feelings.Fernando Medina/NBAE/Getty Images

"I look back at all our time spent in Boston ... we had a lot of disappointments, but we shared a lot of thrills," Allen said when he was introduced in Miami. "It is sad to me that I"m not going to be with those guys anymore. But I look forward to being here."

Before the Celtics and Heat met on opening night of the 2012-13 season, Garnett said he "lost" Allen"s phone number. Then in a national TV game in Miami, Garnett gave Allen a cold shoulder when he tried to dap him up while entering the game.

Outside TD Garden, vendors sold "Judas Shuttlesworth" T-shirts -- a play off of his character of Jesus Shuttleworth in the 1998 Spike Lee film "He Got Game" -- and Allen became a villain for defecting to the enemy rather than trying to help Boston recover. It didn"t help that Allen went on to produce the biggest play of the 2013 NBA Finals with his miracle 3-pointer in Game 6 against the San Antonio Spurs, and the Heat won Game 7, giving Allen the second championship ring that has evaded Pierce and the now-retired Garnett.

When Allen noted this fall that he had conversations with the Celtics and Bucks about a possible return, the reception was lukewarm at best from Boston fans. Some were intrigued by Allen serving as a veteran presence to a young team looking to take the next step in its playoff journey, while others wondered if his playing time would be better served for players who had a better chance to impact the Celtics" title hopes moving forward.

No Celtic has worn Allen"s No. 20 in Boston since his departure. But early returns on our informal Twitter poll suggests that Celtics fans have no desire to see it go out of circulation.

Asked during a recent appearance on Boston sports radio 98.5 the Sports Hub whether the team would retire Allen"s jersey, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge was noncommittal.

Ray Allen announced Tuesday on the Players" Tribune that he is retiring from the NBA, writing that he is "completely at peace with himself" after a record-setting 18-year career.
In ESPN The Magazine"s Interview Issue, Heat and Spurs players relieve the 28 seconds during Game 6 that changed the legacies of both teams.
What"s the difference between holding on for one more year and retiring in the NBA? Sometimes it"s as simple as demand.

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"I don"t know. I"m not sure. Time heals, and I think that he was a great player for us," Ainge told the "Toucher and Rich" program. "I love Ray, and I"m grateful for Ray. And I"m grateful for all that he brought to us in the five years he played here. He was a fantastic player. Time will tell on all those."

Ainge, who has not so subtly hinted that Pierce and Garnett"s numbers will hang in the rafters, said Celtics co-owners Wyc Grousbeck and Steve Pagliuca and team president Rich Gotham would huddle someday to explore the possibility of Allen"s number being retired as well. Pressed on which way he"d vote, Ainge said simply, "I"m going to stay away from that vote right now, kinda like I"m staying away from the presidential election."

Time might very well heal all wounds. We are two years away from Boston celebrating the 10th anniversary of the 2008 title team, and Allen"s presence in those moments might help thaw any icy feelings that remain.

For now, things remain a bit awkward for Allen in these parts.

Source: http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/17943429/ray-allen-left-complicated-legacy-boston