Pacquiao's success foiling Filipino hopes

By Patrick Johnston

SINGAPORE | Tue May 15, 2012 11:11am EDT

(Reuters) - The success of Manny Pacquiao is delivering a knockout blow to Filipino dreams of a first Olympic gold medal, with young boxers fast-tracking to the professional ranks in a desperate bid to escape poverty and emulate their hero.

Manny Pinol, a former governor of North Cotabato and current manager of boxers through his Braveheart Boxing stable, says the success of the eight-weight world champion is hindering the amateur Olympic program at home.

Despite boasting a population of over 100 million and a love of boxing, the Philippines will send just one fighter to the London Olympics later this year - the same number as the tiny Seychelles - leaving little hope of adding to the three bronze and two silvers won by their boxers in previous Games.

All this while Pacquiao (welterweight), Nonito Donaire (super-bantamweight), Sonny Boy Jaro (flyweight), and Donnie Nietes (light flyweight) hold world titles in the pro ranks.

"Manny Pacquiao's success is hurting our amateur boxing program because every young boy now would like to become Manny Pacquiao," Pinol told Reuters in a recent interview in Singapore.

"They don't want to be amateur because there is simply no money in it, it is just a dream of a (Olympic) gold and it is actually more difficult to win than a world boxing title."

In the Philippines, the rags to riches story of Pacquiao, who came from a poverty stricken broken home to become the first man to win world titles in eight divisions, and then be elected a congressman, inspires a nation.

LAS VEGAS WEALTH

His fights in America have earned him millions and regularly bring the Philippines to a standstill as his compatriots stop work and flock to big screens across the country to support him.

His guaranteed purse for his June 9 bout against undefeated American Timothy Bradley is $25 million, according to media reports, with more expected to come from television money which is counted after the fight.

In 2009, the government statistics agency said 27 percent of Filipinos lived below the poverty line, leading many young fighters and pushy parents to sidetrack the unpaid amateur game, where skills are honed and lessons learnt, to chase the wealth that Pacquiao commands in Las Vegas.

"The latest edition of our team, he has just turned pro, (he) would have made a very good amateur fighter because he is tall and has a long reach," Pinol said. "But he wanted to turn pro and his parents wanted him to turn pro."

But the path to greatness is a long hard road with no shortcuts. While promising talents may possess the power punching of the 33-year-old "PacMan" not all can boast his boxing skills.

Pinol was in Singapore with one of his fighters, Lorenzo Villanueva, who was attempting to win the vacant IBO featherweight title in a bout with Indonesian Daud Yordan.

Villanueva, a silent, timid but immensely powerful puncher, knocked down his opponent within 20 seconds of the first round of his fight. However, his inexperience showed and he was knocked out in the second after swinging aimlessly for a final punch.

BORN IN POVERTY

For the slight 26-year-old Villanueva, whose father was murdered when he was a boy and his mother left shortly after leaving him to raise his brothers and sisters, the dream of accumulating enough money to send his siblings to college has been delayed by defeat in Singapore.

"Lorenzo is a product of a grass roots boxing program which I started in 1998 when I became governor," Pinol said. "I formed a team, built a ring, acquired some gloves, went from one village to another and asked young boys interested in boxing to go up to the ring for the measly price of 100 pesos for the winner and 50 pesos for the loser.

"This story of Lorenzo, the story of how he was attracted to boxing like many other boys in the Philippines born in poverty. This is a story of poor boys who hope to get out of poverty as quickly as they can and the quickest way is through boxing.

"It is not the only way but when you have the talent, have the power and are inspired by Manny Pacquiao you immediately turn to the sport because of the fabled story of Manny Pacquiao - (but) not everybody can be Manny Pacquiao."

Pinol acknowledged Villanueva's lack of technical skill, and that his impoverished background forced him into the professional ranks early, but he hopes to send two fighters from his camp to the Rio Games in 2016.

He wants his school, where three of his 40 fighters have challenged for world titles, to be developed around the country in a bid to hone the talents of the next generation in order to win that elusive gold medal.

"It is the only way to do it, Cuba did it and won a lot of (boxing) gold, Ukraine are doing it and winning a lot of gold, we have to look at these models if we want to win gold for the Philippines."

Reuters TV: Filippino boxers go for pro

link.reuters.com/zyx28s

(Editing by Ossian Shine)

source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/15/us-oly-boxi-filipino-dreams-idUSBRE84E0DB20120515

Yahoo names Levinsohn interim CEO

NEW YORK (AP) — Yahoo swept out Scott Thompson as CEO Sunday in an effort to clean up a mess created by an exaggeration about his education that destroyed his credibility as he set out to turnaround the long-troubled Internet company.

Ross Levinsohn, who oversees Yahoo's content and advertising services, is taking over as interim CEO. He becomes the fourth person to run Yahoo in eight months.

Yahoo hired Thompson, the former head of eBay's PayPal, in January to orchestrate a reversal. Though, Yahoo is one of the Internet's most-visited websites, the company has struggled to grow in face of competition from the likes of Google and Facebook. The company's difficulties have irked investors. Thompson took the helm as Yahoo's fourth chief executive in less than five years.

Thompson's abrupt exit after just four months on the job came as part of the latest shake-up on Yahoo's board of directors, which has been in a state of flux for several months.

Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock and four other directors who had already announced plans to step down at the company's annual meeting later this year are leaving the board immediately. Three of the spots will be filled by activist hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb, a disgruntled shareholder who dropped a bombshell that led to Thompson's departure, and two of his allies, former MTV Networks executive Michael Wolf and turnaround specialist Harry Wilson.

Alfred Amoroso, a veteran technology executive who joined Yahoo's board just three months ago, replaces Bostock as chairman.

The appointment of the new directors ends a potentially disruptive battle with Loeb, who was waging a campaign to gain four seats on the company's board. Loeb wound up settling with three board seats and the satisfaction of ushering out Thompson, who antagonized Loeb in late March by telling him he wasn't qualified for the board.

In a statement issued through Yahoo, Loeb said he is "delighted" to join the Yahoo board and promised to "work collaboratively with our fellow directors."

Yahoo Inc. gave no official explanation for Thompson's departure, but it was clearly tied to inaccuracies that appeared on Thompson's biography on the company's website and in a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The bio listed two degrees — in accounting and computer science — from Stonehill College, a small school near Boston. Loeb discovered Thompson never received a computer science degree from the college and exposed the fabrication in a May 3 letter to Yahoo's board. The revelation raised questions about why the accomplishment had periodically appeared on his bio in the years while he was running PayPal, an online payment service owned by eBay Inc.

Yahoo initially stood behind Thompson, brushing off the inclusion of the bogus degree as an "inadvertent error," but harsh criticism from employees, shareholders and corporate governance experts prompted the board to appoint a special committee to investigate how the fabrication occurred.

Thompson, 54, spent much of the past week scrambling to save his job. He sent out a memo to employees to apologize for the distractions caused by news of the illusory degree and then sought to assure other Yahoo executives that he wasn't the source of the inaccuracy. He blamed a Chicagoheadhunting firm, Heidrick & Struggles.

In an internal memo last week, Heidrick & Struggles denied Thompson's accusation. "This allegation is verifiably not true and we have notified Yahoo! to that effect," CEO Kevin Kelly wrote to employees. On Sunday, a spokesman for the firm declined to comment.

Thompson's rapid downfall leaves Yahoo in turmoil amid a reorganization that had only just begun. Last month, Thompson laid off 2,000 employees, or 14 percent of the workforce, in the biggest payroll purge in the company's history, and had started to identify about 50 services that he wanted to close or sell.

Now it falls to Levinsohn, who Thompson had promoted to a more prominent role last week, to get Yahoo back on track. He joined Yahoo 18 months ago when the company was still being run by Carol Bartz, who was fired in September because she hadn't developed an effective turnaround plan.

Carlos Kirjner, a senior analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein suggested that Thompson's previous job, as president of eBay's PayPal, hadn't prepared him for Yahoo.

"It is very different to be CEO of a growth company, making choices between opportunities, and to be CEO of a company in turnaround mode, whose parts are declining or losing share," Kirjner said.

Thompson's inaccurate resume might have been more forgivable at a company that was posting big returns for its shareholders, said James Post, a management professor at Boston University. But it's likely that Third Point was looking for an excuse to get rid of Thompson, Post said.

"They've had expensive and talented investigators turning over every rock and pebble to find something they could use for leverage," said Post, who specializes in corporate governance and professional ethics.

The resume fiasco has had a relatively limited effect on the stock price. Shares fell 1.6 percent to $15.15 on May 4, the day after Third Point unleashed the news about Thompson's resume. They closed at $15.19 on Friday. They're up from their $14.44 close on Sept. 8 when Loeb sent his first missive to Yahoo's board urging changes at the company.

But long-term, shares have fallen. They're down about 12 percent compared to a year ago. They're down 46 percent from Feb. 1, 2008, when they soared almost 50 percent after Microsoft offered to buy the company for $31 a share. Yahoo's board rejected the deal, saying it wasn't enough. Four of the five directors who are leaving were on the board at that time. Yahoo's stock hasn't traded above $20 since September 2008.

"Yahoo has been embattled for such a long time that there are a lot of people prepared to believe the worst about that company," Post said. "When you're angry at the management and the board, when nothing's going right and you're losing money, it's understandable that shareholders would adopt an 'off with their head' attitude."

Brian Wieser, a senior analyst at Pivotal Research, said he believes Thompson's ouster will be a positive move, removing an overhanging distraction and adding board members with new perspectives. Wieser said employees he'd talked to believed Thompson was showing a lack of appreciation for some of Yahoo's business units, and that morale had degenerated even more during his tenure. "It was bad," Wieser said, "and went to worse."

Wieser said that Third Point is "exactly the kind of investor every company should want," since the hedge fund is apparently trying to heal Yahoo, not break it up. "There are no barbarians at the gate here," Wieser said. "They're actually trying to help."

___

Liedtke reported from San Francisco.

source: http://news.yahoo.com/yahoo-names-levinsohn-interim-ceo-195421892--finance.html

Denver Nuggets' Chris Andersen has house searched by police team charged with investigating child predators 

Andersen has not been arrested and no arrest warrant has been issued

Published: Thursday, May 10, 2012, 7:38 PMTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Updated: Friday, May 11, 2012, 1:48 AM

DAVID ZALUBOWSKI/AP

The Nuggets excuse Chris 'Birdman' Anderson from all team related activities while he deals with the reported investigations.

DENVER - Denver Nuggets reserve center Chris "Birdman" Andersen was excused indefinitely from all team-related activities after sheriff's deputies searched his home Thursday as part of an investigation by the department's Internet Crimes Against Children unit.

The team announced its decision shortly before the Nuggets faced the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6 of their playoff series. The team said Anderson was excused "as he deals with the reported investigation" and declined further comment.

The 10th-year pro hasn't played in the postseason after averaging 5.3 points and 4.6 rebounds during the regular season.

Douglas County Sheriff's spokesman Ron Hanavan confirmed that the search took place. Andersen has not been arrested and Hanavan said no arrest warrant has been issued.

The department began investigating Andersen in February after receiving information from a law enforcement agency in California. Hanavan declined to release details, including the nature of any pending charges, citing an ongoing investigation. He said they're asking that the case, including the search warrant, be sealed.

Andersen answered the door at his Larkspur, Colo., home, about 40 miles south of Denver, and let deputies in, said Deborah Sherman, another sheriff's spokesperson.

"He did cooperate. He spoke with deputies," Sherman said.

The unit investigating Andersen investigates child porn, Internet luring, child predators and child pornography.

The sheriff's office said it recovered property from Andersen's home that investigators believe is connected with the case. Sherman said items typically seized by the unit include computers, hard drives, and thumb drives, though she said she could not provide details on what items were seized from Andersen's home, citing the ongoing investigation.

An arrest is not imminent, Sherman said, saying that it typically takes several weeks to a month for investigators to collect evidence from the seized items.

Mark Bryant, who serves as Andersen's agent and attorney, said: "At this time, I respect the process and I have no further comment to protect the integrity of everyone involved. We'll proceed from there."

A message left at Andersen's home wasn't immediately returned.

"For me right now, I think I'm at a stage where I don't know enough information," Nuggets coach George Karl said before Thursday night's game. "I think we all were advised probably not to talk about it until we know the information. The only thing I will say is I trust Chris. In my years with him, he's been fantastic. I think he's really grown as a person. We're going to support him and stand by him."

Andersen is in his seventh season in Denver, although his playing time dropped dramatically this season as young players gobbled up more minutes.

"He's been dealt a bad hand by me," Karl said. "For a guy that's played great basketball for me and the Nuggets over the years, (he's) kind of been phased out because of the youth movement, and in the middle of the season is not always fair. I personally think Bird is a very good basketball player, can play for many NBA teams. He could play for us someday, if the situation would open itself up again."

Karl said he had a chance to speak with Andersen after the morning practice.

"He was emotional. I was in a state where I didn't think, I didn't want to spend a lot of time on that," Karl said.

As for how the news might affect his team on the court, Karl wasn't quite sure.

"I think enough guys individually have been told what's going on. I don't think we have the full information, the full story to analyze or scrutinize," Karl said. "Like I said before, I trust Bird. I think Bird will figure this out."

Andersen has a history of helping out charities during his time in Denver and New Orleans, where he played from 2004-08. According to the Nuggets' media guide, Andersen raised money for Mount Saint Vincent, a home for troubled and abused children, and was honored at the home's 2009 Silver Bell Ball. He's also involved with Alliance for Choice in Education, which provides scholarships for low-income families to use in private schools.

His middle name is Claus, and he dressed up as Santa to raise money for ACE in 2009, according to his media guide bio. He also helped with hunger initiatives while with the Hornets.

With his colorful tattoos and high-flying, shot-blocking act, Andersen has long been a favorite with the fans in the Mile High City.

Andersen began his career in Denver in 2001, before bolting to New Orleans three seasons later. He had a breakout season with the Hornets in 2004-05, only to have his career derailed by drugs. He was kicked out of the NBA on Jan. 27, 2006, for violating the league's drug policy.

Following a ban that lasted more than two years, Andersen returned to New Orleans late in 2008, playing in five games and blocking four shots.

Andersen then rejoined Denver for the 2008-09 season, providing a spark off the bench and swatting 175 shots in the regular season. His play around the rim helped the Nuggets make a run to the Western Conference finals, where they fell to the Lakers in six games.

Andersen parlayed that big season into a five-year deal he signed with Denver in July 2009.

source :  http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/denver-nuggets-chris-anderson-house-searched-police-team-charged-investigating-child-predators-article-1.1076099 

Sukhoi Crash Was Not Due to Difficult Areas

GOOGLE MAPS

Coordinates of the location (arrow) Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft withflight number RA36801 when contact is lost on Wednesday(05/09/2012).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Deputy Transport Minister BambangSusantono suggested that the flights that pass through a number of areas with difficult terrain can still be done with sophistication and a certain standard aircraft.

"It's a standard yes. In my opinion, certain areas (existing) standards, and should all operate on it with the condition and the sophistication of the aircraft can now operate," said Bambang in the Office of the Ministry of VAT, Jakarta, Thursday (10/5 / 2012).

Bambang said the accident at a place, as happened at MountSalak, West Java, can not be concluded that the area could not beflown. According to him, many of which have been operating flightsthrough the area.

"We can not conclude that the presence of an accident, then the area was problematic; it can not. You know how much, how manyairlines that operate in that area?" he said.

He said the investigation would be carried out on the SukhoiSuperjet 100 plane crash that crashed in the area of ​​Mount Salak,Bogor, West Java, on Wednesday (09/05/2012) afternoon. The investigation will be conducted of the National Transportation SafetyCommittee (NTSC) and the National SAR Agency, considering theaccident occurred in Indonesia's airspace.

"From there we'll see what happens actually because the onlyinvestigation that meets international creeds can infer what happened," said Bambang.


source: http://nasional.kompas.com/read/2012/05/10/14231765/Kecelakaan.Sukhoi.Bukan.Karena.Wilayah.Sulit

1. McGee Alters Lakers' Postseason Plans

By J.A. Adande
ESPN.com

LOS ANGELES -- Anyone looking for a culprit in the Los Angeles Lakers' stunningly inept effort to close out the Denver Nuggets in Game 5 should not use Andrew Bynum's"easy" comment and its motivational impact on the Nuggets.

"Easy" is the wrong word. Try the synonym, "simple," instead, which made an appearance in a comment by George Karl over the weekend.

"Sometimes the simplest moves give you the biggest returns," Karl said.

That could be applied to the Nuggets' three-way trade with the Washington Wizardsand Los Angeles Clippers just before the deadline in March, whenNene went to Washington, Nick Young to the Clippers and JaVale McGee came to Denver. It was supposed to be a matter of the Nuggets getting out from Nene's contract, the Wizards clearing more immature players from their locker room and the Clippers getting another guard to replace the injured Chauncey Billups.

No one could have guessed that it would be the mid-season deal that's made the biggest impact on the playoffs so far. Think about it. There isn't a player who switched teams this season who has played a larger role in winning two playoff games than McGee has in Game 3 and now in Denver's 102-99 victory Game 5 against the Lakers.

As Lakers coach Mike Brown put it, simply, "Both times McGee's had a big game, they've won."

Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Image

On Tuesday night, McGee had 21 point and 14 rebounds. He blocked two shots, but that stat was as reflective as velvet when it came to his defensive impact. He altered so many shots that were attempted over him that next game I'm going to tweak the stat I normally keep for Bynum and track SOJOA: Shots Over JaVale's Outstretched Arms.

"He's really improved his game,"Kobe Bryant said. "He seems to be coming into his own in this palyoff series and showing a lot of versatility and skill around the basket. Defensively as well, he's changing shots. So he's blossoming this series."

Said Brown: "I felt he came into tonight's game trying to make a statement."

So what was the message?

"Just trying to say I'm here and I'm just trying to help this organization win," McGee said.

He might as well have added: I'm also trying to get the word out that I'll be a free agent this summer, so anyone looking for a 7-foot center with arms that stretch out like the basket support, with an ambidextrous offensive repertoire that includes a hook shot and up-and-under scoops, call my agent.

Denver Nuggets general manager Masai Ujiri believed that Karl and the Nuggets' coaching staff could get more out of McGee and that escaping the negativity in Washington could allow McGee to prosper.

"Masai knows what he's doing," Ty Lawson said. "He knew that if he put [McGee] around players that want to win -- I'm not saying the Wizards don't want to, but -- players that are proven winners and want to win, he's going to change his mindset. He left the salute in Washington, and all that. He's come here. Just playing hard and he's getting better and better. He's maturing and getting more focused."

We heard a lot of similar talk after McGee had 16 points and 15 rebounds in his breakout Game 3, then he followed it with a pedestrian eight and four in Game 4.

He still hasn't arrived, but he's moved past the fluke category now that he's outplayed Bynum in two out of three games.

Ah, Bynum. Not a good idea to say "Close-out games are actually kind of easy" on the eve of playing one.

Karl pounced on it, inserting at the end of the team video. (Can we ban the phrase "bulletin-board material?" When was the last time you saw an actual bulletin board in an NBA locker room?)

Bynum had the least impressive double-double you could imagine. His 16 points and 11 rebounds weren't enough for a player as critical to the Lakers' fortunes. We'd harp on Dwight Howard for anything less than 20 points, and since Bynum has been mentioned in connection with him so much this season, we need to harp on Bynum the same way.

It shouldn't matter that Denver's entire defense is focused on him, and every move he makes is accompanied by at least two defenders. As Brown said, Bynum can get to the block sooner, run downcourt faster, or post deeper if he wants to avoid or beat the double- and triple-teams.

Also, chill with the "easy" talk.

"If a guy wants to say that, in my opinion, he's got to back it up," Brown said.

Even Bryant is no longer taking anything for granted. When the Houston Rocketspounded the Lakers in a potential closing Game 6 in 2009, Bryant talked of wanting to "get out of this series and try to prepare for the next one."

He sounded a little less presumptive Tuesday night when discussing the Lakers' missed chance to get additional rest for a second-round series with the Oklahoma City Thunder, saying "I don't care if you give us a year to rest. If we're fortunate enough to move on and play Oklahoma City, that year is not going to make us faster."

Game 6 in Denver Thursday night will, at the very least, make the Lakers less rested for a team that finished off a sweep of Dallas over the weekend. It will make them more road-weary, as they would have to go straight to Oklahoma City from Denver for the next round. Or they could lose and have to come back to L.A. for Game 7 on Saturday.

Bryant did his best to end Tuesday, with a 14-point fourth quarter that included four 3-pointers. But he missed his final two attempts, the last one getting deep inside the cylinder before rimming out.

"I used to have a coach who used to say the basketball gods would not allow us to win this game tonight because we didn't deserve it," Bryant said.

I'm guess that he was talking about Phil Jackson, not Del Harris. Not 100 percent sure though. After all, who would have thought when we talked about impact centers in this series, it would be JaVale McGee, not Andrew Bynum.

credit to : http://espn.go.com/nba/dailydime/_/page/dime-120508/daily-dime