By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - Five years after launching the U.S. invasion of Iraq, President Bush is making some of his most expansive claims of success in the fighting there. Bush said last year's troop buildup has turned Iraq around and produced "the first large-scale Arab uprising against Osama bin Laden."
Massive anti-war demonstrations were planned in downtown Washington to mark Wednesday's anniversary of the war, which has claimed the lives of nearly 4,000 U.S. troops. Across the river at the Pentagon, Bush was to give a speech to warn that backsliding in recent progress fueled by the increase of 30,000 troops he ordered more than a year ago cannot be allowed.
"The challenge in the period ahead is to consolidate the gains we have made and seal the extremists' defeat," he said in excerpts the White House released Tuesday night. "We have learned through hard experience what happens when we pull our forces back too fast — the terrorists and extremists step in, fill the vacuum, establish safe havens and use them to spread chaos and carnage."
Bush added: "The successes we are seeing in Iraq are undeniable, yet some in Washington still call for retreat."
Democrats took a different view.
"On this grim milestone, it is worth remembering how we got into this situation, and thinking about how best we can get out," said Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich. "The tasks that remain in Iraq — to bring an end to sectarian conflict, to devise a way to share political power and to create a functioning government that is capable of providing for the needs of the Iraqi people — are tasks that only the Iraqis can complete."
The president's address sought to shift the nation's focus from economic ills to the security gains in Iraq, part of a series of events the White House planned around the anniversary and an upcoming report from the top U.S. figures in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker.
Vice President Dick Cheney just completed a two-day visit to view Iraq developments in person. Expected GOP presidential nominee John McCain also went to Iraq this week.
Cheney, asked during an ABC interview about strong opposition in the United States to the continuing war, said he wasn't worried about that.
"I think you cannot be blown off course by the fluctuations in the public opinion polls," he said in a segment of the interview broadcast Wednesday on "Good Morning America."
Cheney added: "Think about what would have happened if Abraham Lincoln had paid attention to polls, if they had had polls during the Civil War. He never would have succceeded if he hadn't had a clear objective, a vision for where he wanted to go, and he was willing to withstand the slings and arrows of the political wars in order to get there."
Before top Pentagon officials and hundreds of others, Bush planned to trace the war's "high cost in lives and treasure" and thank those who have fought in, planned and assisted the U.S. military effort. In the excerpts, he defended the war as necessary at first, now, and for an undefined future until Iraq is stable enough to stand on its own.
"The surge has done more than turn the situation in Iraq around — it has opened the door to a major strategic victory in the broader war on terror," the president said.
"For the terrorists, Iraq was supposed to be the place where al-Qaida rallied Arab masses to drive America out. Instead, Iraq has become the place where Arabs joined with Americans to drive al-Qaida out. In Iraq, we are witnessing the first large-scale Arab uprising against Osama bin Laden, his grim ideology, and his terror network. And the significance of this development cannot be overstated."
Bush appeared to be referring to recent cooperation by local Iraqis with the U.S. military against the group known as al-Qaida in Iraq, a mostly homegrown, Sunni-based insurgency. Experts question how closely — or even whether — the group is connected to the international al-Qaida network. As for bin Laden, he is rarely heard from and is believed to be hiding in Pakistan.
Iraq no longer dominates the public debate and tops voters' concerns. With the economy taking a tumble, things improving by some measures in Iraq and much attention riveted on the 2008 presidential race, Iraq has faded from the front burner.
Bush has successfully defied efforts by the Democratic-led Congress to force troop withdrawals or set deadlines for pullouts. The U.S. has about 158,000 troops in Iraq. That number is expected to drop to 140,000 by summer in drawdowns meant to erase all but about 8,000 troops from last year's increase.
It is widely believed that Bush will in April endorse a recommendation from Petraeus for no additional troop reductions, beyond those already scheduled, until at least September. This so-called pause in drawdowns would be designed to assess the impact of this round of withdrawals before allowing more that could jeopardize the gains.
The surge was meant to tamp down sectarian violence in Iraq so that the country's leaders would have space to advance legislation considered key to reconciliation between rival Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish communities. The idea is that such political progress would weaken or even end the still-potent insurgency.
But the gains on the battlefield have not been matched by political progress, and violence may be increasing again. The Iraqis do not yet have a law for sharing the nation's oil wealth. Also unfinished is a plan for new provincial elections.
As of Monday, at least 3,990 members of the U.S. military have died in Iraq. More than 29,000 U.S. service members have been injured in the war, which has cost the U.S. roughly $500 billion.
Showing posts with label in. Show all posts
Showing posts with label in. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
2 dead, 2 missing in central US floods
By PAUL J. WEBER, Associated Press Writer
DALLAS - Airlines prepared for passenger backlogs Wednesday from hundreds of flights grounded by storms that chased people from flooded homes and deluged roads in the nation's midsection, killing at least two people in Missouri and sweeping a teen down a drainage pipe in Texas.
The National Weather Service posted flood and flash flood warnings from Texas to Ohio, with tornado watches in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee.
Emergency officials in Mesquite, Texas, searched for a 14-year-old boy apparently swept away by floodwaters as he and a friend played in a creek. The friend was able to swim to safety, authorities said.
In northern Arkansas, rescuers searched for a man whose truck was believed to have been swept from a low-water bridge in West Fork. Authorities found only the vehicle.
Heavy rain began falling Monday and just kept coming. Forecasters said parts of Missouri could get 10 inches or more. The storms were expected to finally stop Wednesday.
Cape Girardeau County had received nearly 8 inches of rain by Tuesday afternoon, trapping some residents in their homes. About 50 roads were closed in Christian County after 7 inches of rain fell.
More than 6 inches of rain drenched areas around Dallas, including record rainfall at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, where more than half of the 950 scheduled flights Tuesday were canceled.
Winds of more than 100 mph were briefly reported at the airport, which received a single-day record of 2.35 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service. The previous high of 1.52 inches was set in 1984, the weather service said.
By early Wednesday morning, the airport had opened all security checkpoint lanes in preparation for an early rush of stranded passengers. Airport officials said the backlog of flights would take most of Wednesday to unwind.
"Everybody did a great job overnight of hanging in there and trying to get some rest," airport spokesman Ken Capps said. "The airlines will be working the lines early to try to get as many people rebooked and out of here as quickly as possible."
Cots and blankets were given to stranded travelers overnight. The airport early Wednesday also received several hundred new passengers who were bussed from airports as far as Louisiana, after they were unable to make flights to DFW the day before.
Federal Aviation Administration officials evacuated the airport's west tower for about 15 minutes Tuesday morning after seeing a funnel cloud. By Tuesday night, the airport was accepting about 50 arrivals and departures an hour — less than half the usual 120 flights that use the airport's seven runways every hour, officials said.
Hundreds of people in Lancaster, south of Dallas, were advised to evacuate their homes as the Ten Mile Creek rose. By evening, the creek waters had receded. One woman was rescued from her yard and four people were rescued from their vehicles, city spokeswoman Ciciely Hickmon said.
In Arkansas, residents in parts of Baxter, Madison, and Sharp counties were evacuated because of rising floodwaters, said Tommy Jackson, a spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management.
The Spring River was rising at a rate of 6 inches per hour Tuesday, and debris flowing in it included full-size trees. Officials said dangerous flows were occurring in Mammoth Spring and Salem, where the river was out of its banks.
To the north, Gov. Matt Blunt activated the Missouri National Guard on Tuesday as high water closed hundreds of roads.
About 300 of the 900 homes in Piedmont, Mo., were evacuated when the McKenzie Creek flowed over its banks and caused flooding 2 to 3 feet deep in the center of the town, about 125 miles south of St. Louis. Dozens of people were rescued in about 15 to 20 boat trips.
Up to 30 homes were evacuated in Winona, and some residents of Cape Girardeau were trapped in their homes, according to the State Emergency Management Agency. In Ellington, as many as 50 homes and half the businesses were evacuated, officials said.
The body of an 81-year-old man was found in the water at Ellington, said Missouri State Water Patrol Lt. Nicholas Humphrey. A 21-year-old state Department of Transportation worker was killed near Springfield when his dump truck was hit by a tractor-trailer as he helped out in a flooded area, officials said.
Scott and Marilyne Peterson and their 25-year-old son, Scott Jr., scurried out of their mobile home in Piedmont after watching the water rise 3 feet in five minutes. The family had just enough time to grab some essentials, a few clothes and the family dog.
"You didn't have time to worry," Scott Peterson Sr. said. "You just grab what you can and go and you're glad the people are OK."
___
Associated Press writers Betsy Taylor in Piedmont, Mo., and Chuck Bartels in Little Rock, Ark., contributed to this report.
DALLAS - Airlines prepared for passenger backlogs Wednesday from hundreds of flights grounded by storms that chased people from flooded homes and deluged roads in the nation's midsection, killing at least two people in Missouri and sweeping a teen down a drainage pipe in Texas.
The National Weather Service posted flood and flash flood warnings from Texas to Ohio, with tornado watches in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee.
Emergency officials in Mesquite, Texas, searched for a 14-year-old boy apparently swept away by floodwaters as he and a friend played in a creek. The friend was able to swim to safety, authorities said.
In northern Arkansas, rescuers searched for a man whose truck was believed to have been swept from a low-water bridge in West Fork. Authorities found only the vehicle.
Heavy rain began falling Monday and just kept coming. Forecasters said parts of Missouri could get 10 inches or more. The storms were expected to finally stop Wednesday.
Cape Girardeau County had received nearly 8 inches of rain by Tuesday afternoon, trapping some residents in their homes. About 50 roads were closed in Christian County after 7 inches of rain fell.
More than 6 inches of rain drenched areas around Dallas, including record rainfall at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, where more than half of the 950 scheduled flights Tuesday were canceled.
Winds of more than 100 mph were briefly reported at the airport, which received a single-day record of 2.35 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service. The previous high of 1.52 inches was set in 1984, the weather service said.
By early Wednesday morning, the airport had opened all security checkpoint lanes in preparation for an early rush of stranded passengers. Airport officials said the backlog of flights would take most of Wednesday to unwind.
"Everybody did a great job overnight of hanging in there and trying to get some rest," airport spokesman Ken Capps said. "The airlines will be working the lines early to try to get as many people rebooked and out of here as quickly as possible."
Cots and blankets were given to stranded travelers overnight. The airport early Wednesday also received several hundred new passengers who were bussed from airports as far as Louisiana, after they were unable to make flights to DFW the day before.
Federal Aviation Administration officials evacuated the airport's west tower for about 15 minutes Tuesday morning after seeing a funnel cloud. By Tuesday night, the airport was accepting about 50 arrivals and departures an hour — less than half the usual 120 flights that use the airport's seven runways every hour, officials said.
Hundreds of people in Lancaster, south of Dallas, were advised to evacuate their homes as the Ten Mile Creek rose. By evening, the creek waters had receded. One woman was rescued from her yard and four people were rescued from their vehicles, city spokeswoman Ciciely Hickmon said.
In Arkansas, residents in parts of Baxter, Madison, and Sharp counties were evacuated because of rising floodwaters, said Tommy Jackson, a spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management.
The Spring River was rising at a rate of 6 inches per hour Tuesday, and debris flowing in it included full-size trees. Officials said dangerous flows were occurring in Mammoth Spring and Salem, where the river was out of its banks.
To the north, Gov. Matt Blunt activated the Missouri National Guard on Tuesday as high water closed hundreds of roads.
About 300 of the 900 homes in Piedmont, Mo., were evacuated when the McKenzie Creek flowed over its banks and caused flooding 2 to 3 feet deep in the center of the town, about 125 miles south of St. Louis. Dozens of people were rescued in about 15 to 20 boat trips.
Up to 30 homes were evacuated in Winona, and some residents of Cape Girardeau were trapped in their homes, according to the State Emergency Management Agency. In Ellington, as many as 50 homes and half the businesses were evacuated, officials said.
The body of an 81-year-old man was found in the water at Ellington, said Missouri State Water Patrol Lt. Nicholas Humphrey. A 21-year-old state Department of Transportation worker was killed near Springfield when his dump truck was hit by a tractor-trailer as he helped out in a flooded area, officials said.
Scott and Marilyne Peterson and their 25-year-old son, Scott Jr., scurried out of their mobile home in Piedmont after watching the water rise 3 feet in five minutes. The family had just enough time to grab some essentials, a few clothes and the family dog.
"You didn't have time to worry," Scott Peterson Sr. said. "You just grab what you can and go and you're glad the people are OK."
___
Associated Press writers Betsy Taylor in Piedmont, Mo., and Chuck Bartels in Little Rock, Ark., contributed to this report.
Monday, March 17, 2008
McCain, Cheney: US in Iraq long-term
By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD - Vice President Dick Cheney and Sen. John McCain vowed in meetings with Iraq's prime minister Monday that the U.S. would maintain a long-term military presence in Iraq until al-Qaida is defeated there.
Explosions went off near the heavily fortified Green Zone shortly after Cheney arrived. Helicopter gunships circled central Baghdad, but no details were immediately available on the cause of the explosions.
The presumptive Republican candidate for president, who has linked his political future to military success in Iraq, met with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki shortly before the Iraqi leader began separate talks with Cheney.
Al-Maliki said he and the vice president discussed ongoing negotiations over a long-term security agreement between the two countries that would replace the U.N. mandate for foreign troops set to expire at the end of the year.
"This visit is very important. It is about the nature of the relations between the two countries, the future of those relations and the agreement in this respect," the prime minister told reporters. "We also discussed the security in Iraq, the development of the economy and reconstruction and terrorism."
McCain stressed that it was important to maintain the U.S. commitment in Iraq, where a U.S.-Iraq military operation is under way to clear al-Qaida from its last urban stronghold of Mosul, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad.
"We recognize that al-Qaida is on the run, but they are not defeated," McCain said after meeting al-Maliki. "Al-Qaida continues to pose a great threat to the security and very existence of Iraq as a democracy. So we know there's still a lot more of work to be done."
McCain, who arrived in Iraq on Sunday, told reporters that he also discussed with the Shiite leader the need for progress on political reforms, including laws on holding provincial elections and the equitable distribution of Iraq's oil riches.
Cheney arrived at Baghdad International Airport, then flew by helicopter for talks with U.S. and Iraqi officials. It is Cheney's third vice-presidential trip to Iraq, where 160,000 American troops are deployed and the U.S. death toll is nearing 4,000.
Violence has dropped throughout the capital with an influx of some 30,000 additional U.S. soldiers as well as a Sunni revolt against al-Qaida and a cease-fire by radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia.
The U.S. military has said attacks have fallen by about 60 percent since last February.
McCain, the senior Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, was accompanied by Sens. Joe Lieberman, an independent, and Republican Lindsey Graham, two top supporters of his presidential ambitions. The weeklong trip will take McCain to Israel, Britain and France.
Police said they found the bodies of three members of a U.S.-allied group fighting al-Qaida in Udaim, 70 miles north of Baghdad. Members of the mostly Sunni groups have been increasingly targeted by suspected al-Qaida members seeking to derail the recent security gains.
A bomb in a parked car in Baghdad's central Karradah neighborhood killed three civilian bystanders and wounded nine, police said, while a separate roadside bomb in eastern Baghdad killed one and wounded three others.
___
Associated Press writers Bushra Juhi and Sinan Salaheddin contributed to this report.
BAGHDAD - Vice President Dick Cheney and Sen. John McCain vowed in meetings with Iraq's prime minister Monday that the U.S. would maintain a long-term military presence in Iraq until al-Qaida is defeated there.
Explosions went off near the heavily fortified Green Zone shortly after Cheney arrived. Helicopter gunships circled central Baghdad, but no details were immediately available on the cause of the explosions.
The presumptive Republican candidate for president, who has linked his political future to military success in Iraq, met with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki shortly before the Iraqi leader began separate talks with Cheney.
Al-Maliki said he and the vice president discussed ongoing negotiations over a long-term security agreement between the two countries that would replace the U.N. mandate for foreign troops set to expire at the end of the year.
"This visit is very important. It is about the nature of the relations between the two countries, the future of those relations and the agreement in this respect," the prime minister told reporters. "We also discussed the security in Iraq, the development of the economy and reconstruction and terrorism."
McCain stressed that it was important to maintain the U.S. commitment in Iraq, where a U.S.-Iraq military operation is under way to clear al-Qaida from its last urban stronghold of Mosul, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad.
"We recognize that al-Qaida is on the run, but they are not defeated," McCain said after meeting al-Maliki. "Al-Qaida continues to pose a great threat to the security and very existence of Iraq as a democracy. So we know there's still a lot more of work to be done."
McCain, who arrived in Iraq on Sunday, told reporters that he also discussed with the Shiite leader the need for progress on political reforms, including laws on holding provincial elections and the equitable distribution of Iraq's oil riches.
Cheney arrived at Baghdad International Airport, then flew by helicopter for talks with U.S. and Iraqi officials. It is Cheney's third vice-presidential trip to Iraq, where 160,000 American troops are deployed and the U.S. death toll is nearing 4,000.
Violence has dropped throughout the capital with an influx of some 30,000 additional U.S. soldiers as well as a Sunni revolt against al-Qaida and a cease-fire by radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia.
The U.S. military has said attacks have fallen by about 60 percent since last February.
McCain, the senior Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, was accompanied by Sens. Joe Lieberman, an independent, and Republican Lindsey Graham, two top supporters of his presidential ambitions. The weeklong trip will take McCain to Israel, Britain and France.
Police said they found the bodies of three members of a U.S.-allied group fighting al-Qaida in Udaim, 70 miles north of Baghdad. Members of the mostly Sunni groups have been increasingly targeted by suspected al-Qaida members seeking to derail the recent security gains.
A bomb in a parked car in Baghdad's central Karradah neighborhood killed three civilian bystanders and wounded nine, police said, while a separate roadside bomb in eastern Baghdad killed one and wounded three others.
___
Associated Press writers Bushra Juhi and Sinan Salaheddin contributed to this report.
St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations Around the US
“There are only two kinds of people in the world … the Irish and those who wish they were.” — Irish saying
Get your March Madness bracket here - March Madness begins with little complaining and N. Carolina as favorite in NCAA tournament
The inexact science of putting together the NCAA tournament bracket turned out to be pretty exact this time around.
No big beefs with the top seeds—North Carolina, Memphis, Kansas and UCLA.
No snubbed bubble teams with shout-it-to-the-mountaintop complaints—even if Arizona State and Virginia Tech do have somewhat compelling arguments.
And no defending champion, either. But not even that was a surprise.
Florida, completely rebuilt after winning two titles in a row, was written off well before Selection Sunday after losing its last four games, including the first round of the Southeastern Conference tournament.
So, let March Madness begin, and call the Tar Heels (32-2) favorites if you must. Led by Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina earned the overall top seed in the tournament and won’t have to leave its home state on the road to the Final Four in San Antonio. Carolina’s first two games are scheduled for Raleigh, its next two would be in Charlotte.
“It’s an advantage if you play well,” said Carolina coach Roy Williams, trying to lead the Tar Heels to their second title in four years. “Just because the crowd’s cheering for you, I’ve never had a crowd win a game. I know it sounds wacko.”
Only four teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference made it, something of a surprise considering it was the top-ranked conference in the all-important RPI.
But what does the RPI really mean these days?
Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg is certainly no fan. His ACC team got snubbed despite being ranked No. 53 on the list.
“We need to get rid of the RPI totally from people’s train of thought,” he said. “Because one second, the head of the committee says the RPI is inconsequential, and the next second, he says they can use the RPI to eliminate a team.”
That might have been the case with Arizona State, which was 83 on that list despite quality victories over third-seeded Stanford and Xavier and two over rival Arizona, which made it off the bubble for its 24th straight NCAA appearance.
But Sun Devils coach Herb Sendek refused to let the snub get the best of him.
“By playing the role of the victim, you let a great opportunity slide by to learn from the experience,” Sendek said.
Arizona State’s spot might have been taken by Georgia, which won four games at the SEC tournament—including two in one day after a tornado ripped past the Georgia Dome—to complete an inspiring run into the tournament with a 17-16 record.
“We found out we had more than we thought we did,” said coach Dennis Felton, who likely saved his job with this remarkable string. “We kind of persevered.”
Georgia, a 14th seed, opens against third-seeded Xavier in the West region.
The final bubble spots went to Villanova, a 12th seed in the Midwest, and St. Joseph’s, an 11th seed in the East that beat Xavier twice.
Baylor got in as an 11th seed in the West, an impressive rebound for a program that nearly disintegrated after the murder of Patrick Dennehy by a teammate in 2003.
Kentucky made it as a No. 11 seed in the South despite growing pains under Billy Gillespie, who’s in his first year at the school.
Kansas State was an 11th-seeded bubble team, and how could the committee resist bringing freshman-of-the-year candidate Michael Beasley into the tournament—then pairing him against another sensational freshman, O.J. Mayo of Southern California? They’ll play Thursday in a first-round Midwest region game.
The top-seeded teams offered no surprises or outrage, the way, say, Washington did three years ago when the Huskies were No. 1 in the West.
UCLA has been a top team all season and won the Pac-10 tournament to get the nod in the West. Kansas beat Texas in the Big 12 final Sunday, in a game almost everyone agreed would be for top seeding in the Midwest. Memphis is from the less-prestigious Conference USA and lost to Tennessee in the regular season, but the Tigers (33-1) won their conference and the Vols (29-4) helped smooth things out by losing in the SEC semifinals.
Maybe Memphis could quibble with a possible game against second-seeded Texas in the South regional final—in Houston. But the Tigers weren’t backing down from Final Four expectations after losing in the regional finals the last two years.
“We created those expectations before the year even started, and that’s what we’re living up to,” guard Chris Douglas-Roberts said. “We’re not taking that back at all. That’s what we want.”
The tournament begins Tuesday when Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champion Coppin State, the first team to make the tournament with 20 losses, plays Mount St. Mary’s in an opening-round game. The winner gets North Carolina.
With eight teams, the Big East placed the most schools in the tournament. The Pac-10, Big 12 and SEC followed with six each, while the ACC and Big Ten had four apiece.
Selection committee chairman Tom O’Connor called the RPI “a control point” when it comes to picking teams.
“It’s a data point and it’s a starting point, but it’s not an end-all,” he said. “We don’t look at conferences at all.”
Yet later, he cited Arizona State’s bad numbers in the same RPI as a reason for snubbing the Sun Devils, saying they would have been the worst RPI rating of any team to ever make the field.
“While Arizona State is very good, the committee didn’t feel it was one of the best 34 at-large teams in the country,” O’Connor said. “Also, they were 2-4 against the top teams in their conference.”
For the second straight year, only six of those 34 at-large bids went to teams from smaller conferences. That included St. Joe’s, which earned one of the final spots in the bracket, but didn’t include Illinois State. But how to argue against snubbing a team that lost by 30 points its last time out, in the finals of the Missouri Valley Conference against Drake?
Meanwhile, mid-major George Mason, the team that showed what March Madness is really all about with its incredible run to the Final Four two years ago, is back as a 12th seed after winning the Colonial Athletic Association crown.
Last year’s national runner-up, Ohio State, was also left on the bubble, meaning both of the previous season’s finalists will miss the tournament for the first time since the bracket was expanded in 1985.
O’Connor said the selection committee had eight contingency plans based on the possibilities from Sunday’s five conference title games, but the committee had done lots of advance work to make the last-second decisions less difficult.
“We said from the beginning, when you look at what happens in the NCAA tournament, all the publicity, all the hype, the economics … the real thing is playing the games with the kids on the court,” he said.
No argument there. And not much with the bracket his committee produced, either.
No big beefs with the top seeds—North Carolina, Memphis, Kansas and UCLA.
No snubbed bubble teams with shout-it-to-the-mountaintop complaints—even if Arizona State and Virginia Tech do have somewhat compelling arguments.
And no defending champion, either. But not even that was a surprise.
Florida, completely rebuilt after winning two titles in a row, was written off well before Selection Sunday after losing its last four games, including the first round of the Southeastern Conference tournament.
So, let March Madness begin, and call the Tar Heels (32-2) favorites if you must. Led by Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina earned the overall top seed in the tournament and won’t have to leave its home state on the road to the Final Four in San Antonio. Carolina’s first two games are scheduled for Raleigh, its next two would be in Charlotte.
“It’s an advantage if you play well,” said Carolina coach Roy Williams, trying to lead the Tar Heels to their second title in four years. “Just because the crowd’s cheering for you, I’ve never had a crowd win a game. I know it sounds wacko.”
Only four teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference made it, something of a surprise considering it was the top-ranked conference in the all-important RPI.
But what does the RPI really mean these days?
Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg is certainly no fan. His ACC team got snubbed despite being ranked No. 53 on the list.
“We need to get rid of the RPI totally from people’s train of thought,” he said. “Because one second, the head of the committee says the RPI is inconsequential, and the next second, he says they can use the RPI to eliminate a team.”
That might have been the case with Arizona State, which was 83 on that list despite quality victories over third-seeded Stanford and Xavier and two over rival Arizona, which made it off the bubble for its 24th straight NCAA appearance.
But Sun Devils coach Herb Sendek refused to let the snub get the best of him.
“By playing the role of the victim, you let a great opportunity slide by to learn from the experience,” Sendek said.
Arizona State’s spot might have been taken by Georgia, which won four games at the SEC tournament—including two in one day after a tornado ripped past the Georgia Dome—to complete an inspiring run into the tournament with a 17-16 record.
“We found out we had more than we thought we did,” said coach Dennis Felton, who likely saved his job with this remarkable string. “We kind of persevered.”
Georgia, a 14th seed, opens against third-seeded Xavier in the West region.
The final bubble spots went to Villanova, a 12th seed in the Midwest, and St. Joseph’s, an 11th seed in the East that beat Xavier twice.
Baylor got in as an 11th seed in the West, an impressive rebound for a program that nearly disintegrated after the murder of Patrick Dennehy by a teammate in 2003.
Kentucky made it as a No. 11 seed in the South despite growing pains under Billy Gillespie, who’s in his first year at the school.
Kansas State was an 11th-seeded bubble team, and how could the committee resist bringing freshman-of-the-year candidate Michael Beasley into the tournament—then pairing him against another sensational freshman, O.J. Mayo of Southern California? They’ll play Thursday in a first-round Midwest region game.
The top-seeded teams offered no surprises or outrage, the way, say, Washington did three years ago when the Huskies were No. 1 in the West.
UCLA has been a top team all season and won the Pac-10 tournament to get the nod in the West. Kansas beat Texas in the Big 12 final Sunday, in a game almost everyone agreed would be for top seeding in the Midwest. Memphis is from the less-prestigious Conference USA and lost to Tennessee in the regular season, but the Tigers (33-1) won their conference and the Vols (29-4) helped smooth things out by losing in the SEC semifinals.
Maybe Memphis could quibble with a possible game against second-seeded Texas in the South regional final—in Houston. But the Tigers weren’t backing down from Final Four expectations after losing in the regional finals the last two years.
“We created those expectations before the year even started, and that’s what we’re living up to,” guard Chris Douglas-Roberts said. “We’re not taking that back at all. That’s what we want.”
The tournament begins Tuesday when Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champion Coppin State, the first team to make the tournament with 20 losses, plays Mount St. Mary’s in an opening-round game. The winner gets North Carolina.
With eight teams, the Big East placed the most schools in the tournament. The Pac-10, Big 12 and SEC followed with six each, while the ACC and Big Ten had four apiece.
Selection committee chairman Tom O’Connor called the RPI “a control point” when it comes to picking teams.
“It’s a data point and it’s a starting point, but it’s not an end-all,” he said. “We don’t look at conferences at all.”
Yet later, he cited Arizona State’s bad numbers in the same RPI as a reason for snubbing the Sun Devils, saying they would have been the worst RPI rating of any team to ever make the field.
“While Arizona State is very good, the committee didn’t feel it was one of the best 34 at-large teams in the country,” O’Connor said. “Also, they were 2-4 against the top teams in their conference.”
For the second straight year, only six of those 34 at-large bids went to teams from smaller conferences. That included St. Joe’s, which earned one of the final spots in the bracket, but didn’t include Illinois State. But how to argue against snubbing a team that lost by 30 points its last time out, in the finals of the Missouri Valley Conference against Drake?
Meanwhile, mid-major George Mason, the team that showed what March Madness is really all about with its incredible run to the Final Four two years ago, is back as a 12th seed after winning the Colonial Athletic Association crown.
Last year’s national runner-up, Ohio State, was also left on the bubble, meaning both of the previous season’s finalists will miss the tournament for the first time since the bracket was expanded in 1985.
O’Connor said the selection committee had eight contingency plans based on the possibilities from Sunday’s five conference title games, but the committee had done lots of advance work to make the last-second decisions less difficult.
“We said from the beginning, when you look at what happens in the NCAA tournament, all the publicity, all the hype, the economics … the real thing is playing the games with the kids on the court,” he said.
No argument there. And not much with the bracket his committee produced, either.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Who won the big boxing rematch in Las Vegas?
LAS VEGAS – Round-by-round coverage of Manny Pacquiao’s WBC super featherweight championship victory over Juan Manuel Marquez on Saturday. Pacquiao won on a split decision, with official scores of 115-112 and 114-113 Pacquiao and 115-112 Marquez.
KEVIN IOLE’S UNOFFICIAL SCORECARDRound 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 TotalManny Pacquiao 9 9 10 10 9 9 9 9 10 10 9 9 112Juan M. Marquez 10 10 8 9 10 10 10 10 9 9 10 10 115
ROUND 1Crowd at a fever pitch as the fight begins. Pacquiao lands a jab after about 30 seconds of each man looking for an opening. Left by Pacquiao lands. Marquez jabs are coming up short. Left by Pacquiao. Nothing big has landed yet. Marquez using a lot of upper body movement, but not throwing punches. Marquez lands a straight right. They bump heads. Right by Marquez. Combination by Pacquiao and Marquez lands a right to the body. Marquez lands a right at the bell.Iole scores it 10-9, Marquez
ROUND 2They exchange to the body. Left by Pacquiao lands. Right by Marquez lands on the cheek. Marquez right to the body. Pacquiao is not throwing a lot of punches at this point, midway through the round. Pacquaio pops a jab without conviction. Combination by Marquez lands and then a left by Pacquiao. They clinch after a Pacquiao left misses badly. Pacquiao lands a lead right. Marquez hooks to the body. Combination by Marquez, Pacquiao hurt by a left hook.Iole scores it 10-9, Marquez
ROUND 3Pacquaio jabs to the body. Hard right by Marquez hurts Pacquiao. They butt heads again. Referee Kenny Bayless inspects, but neither man is cut. Marquez flicking his jab. Pacquiao is backing up now. Jab-left hand by Pacquiao lands. Left by Pacquiao lands. Hard right by Marquez. Left by Pacquiao floors Marquez. They trade on ropes and Marquez hurt again at the bell.Iole scores it 10-8, Pacquiao
ROUND 4Marquez doesn’t look sturdy as round begins. They trade along the ropes, both land big. Pacquiao lands a hard left. Combination by Marquez and Pacquiao smiles. Pacquiao backs Marquez to a corner. Marquez throws a hook and Pacquiao lands a 1-2 combination. Lead left by Pacquiao. Left hook by Marquez lands. Right by Marquez connects.Iole scores it 10-9, Pacquiao
ROUND 5Pacquiao opens rounds stalking. Pacquiao flicks a jab. Pace has slowed. A minute into the round, not much occurring. Counter right by Marquez. They trade and Marquez lands a right. Marquez has a lot of swelling around his left eye. Hook to the body by Marquez. Marquez lands a right as Pacquiao hooks to the body. Left by Pacquiao. Marquez lands a hard right. Marquez lands two rights as they battle on the ropes at the bell.Iole scores it 10-9, Marquez
ROUND 6Right by Marquez to the head. Another hard right by Marquez. Hook by Pacquiao. Right by Marquez. Pacquiao’s punches are being blocked. Right and then a left by Marquez. Big round for Marquez at this point. Counter right by Marquez. They trade on the ropes, Marquez gets the better of it. Combination from Marquez.
Iole scores it 10-9, Marquez (57-56 Marquez at the midpoint)
ROUND 7 Left hook by Marquez to open the round. Marquez lands a right. Marquez goes to the body. Left by Pacquiao snaps Marquez’s head back. They bump heads again. Pacquiao is complaining. Marquez is cut on the right eye. Doctor examines it. Referee Kenny Bayless rules it was an accidental butt. Right hand by Pacquiao staggers Marquez. Great exchange. Pacquiao backed up by a right form Marquez. Marquez lands a combination. Pacquiao lands a hard jab. Marquez’s cut is on the outside of the right eye and could be a big, big problem.
Iole scores it 10-9, Marquez
ROUND 8Right by Marquez hurts Pacquiao. Good left to the body by Marquez. Pacquiao is hurt. Pacquiao is cut on the right eye. Another left to the body by Marquez. Left hook to the head by Marquez. Combination by Marquez. Pacquiao is having problems. Good combination on the ropes by Marquez. Pacquiao needs to land something to change the momentum. Hard right by Marquez lands to the head. Great right uppercut by Marquez.
Iole scores it 10-9, Marquez
ROUND 9Pacquiao fires a combination to the body. Marquez is not throwing much in first minute. Good left by Pacquiao. Right by Marquez. Pacquiao’s left eye is swelling. Left by Pacquiao. They trade in the center. Left hook by Marquez. Left by Pacquiao backs Marquez to ropes. Pacquiao lands a combination. Bayless halts it to check Marquez’s cut. Dr. Jeff Davidson says the fight can continue. Right uppercut by Marquez wobbles Pacquiao. Pacquiao fires a left in return.
Iole scores it 10-9, Pacquiao
ROUND 10Pacquiao lands a huge left at the open that wobbles Marquez. Wild exchange on the ropes. Crowd on its feet. Combination by Pacquiao. Left hand by Pacquiao. Marquez flicks his jab. Marquez’s eye looks bad. Marquez warned to keep it up. Marquez right to the body. Right to the head by Marquez. Combination by Pacquiao. Crowd is roaring. This is a wonderful fight. Straight right by Marquez. Right by Marquez.
Iole scores it 10-9, Pacquiao
ROUND 11Pacquiao’s right eye is swollen badly. Pacquiao misses a hook. Marquez pops a jab. Marquez warned for a low blow. Time called briefly so Pacquiao can recover. Left by Pacquiao. Right to the head by Marquez. Right and left and right by Marquez. Pacquiao lands a straight left. Right hook by Pacquiao. Marquez lands a right. Left hand and then a right by Marquez. Pace is a bit slower in this round. They trade just before bell.
Iole scores it 10-9, Marquez
ROUND 12Many in the crowd are standing. Marquez’s cut was shown on the big screen and it is grotesque. Marquez lands a hard right. Hook to the body by Marquez and right to the head. Lead right by Marquez. Left by Pacquiao. Right by Pacquiao. Right by Marquez. Another right by Marquez. Combination by Marquez. Pacquiao pops a jab. Right to the head by Marquez. They trade at the bell. Both raise their arms.
Iole scores it 10-9, Marquez
KEVIN IOLE’S UNOFFICIAL SCORECARDRound 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 TotalManny Pacquiao 9 9 10 10 9 9 9 9 10 10 9 9 112Juan M. Marquez 10 10 8 9 10 10 10 10 9 9 10 10 115
ROUND 1Crowd at a fever pitch as the fight begins. Pacquiao lands a jab after about 30 seconds of each man looking for an opening. Left by Pacquiao lands. Marquez jabs are coming up short. Left by Pacquiao. Nothing big has landed yet. Marquez using a lot of upper body movement, but not throwing punches. Marquez lands a straight right. They bump heads. Right by Marquez. Combination by Pacquiao and Marquez lands a right to the body. Marquez lands a right at the bell.Iole scores it 10-9, Marquez
ROUND 2They exchange to the body. Left by Pacquiao lands. Right by Marquez lands on the cheek. Marquez right to the body. Pacquiao is not throwing a lot of punches at this point, midway through the round. Pacquaio pops a jab without conviction. Combination by Marquez lands and then a left by Pacquiao. They clinch after a Pacquiao left misses badly. Pacquiao lands a lead right. Marquez hooks to the body. Combination by Marquez, Pacquiao hurt by a left hook.Iole scores it 10-9, Marquez
ROUND 3Pacquaio jabs to the body. Hard right by Marquez hurts Pacquiao. They butt heads again. Referee Kenny Bayless inspects, but neither man is cut. Marquez flicking his jab. Pacquiao is backing up now. Jab-left hand by Pacquiao lands. Left by Pacquiao lands. Hard right by Marquez. Left by Pacquiao floors Marquez. They trade on ropes and Marquez hurt again at the bell.Iole scores it 10-8, Pacquiao
ROUND 4Marquez doesn’t look sturdy as round begins. They trade along the ropes, both land big. Pacquiao lands a hard left. Combination by Marquez and Pacquiao smiles. Pacquiao backs Marquez to a corner. Marquez throws a hook and Pacquiao lands a 1-2 combination. Lead left by Pacquiao. Left hook by Marquez lands. Right by Marquez connects.Iole scores it 10-9, Pacquiao
ROUND 5Pacquiao opens rounds stalking. Pacquiao flicks a jab. Pace has slowed. A minute into the round, not much occurring. Counter right by Marquez. They trade and Marquez lands a right. Marquez has a lot of swelling around his left eye. Hook to the body by Marquez. Marquez lands a right as Pacquiao hooks to the body. Left by Pacquiao. Marquez lands a hard right. Marquez lands two rights as they battle on the ropes at the bell.Iole scores it 10-9, Marquez
ROUND 6Right by Marquez to the head. Another hard right by Marquez. Hook by Pacquiao. Right by Marquez. Pacquiao’s punches are being blocked. Right and then a left by Marquez. Big round for Marquez at this point. Counter right by Marquez. They trade on the ropes, Marquez gets the better of it. Combination from Marquez.
Iole scores it 10-9, Marquez (57-56 Marquez at the midpoint)
ROUND 7 Left hook by Marquez to open the round. Marquez lands a right. Marquez goes to the body. Left by Pacquiao snaps Marquez’s head back. They bump heads again. Pacquiao is complaining. Marquez is cut on the right eye. Doctor examines it. Referee Kenny Bayless rules it was an accidental butt. Right hand by Pacquiao staggers Marquez. Great exchange. Pacquiao backed up by a right form Marquez. Marquez lands a combination. Pacquiao lands a hard jab. Marquez’s cut is on the outside of the right eye and could be a big, big problem.
Iole scores it 10-9, Marquez
ROUND 8Right by Marquez hurts Pacquiao. Good left to the body by Marquez. Pacquiao is hurt. Pacquiao is cut on the right eye. Another left to the body by Marquez. Left hook to the head by Marquez. Combination by Marquez. Pacquiao is having problems. Good combination on the ropes by Marquez. Pacquiao needs to land something to change the momentum. Hard right by Marquez lands to the head. Great right uppercut by Marquez.
Iole scores it 10-9, Marquez
ROUND 9Pacquiao fires a combination to the body. Marquez is not throwing much in first minute. Good left by Pacquiao. Right by Marquez. Pacquiao’s left eye is swelling. Left by Pacquiao. They trade in the center. Left hook by Marquez. Left by Pacquiao backs Marquez to ropes. Pacquiao lands a combination. Bayless halts it to check Marquez’s cut. Dr. Jeff Davidson says the fight can continue. Right uppercut by Marquez wobbles Pacquiao. Pacquiao fires a left in return.
Iole scores it 10-9, Pacquiao
ROUND 10Pacquiao lands a huge left at the open that wobbles Marquez. Wild exchange on the ropes. Crowd on its feet. Combination by Pacquiao. Left hand by Pacquiao. Marquez flicks his jab. Marquez’s eye looks bad. Marquez warned to keep it up. Marquez right to the body. Right to the head by Marquez. Combination by Pacquiao. Crowd is roaring. This is a wonderful fight. Straight right by Marquez. Right by Marquez.
Iole scores it 10-9, Pacquiao
ROUND 11Pacquiao’s right eye is swollen badly. Pacquiao misses a hook. Marquez pops a jab. Marquez warned for a low blow. Time called briefly so Pacquiao can recover. Left by Pacquiao. Right to the head by Marquez. Right and left and right by Marquez. Pacquiao lands a straight left. Right hook by Pacquiao. Marquez lands a right. Left hand and then a right by Marquez. Pace is a bit slower in this round. They trade just before bell.
Iole scores it 10-9, Marquez
ROUND 12Many in the crowd are standing. Marquez’s cut was shown on the big screen and it is grotesque. Marquez lands a hard right. Hook to the body by Marquez and right to the head. Lead right by Marquez. Left by Pacquiao. Right by Pacquiao. Right by Marquez. Another right by Marquez. Combination by Marquez. Pacquiao pops a jab. Right to the head by Marquez. They trade at the bell. Both raise their arms.
Iole scores it 10-9, Marquez
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