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Is the NHL contesting Jiri Hudler's contract with Moscow Dynamo because it truly believes it has a case? Or is it mostly about gaining a future bargaining chip with Russia's Kontinental Hockey League?

At issue is Hudler's decision to file for arbitration on July 5, days before he signed with Dynamo. Even though Hudler does not have an NHL contract, the league believes he made a commitment to remain in North America for next season and is contractually obligated to the Red Wings.

Hudler either received bad advice by filing, or the Russian team's offer came a day later.

It shouldn't matter. He should go to Russia and the NHL shouldn't stand in his way. You can't blame Hudler for taking that incredible two-year, $10 million, tax-free, offer. That's probably equivalent to about $7.5 million to $8 million a season U.S. The most he would get from the Wings or through arbitration is a little more than $3 million a season.

That's a no-brainer if you're a young guy, 25, with no family to uproot who hasn't made a ton of money, relatively speaking, yet in his career ($1.15 million last season).

Why force him to stay over a technicality? If his heart is in Russia how motivated would he be to come back to Detroit and play for much less?

The Wings want Hudler back. They've lost a lot of offense already with the departures of Marian Hossa and Mikael Samuelsson.

But they're hoping for a speedy resolution because their hands are tied. They can't sign anybody until they know for sure that Hudler is gone. Because if Hudler returns, the Wings will be over the $56.8 million salary cap and would need to trim a player by the start of the season.

My guess is Hudler is allowed to play in Russia and the KHL will agree not to sign, in the future, any more players who filed for arbitration. source>>>

Judge Redfield T. Baum has his work cut out for him today as the proposed sale of the Phoenix Coyotes has proven to be anything but straightforward.

When the Phoenix bankruptcy court judge convenes a hearing today, he'll have waded through dozens of legal arguments in hundreds of pages of documents filled with accusations and counter-accusations.

With the future of hockey in Phoenix and Hamilton hanging in the balance, the pride of billionaires on the line and a chance for the public to get a behind-the-scenes look at NHL financing and Wayne Gretzky's tax record, to say various factions agree on very little would be understatement.

But like they say, you can't tell the players without a program.

Here's a look at who wants what from whom today:

JERRY MOYES: The current owner of the Coyotes has the most to lose, in the neighbourhood of $300 million (all figures U.S.). He won't get a dime if the judge allows the sale of the team to Chicago sports magnate Jerry Reinsdorf.

So Moyes wants the judge to let him scrutinize the backroom deals that surround the emergence of Reinsdorf's $148 million bid.

WAYNE GRETZKY: He has plenty to lose, too. His lawyers just registered with the court last week to start taking part in the proceedings. Gretzky, the team's coach and minority owner, is owed about $9.3 million. Reinsdorf's offer gives Gretzky nothing. The City of Glendale says Gretzky is overpaid and suggests the money Gretzky is owed, like Moyes' money, is capital, not a loan. The city wants a look at Gretzky's income tax statements; Gretzky wants the judge today to deny Glendale's motion, arguing it's a gross invasion of his privacy.

EARL SCUDDER: The little-known backroom lawyer, Moyes' advisor since the beginning, finds his credibility on the line. His declaration that the Coyotes were a financial basketcase kick-started the bankruptcy. The NHL wants him removed as lawyer for Moyes' family. The NHL says he's not a "disinterested" party as he claimed to the court, but that he's involved far more than he's letting on and should be ineligible to act on anyone's behalf in the bankruptcy.

JERRY REINSDORF: His offer is on the table to keep the team in Phoenix. So far it's the only one, and he has the best chance to walk away with the team on Aug. 5, the deadline set by Baum for the team to be sold and kept in Phoenix. Objections to the sale can be raised starting July 24, when all matters of the sale will be made public.

GARY BETTMAN: The league backs Reinsdorf and is accusing Moyes of conducting little more than a fishing expedition, designed to derail Reinsdorf's bid and chill the proceedings.

BILL DALY: The deputy commissioner of the NHL is in a bit of hot water for suggesting in an interview with the Arizona Republic that other potential bidders for the team "coalesced" behind Reinsdorf in the best interests of keeping the team in Phoenix. Daly is not expected in court today. In his favour, the judge has said he doesn't give much weight to what people say in interviews.

CITY OF GLENDALE: Backs the NHL and the Reinsdorf group, but is involved in much of the dirty work, including going after Gretzky.

U.S. TRUSTEE: The monitor, or watchdog, of these proceedings wants to know what Daly meant regarding the coalescing comment, so is backing Moyes' call for discovery. Deemed independent, the trustee's opinion carries some sway with the judge. The creditors committee largely backs Moyes' call for discovery, but are happy to wait until Reinsdorf makes his bid before cross-examinations.

JIM BALSILLIE: The Canadian billionaire who wants to buy the team and move it to Hamilton is sitting quietly on the sidelines today. No motions were filed on behalf of PSE Sports and Entertainment, the company Balsillie has set up to buy an NHL team. It would be fair to say Balsillie - and the city of Hamilton - are rooting for Moyes. source>>>

An Iranian singer and composer who has been likened to Bob Dylan has received a five-year jail sentence in absentia for disrespecting religious sanctities, according to Iranian television.

An Iranian Koran scholar filed a complaint against Mohsen Namjoo, who also plays a traditional Persian lute, for the way he had performed using verses from Islam's holy book, English-language Press TV said on its website late on Monday.

The scholar, who Press TV did not name, accused Namjoo of "an insulting, sneering performance of Koranic verses with musical instruments."

It quoted the singer's brother and lawyer as dismissing the accusation, saying he "did not mean any disrespect." Press TV said Namjoo, who apologized a few months ago for the incident, was abroad but did not say in which country.
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Iran's Fars News Agency quoted a judge on Monday as confirming that Namjoo was found guilty "subsequent to an investigation of the complaint against him" but he did not give details on the sentence.

In a report posted on its website last week, the semi-official IQNA news agency (Iran's Quran News Agency) named the plaintiff as Abbas Salimi and quoted him as saying Namjoo was accused of "derisive rendering of Koran verses and disrespect toward" the holy book.

IQNA said the sentence against Namjoo, who is in his early 30s, was handed down last month.

In a 2007 profile, New York Times said Namjoo's "playful but subtly cutting lyrics about growing up in an Islamic state" had made him "the most controversial, and certainly the most daring, figure in Persian music today."

It added, "Some call him a genius, a sort of Bob Dylan of Iran, and say his satirical music accurately reflects the frustrations and disillusionment of young Iranians." source>>>

Papal encyclicals are supposed to be written with one eye on two millenniums of Catholic teaching, and the other on eternity. But Americans, as a rule, have rather narrower horizons. As soon as the media have finished scanning a Vatican document for references to sex, the debate begins in earnest: Is it good for the left, or for the right? For Democrats, or for Republicans?
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Susan Etheridge for The New York Times

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This was true in the 1950s, when the young William F. Buckley Jr. famously feuded with liberals over how much respect he owed to papal pronouncements on economic matters.

It was true in the 1990s, when conservatives eagerly cited John Paul II's condemnations of abortion and euthanasia, while liberals countered by noting his criticisms of the death penalty.

And it's especially true today, when a document like "Caritas in Veritate" ("Charity in Truth"), the third encyclical of Benedict XVI's papacy -- whose release, last Tuesday, was slightly overshadowed by a celebrity funeral of some sort -- can be wrangled over endlessly within hours of showing up online.

These arguments never seem to go anywhere. When a pope criticizes legalized abortion, liberal Catholics nod and say that yes, they agree, it's a terrible tragedy ... but of course they can't impose their religious values on a secular society. When a pope endorses the redistribution of wealth, conservative Catholics stroke their chins and say that yes, they agree, society needs a safety net ... but of course they're duty-bound to oppose the tyranny of big government. And when the debate isn't going their way, left and right both fall back on flaccid rhetoric about how the papal message "transcends politics," and shouldn't be turned to any partisan purpose.

"Caritas in Veritate" has been no exception. It's a "social" encyclical, in the church's parlance, covering issues ranging from globalization and the environment to unions and the welfare state. Inevitably, liberal Catholics spent the past week touting its relevance to the Democratic Party's policy positions. (A representative blast e-mail: "Pope's Encyclical on Global Economy Supports the Principles of the Employee Free Choice Act.") Just as inevitably, conservative Catholics hastened to explain that the encyclical "is not a political document" -- to quote a statement co-authored by the House minority leader, John Boehner -- and shouldn't be read as "an endorsement of any political or economic agenda."

Boehner is half right. The pope is not a Democrat or a Republican, and his vision doesn't fit the normal categories of American politics.

But Benedict's encyclical is nothing if not political. "Caritas in Veritate" promotes a vision of economic solidarity rooted in moral conservatism. It links the dignity of labor to the sanctity of marriage. It praises the redistribution of wealth while emphasizing the importance of decentralized governance. It connects the despoiling of the environment to the mass destruction of human embryos.

This is not a message you're likely to hear in Barack Obama's next State of the Union, or in the Republican Party's response. It represents a kind of left-right fusionism with little traction in American politics.

But that's precisely what makes it so relevant and challenging -- for Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

We're passing through the worst economic dislocation of the past 80 years. Our politics are polarized; our institutions gridlocked. The governing party is mistrusted, the minority party despised.

Yet there's remarkably little radical thinking taking place. The Republican Party is retrenching, falling back on Reagan-era verities. His promises of post-partisan change notwithstanding, Barack Obama's agenda looks like the same old Democratic laundry list, rewritten in a sleeker, Internet-era font.

This doesn't mean that America needs a third party with "Caritas in Veritate" as its platform. The church is not a think tank, and there's room for wide disagreement about how to put its social teaching into practice.

But Catholics are obliged to take seriously the underlying provocation of the papal message -- namely, that our present political alignments are not the only ones imaginable, and that truth may not be served by perfect ideological conformity.

So should all people of good will. For liberals and conservatives alike, "Caritas in Veritate" is an invitation to think anew about their alliances and litmus tests.

Why should being pro-environment preclude being pro-life? Why can't Republicans worry about economic inequality, and Democrats consider devolving more power to localities and states? Does opposing the Iraq war mean that you have to endorse an anything-goes approach to bioethics? Does supporting free trade require supporting the death penalty?

These questions, and many others like them, are the kind that a healthy political system would allow voters and politicians to explore.

But for now, at least, you're more likely to find them being raised in Benedict XVI's Vatican than in Barack Obama's Washington. source>>>

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said she's not only staying involved in national politics, but she plans to jump back into the national scrum when she leaves office at the end of the month.

The former Republican vice presidential nominee said she plans to write a book, campaign for political candidates from coast to coast -- even Democrats who share her views on limited government, national defense and energy independence -- and build a right-of-center coalition.

"I will go around the country on behalf of candidates who believe in the right things, regardless of their party label or affiliation," she said during an interview published Sunday in The Washington Times.

Palin shocked critics and allies alike when she announced on July 3 that she would leave the governor's office while in the middle of her first term. The governor chose not to seek re-election and suggested it was unfair to hold onto the office as a lame duck. Instead, she will step down July 26 and pursue a national profile. She has not said whether she is building toward a presidential campaign for 2012.

Republican Women Federated of Simi Valley announced Palin was scheduled to speak to the group's private gala on Aug. 8 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California. The event -- reporters will not be allowed to attend -- will take place in an airplane hangar that houses a retired presidential aircraft Air Force One and will stir more questions about he curious resignation.

Palin defended the decision because "pragmatically, Alaska would be better off" if her state weren't spending time on ethical complaints against her. She also said the plan to resign had been in the works for months.

Her 2008 running mate disputed suggestions the telegenic and plainspoken soon-to-be-former-official was a quitter.

"Oh, I don't think she quit," said Sen. John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee in 2008 who plucked Palin out of near-obscurity and made her a household name. "I think she changed her priorities."

For now, though, Palin isn't detailing those priorities.

"I'm not ruling out anything. It is the way I have lived my life from the youngest age," she said in the Washington Times interview. "Let me peek out there and see if there's an open door somewhere. And if there's even a little crack of light, I'll hope to plow through it."

The self-described hockey mom plans to write a memoir but declined to discuss any potential deal for her to become a television commentator.

"I can't talk about any of those things while I'm still governor," she said.

Yet she's already reminding audiences of her bipartisan and family-oriented appeal.

"People are so tired of the partisan stuff even my own son is not a Republican," Palin said.

Like his father, 20-year-old Track Palin is registered as "nonpartisan" in Alaska, she said.

McCain said he believes Palin will play a major role in politics, telling NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday that "she has the ability to ignite our party and to galvanize us and get us going again and give us a strong positive message."

That said, McCain declined to endorse a Palin for President campaign.

"We've got a lot of good, strong, young, attractive, articulate spokespersons for our party and our principles," McCain said, citing former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. source>>>

On a recent foggy night, the newest wave in educational thinking crashed into this city's oldest high school.

And its waters weren't warm.

"It worries me that we're not thinking big enough, that we're not preparing our kids for a world that will be terribly different from the one we grew up in," says Patrick Bassett, scanning the rapt faces of a few dozen parents in the auditorium of 103-year-old Mission High School, whose alums include poet Maya Angelou and rocker Carlos Santana.

MORE: Re-train your brain for the jobs of the future

"We need kids to be more risk-taking, more entrepreneurial," he says. "More than ever, we need the right brain to mix with the left."
FIND MORE STORIES IN: Mikhail Gorbachev | Carlos Santana | University of California, Berkeley | Maya Angelou | Woodstock Festival | Po Bronson

Although Bassett, president of the National Association of Independent Schools, has been quietly delivering this "Right-Brain Future" talk for a few years, recent economic events have lately sent him on the road non-stop. "My reception has shifted dramatically," he says. "More people seem to want to hear this message."

Here's the Cliff Notes version: As traditional jobs in the left-brain world of finance shrink, the USA's economy will increasingly be tethered to creative innovations rooted in right-brain thinking.

BOOK REVIEW: 'Why Left-Brain Management and Right-Brain Marketing Don't See-Eye-To-Eye'

Sachin Desai, 45, attended Bassett's lecture with his wife, Sejal, 44. Both are software engineers; their sons are 12 and 8.

"Growing up in Britain, it was all about linear thinking," he says. "But my kids are American, a place known for coming up with unique solutions and ideas. I fear we're losing that. So it's critical these kids become creative thinkers."

No right brain left behind

An impediment has been a No Child Left Behind educational system that is too geared to test-taking, says Daniel Pink, author of A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future, the book that inspired Bassett to hit the lecture trail. "What's troubling is that our system is obsessed with standardization at the very time when the future of our economy depends on the opposite."

Some schools have gotten that message. At High Tech High, a charter school in San Diego, students are encouraged to use those skills to practical ends such as dreaming up new sources of energy or calculating ways to stretch the West's limited water supply, says the school's CEO, Larry Rosenstock.

"You want kids who are math whizzes, yes. But you want them to also have the creative talent to apply those math skills to find answers to big questions."

Barrett praises other schools that are pushing students to think outside the box. He cites Fay School in Southborough, Mass., whose students last year teamed with peers at South Saigon International School in Vietnam. Using video chats and a specially created online wiki-space, they designed a "socially conscious business model" that involved both selling products and creating public service announcements to build awareness for disaster relief.

"That's the future," he says. "Kids being analytical and creative to come up with solutions for us all."

Not set in stone

The good news for parents of children who seem predisposed to either a right- or left-brain orientation is that neither aptitude is set in stone, says Po Bronson, co-author with Ashley Merryman of NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children, out in September.

Bronson says brain mechanisms controlling intelligence and creativity are in flux through age 25. "People told me as a kid that I had a math brain, and that I shouldn't write," says Bronson, a onetime Wall Streeter who went on to write five best-selling books.

"In the end, creativity is mainly an attitude," he says. "It's about coming up with an original answer to something as opposed to the one we've always seen."

Still, for those who display both left- and right-brain talents, the world is not yet their oyster.

Stephen Welch, 22, of Woodstock, Ga., is a graduate of Georgia Tech in Atlanta. An engineer and a guitar player, he has been accepted at the University of California-Berkeley's engineering program and Boston's Berklee College of Music. He fears either choice will deny one side of his identity; he plans to take a year off to think about it. "I'm struggling," he says. "I feel like it's an either/or situation."

Not so straightforward

That dilemma is not likely to be resolved anytime soon. Reflecting on Bassett's presentation is Ben Quinones, a father of three girls under 10 who attend the private Children's Day School here. He half-jokes that the lecture "was inspirational, daunting and all about figuring out what you're doing wrong."

As a lawyer turned CEO of semi-conductor start-up Lakota Technologies, Quinones says he sees firsthand the importance of not only fact-driven left-brain skills, but also more intangible right-brain weapons of creativity and adaptability.

"Things were so different, so straightforward when I was in school," he says, almost wistfully. "But globalization is driving this. For my kids, simply grasping a set of left-brain skills will never be enough." source>>>

The 40th anniversary on July 20 of Apollo 11's landing on the moon has launched a shelf's worth of illustrated books for kids, including two by men who walked on the moon. USA TODAY's looks at the lunar lineup.

Look to the Stars (Putnam's, $17.99, ages 6 and up) is by Buzz Aldrin, the second man on the moon. (The first, Neil Armstrong, is more reticent.) With paintings by Wendell Minor, it reviews the history of space exploration. Aldrin modestly notes that "nearly 400,000 dedicated people worked on Project Apollo and I thank them, one and all!"

Mission Control, This Is Apollo, (Viking, $23.99, 10 and up) by Andrew Chaikin and Alan Bean (the fourth man on the moon) reviews Apollo's 12 biggest missions, based on interviews with 28 astronauts.

Footprints on the Moon (Candlewick, $16.99) by Mark Haddon, illustrated by Christian Birmingham. The author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time re-creates his boyhood dreams of walking on the moon.

Moon: Science, History and Mystery (Scholastic $18.99, ages 9 to 12) by Stewart Ross. This is an illustrated reference book on both the moon and the Apollo mission.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: Moon | Neil Armstrong | Buzz Aldrin | Alan Bean | Project Apollo | Andrew Chaikin

One Small Step: Celebrating the First Men on the Moon (Roaring Brook, $24.95, ages 6 to 10) by Jerry Stone. Interactive scrapbook is designed to look as if it were created by a 12-year-old space enthusiast.

One Giant Leap (Philomel, $16.99, ages 6 to 8) by Robert Burleigh, illustrated by Mike Wimmer. Leap offers a realistic artistic portrayal of the original moon walk.

And for grown-ups, new moon books include ...

Magnificent Desolation(Harmony, $27) by Buzz Aldrin with Ken Abraham. The candid memoir covers how the lunar landing almost failed and how, back on Earth, Aldrin struggled with depression and alcoholism.

Alan Bean: Painting Apollo by Alan Bean (Smithsonian Books, $39.99). The book includes 100-plus paintings of the moon, by the astronaut-turned-artist who was there.

Voices From the Moon (Viking Studio, $45) by Andrew Chaikin with Victoria Kohl. Voices offers excerpts from interviews with 23 Apollo astronauts.

The Book of the Moon (Walker, $27) by Rick Stroud. Book shares all things lunar, from moon gravity (about one-sixth of Earth's) to a three-page list of popular music about the moon.

Rocket Men: The Epic Story of the First Men on the Moon (Viking, $27.95) by Craig Nelson. It's the detailed history of the politics and technology that drove Apollo 11. source>>>

What's that lump on the sofa?

Uh-oh. It's a teenager with no summer plans -- unless you count playing Wii and texting.

Time to help that kid get a life. Never mind that summer's well under way, and all the other kids had jobs, internships, camps and classes lined up long ago.Here are some ways teens with nothing to do can use the rest of the season constructively, along with tips for parents to help get them off that couch:

Motivation
Sure, teens may need a little down time, especially if they're busy during the school year. But Mary Jo Rapini, a psychotherapist with The Methodist Hospital in Houston, said "it's not good for kids to do nothing in the summer," she said. "We know for a fact that kids who lie around all day, often times their self-esteem goes down; they get into more trouble; they feel disengaged from families. They get lonely in the summer, and they need attention."

They're at higher risk for teen pregnancy, Rapini said. "They're texting, they're sexting, they have access to all kinds of Web sites. Whenever kids don't have a routine, their lives get chaotic."

If your teen is resistant or lacks initiative, Rapini said the first step for parents is simply "sitting and talking." What is your teen interested in? What is he or she good at? Identify people, businesses or organizations they might contact about a job or volunteering.

Next, parents should help teens practice a pitch they can make that sums up their skills and what they're looking for. Then set a goal for the teen: "I want you to make three calls today. I want to know after each one you call how it went, and I'll cross it off the list."

"You can inspire a kid by presenting a task to solve and saying, 'We've got to work on this. This is our goal,'" Rapini said.

Even if the calls don't lead to a gig, at least the teen made an effort and practiced job-searching skills.

Networking
Teach teens to network by helping create lists of neighbors, friends and relatives. Go through family address books or e-mail lists. Consider the day care center or day camp they attended when they were young, houses of worship or nearby parks. Can they volunteer at an animal shelter or as a reader in a senior center? Are there stores they patronize that might let them help out?

"Or they can call the family veterinarian and say, 'Hey, you're the vet for Fluffy. Can I do some assistant work with you for free this summer?'" said Deena Maerowitz, a college admissions consultant in New York City and Connecticut.

Help your teen come up with a follow-up pitch when the answer is no, Maerowitz said. Does the person they're calling know of other places they might call? Would it be OK to put a sign on the office bulletin board offering pet-sitting?

Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurial teens should be encouraged to "try their hand at their own business," whether baby-sitting, tutoring, lawn-mowing or dog-walking, said Caroline Ceniza-Levine of Six-Figure Start, a career-coaching firm specializing in students and young professionals.

Help your teen think about marketing: "How are people going to find out about them? Are they going to do flyers? Are they going to put up a Web site? How much would they charge for their service? How much do other people charge?" Ceniza-Levine said.

She stressed that the process can be productive even if it doesn't lead to earning money. A teen interested in animals or sports might set up a blog or Web site on the subject. A teen who dreams of a specialized career might find a professional to shadow for a day. Another good use of time: Learning QuickBooks, PowerPoint or other computer skills.

Volunteering
Finding volunteer gigs can be challenging. "Nonprofits are busier than ever, but often they aren't equipped to take in people off the streets," said Robert Rosenthal, spokesman for VolunteerMatch, based in San Francisco.

Fortunately the VolunteerMatch.org Web site offers thousands of prescreened opportunities, from one-day gigs helping out at a festival to long-term internships in the arts. To find local opportunities for teens, go to http://www.volunteermatch.org and click on "Advanced Search" in the green area. Fill in your location, and in the "Great For..." box at the bottom, check "Teens."

One organization that lists opportunities on the site is Reading Partners, which provides one-on-one tutors in California elementary schools. A third of the group's 900 volunteers are high school and college students, including Nalini Jain, 16, who organized a summer Reading Partners program at a Mountain View elementary school where most of the children are Hispanic.

Nalini recruited other teens to help. "A lot of kids were looking for things to do," she said. "Three of my friends jumped at the opportunity."

Online job searches
We've all heard about Internet job scams and horror stories. But there are ways teens can stay safe while looking for work online.

Henry Randall, 19, a student at St. Michael's College in Colchester, Vt., had just a few weeks to work at home in New York between other commitments this summer. He posted an ad on Craigslist, but he proceeded very carefully.

"I didn't put up any personal information -- just my first name," he said. "No address, no phone number." He didn't need to include his e-mail; Craigslist forwards all ad responses without revealing your e-mail address.

Henry got an offer to work in a medical office cleaning out old paper records, but before he called, he did some research. "First I went on the office's Web site to check it out, then I checked out the location, to see what kind of neighborhood I'd be going to," he said. "It seemed like a legitimate job."

He went in for an interview, got the $10-an-hour job, and was invited back to work there any time he's home from school. "I was skeptical," he said, "but it worked out really well."

Think small
For teens who are reluctant to make cold calls or take the initiative, "try to think small," said Maerowitz. "If your kid is resisting getting a full-time job or an internship, think of shorter-term projects."

Just don't let them spend the entire summer on the sofa. "I can tell you as a college admissions consultant, it's important for colleges to see kids have done something for the summer," she said. "It doesn't necessarily mean working from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day, or creating a nonprofit that saves the world. It's not the time commitment so much as the 'Aha' -- learning something about yourself." source>>>

The youngest-ever winner on the Japan Golf Tour will try this week to become the youngest to win the British Open since 1868. Ryo Ishikawa, 17, is the rising star of golf in Japan. He was the second-youngest player ever to compete in the Masters -- he missed the cut, shooting 6-over par -- and has an invite to next month's PGA Championship. And though Mr. Ishikawa already has a constant media following, it'll be more intense this week. He's in a trio with Tiger Woods for the first two days of the Open Championship. source>>>

So, Tiger Woods, what were you doing last July as the Royal Birkdale winds were gusting to 50 mph, and 63-hole leader/dashing old fogy Greg Norman was defying the laws of age gravity, and Padraig Harrington was on his way to winning his second consecutive British Open? Glued to the telly, were you?

"My day consisted of trying to get from the bed to the couch and then from there back to the bed," Woods said Tuesday. "That was my day."

Got it. No quality TV time. No British Open. No getting caught up in Harrington's two-peat, or the 53-year-old Norman's unlikely run, or even Ian Poulter's pants and second-place finish.

"I probably caught the last nine holes of it pretty good," Woods said.

A year ago, Woods was a patient, not a player. He was about two weeks removed from reconstructive surgery on his left knee, the same knee that had sounded like a coffee grinder whenever he swung a club. He was in pain, in bed and inside.

Has it already been a year? Doesn't seem like it. But that's Woods' fault. He makes ACL replacement seem simple, even though it wasn't.

We didn't see the swollen, tender and throbbing post-op knee. We didn't see the grueling rehab. All we saw was Woods sink every putt like Ty Webb in "Caddyshack" ("Na-na-na-na-na") at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March ... and win. And win Jack Nicklaus' Memorial Tournament in June, and Woods' own AT&T National earlier this month.

"Yeah, that first one back, that was pretty special," Woods said. "The people who are around me know how hard I had to work to get back to that position to be able to play again. And it felt good. It felt so good to get that W because you put in so many hours of work to just give yourself a physical chance to hit a golf ball again."

But no majors wins since the return. He finished T-6 at Augusta and T-6 at Bethpage. Still ...

"It's been a tremendous success," Woods said of his 2009 season. "I remember looking at the year and just trying to get back in playing, [thinking] hopefully I can play and hopefully I can play at a high level. And to sit here and say I was going to have three wins halfway through the year -- if anyone would have looked at my situation, they would have said, 'You probably might be reaching a little bit.'"

Really? We've come to expect so much from Woods that those three victories don't seem so improbable. It would have been more surprising if he hadn't won. That's partly because Woods has come to expect so much from himself, too. So we just tag along.

Woods is the favorite this week at Turnberry to win his fourth Claret Jug. He'd be the favorite if his knee still was in a brace. If his buddy Roger Federer tied his arm behind his back. If he used a garden rake to hit his drives. He'll be the favorite until someone better comes along, and so far, that someone isn't in the rearview mirror.

Tiger Woods Now that Tiger Woods has returned to the PGA Tour, get the latest news and analysis on the 14-time major winner's comeback. Tiger Tracker

Say what you want, but winning at Bay Hill, at Muirfield Village and at Congressional isn't the same thing as slipping on another green jacket, or hoisting a U.S. Open trophy, a silver jug or a Wanamaker Trophy. Majors are what truly matter to Woods. He has 14 of those precious championships; he wants at least 19 to pass Nicklaus.

"Granted, I haven't won a major [in 2009], but I've come close," he said. "I've put myself in position to win the first few majors. I just haven't done it. But to have three wins, realistically, looking at my situation at the beginning of the year, to have three wins, I wouldn't have thought that."

Woods can win at Turnberry. No, he's never played a tournament here. But he had never played tournament golf at Medinah -- and he won the PGA Championship there in 1999, the PGA at Valhalla in 2000, the U.S. Open at Bethpage in 2002 and the British at Hoylake in 2006. So that cherry bombs that theory.

He loves links golf. Always has. He can shape, bend and massage shots all day. He doesn't freak out when the rains come -- and they will -- or when the winds change directions three times (as they have in his practice rounds).

Turnberry is built for shot-makers. That's why Tom Watson, Nick Price and Norman won here (and Nicklaus finished second to Watson in 1977). That's why Woods very easily could leave here with another photo op with the jug.

"You just can't fake it around this golf course," Woods said. "You just have to hit good golf shots."

The British Open begins Thursday at Turnberry. Find out when Tiger Woods, two-time defending champion Padraig Harrington and the rest of the world's best will begin their quests to win the year's third major. Rounds 1, 2 groupings »

Woods hit exactly one driver at Hoylake. When he won at St. Andrews in 2000, his golf ball never landed in one of its 112 pot bunkers. So there's no faking in his game.

Of course, I'm picking him to win. I always pick him to win. I'll pick him to win when he's Norman's age -- not that the 33-year-old Woods is committing to anything.

"It would be nice to be above dirt," he said.

For now, being out of bed, off crutches and at Turnberry will do just fine. source>>>

U.S. Olympic officials, Major League Baseball and other professional sports organizations are getting into the NFL's fight with two Minnesota Vikings linemen who were suspended for violating the league's anti-doping policy.

MLB, the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey Association asked Monday for permission to file paperwork in federal court in support of the NFL, which wants to suspend the players for four games. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency filed a similar motion on its own.

Kevin Williams and Pat Williams, who are not related, have never been accused of taking steroids. The two linemen tested positive last summer for a banned diuretic, bumetanide, that can mask the presence of steroids. They took the weight-loss supplement StarCaps, which contained the diuretic but wasn't listed on the label.

The leagues contend their own drug testing programs would be affected if the linemen are allowed to fight their four-game suspensions in state court. USADA argues uniform rules are needed "to ensure a level playing field." source>>>

Tuesday night's All-Star Game is a hometown affair in more ways than one. The best-known hometown hero is of course Albert Pujols, but he's far from the only person with a significant St. Louis connection.

All-Star Game rosters
- Enhanced roster
- By team | By league
- Starters: AL | NL
- Pitchers: AL | NL
- Reserves: AL | NL
- Sprint Final Vote
- Rosters unveiled
All-Stars: AL | NL
Final Vote: AL | NL

Take the FOX Network's broadcast of the game. The TV festivities get under way at 8 p.m. ET from Busch Stadium and will be carried live on FOX.

Play-by-play man Joe Buck has one of the most revered last names in St. Louis baseball. He called Cardinals games himself for many years, and his father, Jack, remains one of the most beloved figures in the history of the Cardinals franchise. Color commentator Tim McCarver spent parts of 13 seasons as a catcher with the Cardinals, winning three pennants. Buck and McCarver will be joined by reporter Ken Rosenthal and hosts Chris Rose and Eric Karros.

FOX's home is in Los Angeles, but for the two men calling the game from the booth, St. Louis feels an awful lot like home.

"For about 13 years, I was part of the St. Louis baseball scene, and I was fortunate to be on teams that were very, very successful," McCarver said. "So you would get no argument from me in saying that St. Louis was the best baseball town in America. It's certainly among the top three. My experience there was nothing but terrific, and I know that's one of the great things about this All-Star Game -- Joe living in St. Louis and me going back to St. Louis. From a personal standpoint, it's very, very special for both of us."

Buck doesn't dispute McCarver's characterization. And he takes a little pride in that. Because it's widely believed that Jack Buck helped shape the character of baseball fandom in St. Louis.

"There's something that's instilled I think in you as a young person in St. Louis, that you respect the game and you respect the opposition, and you applaud effort," Buck said. "And it's not always self-serving. It's not always, are the Cardinals winning and did my guy make a great play. You could make argument that of all the ballparks that you sit in, there's not a crowd anywhere across the country that applauds a great effort by the opposition more than what happens in St. Louis."

FOX, of course, won't just be looking back. In fact, the network will mostly be looking forward with its broadcast of Tuesday night's game.

The network will employ 21 HD cameras and 80 field and crowd microphones, as well as approximately 20 microphones for players, coaches and umpires to wear. And during the FOX broadcast, the on-air team will interact with viewers via Twitter. FOX's personalities will tweet at www.twitter.com/MLBonFOX, and Rosenthal will respond to viewer tweets as well.

One other highlight of the broadcast will be a very special one -- President Obama's ceremonial first pitch. As of late in the week, FOX representatives did not yet know whether Obama would be available for an on-air interview, but they were certainly hoping for the opportunity. source>>>

Major League Baseball surpsies us every summer, but this summer has been an exception. All the teams that were predicted to do well are actually winning.

The only huge surprise is the increasing number of steroid users coming to light -- but then again are those even surprises any more?

It was shown that Alex Rodriguez had failed a drug test and that he used steroids. Though he did apologize to the fans and his teammates, the incidents started the rollercoaster of the 2009 baseball season.

Since the season began, everything has seemed to go as predicted. Albert Pujols has proven again he is the most dominant hitter in the world. Tim Lincecum is vying for another Cy Young Award. The Yankees and Red Sox are battling for the top spot in the American League East, and the Dodgers picked up right where they left off last year.

Pujols is hitting .337, which is fifth in the MLB, but he leads the majors in home runs (32) and runs batted in (87). Being ranked so high in all three categories, he is the leading candidate to take home the Triple Crown this year. The last player to hit for the Triple Crown was Carl Yastrzemski in 1967, and the last time it was done in the National League was in 1937.

Lincecum is on track for the same achievement on the pitching side. He leads the league in strikeouts with 149. He is tied for third with 10 wins, and his ERA is third at 2.33. The Triple Crown for pitching has been a little more common than the hitting Triple Crown. Jake Peavy was the last to earn this title, in 2007.

After the Yankees' fall from grace last year, they have worked hard to try to get back to the promised land, but the only question was how. They opened a new stadium with hopes that it would turn the Yankees' luck around, and it did.

The Yankees are 51-36 on the year and are two games behind the Red Sox. The reason they are so successful this year is the fact that they lead the majors in home runs with 132. Their only downfall is that the pitching has struggled from time to time. But again it looks like the AL East will come down to the Yankees and Red Sox at the end of the year.

The only big surprise of the first half was the L.A. Dodgers. Not that they were predicted to do badly, it was just thought that after their best player Manny Ramirez was suspended for steroids, they would fall apart.

Well, that didn't happen. The Dodgers are leading the majors with a record of 55-32, six games ahead of the San Francisco Giants. They are consistently playing well as a team and look to be a force in the playoffs this fall.

Hopefully, the second half of the season is a little more interesting. source>>>

Alex Rodriguez may no longer be the best player in baseball, the label that accompanied him to New York five years ago, but you only had to see the look of disbelief on Joe Saunders' face Friday night to understand why A-Rod is still in the conversation.

Saunders, the Angels' lefthander, reacted with a stunned shake of his head after throwing a below-the-knees changeup that fooled A-Rod, yet wound up beyond the fence in right-center field because the Yankees' slugger managed a last-second flick of his wrists that sent the pitch some 400 feet into orbit.

It was a reminder that, for all of his issues, A-Rod still strikes fear into pitchers unlike almost anyone else in the game, and for good reason. Of course, it was also a reminder of why Yankee fans turn on him so quickly, because he has yet to deliver on all of that ability in the postseason.

But the point here is, even after his hip surgery, A-Rod still ranks among the top five players in baseball.
Albert Pujols has to get the nod as the best of the best these days as he goes about putting up huge numbers in a Cardinals' lineup that is not exactly a modern-day Murderers' Row.

Before we get into the top five, let's define the concept of best player.

Obviously, pitchers aren't included because they are, well, pitchers, not players. Beyond that, this isn't about integrity or character, as it applies to the steroids issue, but simply ability.

Specifically, for me the issue is game-changing ability. Which players do the most to change the course of ballgames, whether it be with one swing or four at-bats -- or occasionally with their glove?

There also has to be a certain level of accomplishment, as in the case of Josh Hamilton. He might be as talented as anyone, but he only emerged last year after all of his drug problems, and he has missed most of this season due to injury.

With all of that in mind, here's my Top 5:

1. Albert Pujols

He's been on the list for several years, but he's distanced himself at the top this season, hitting .332 with 32 home runs and 87 RBI. He's putting up these numbers even though teams are pitching him carefully, determined not to let him beat them. Pujols has a legitimate shot at becoming the first Triple Crown winner since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967, in part because he rarely strikes out, only 35 Ks in 307 at-bats.

Perhaps most significantly, Pujols is clutch, hitting .379 with runners in scoring position this season. Pitchers fear him so much that in 105 plate appearances with runners in scoring position, Pujols has been walked 39 times. 2. Manny Ramirez

Hate to put him on this list after the way he quit on the Red Sox last year, but you can't ignore the obvious. He carried a so-so Dodger team to the NLCS last year with a crazy-hot bat, and despite his 50-game suspension this season, his presence seems to have given confidence to younger players who are blossoming.

This season Manny is hitting .355 with nine home runs and 29 RBI, and he's hitting .371 with runners in scoring position.

3. Joe Mauer

The Twins' catcher looks to be the best pure hitter in the game these days, and at age 26, Mauer is developing power to go with his sweet stroke. He's hitting .373 and despite missing time with a back injury, has 15 home runs in only 241 at-bats, two more longballs than his season-best 13 in 2006.

Mauer too has been clutch, hitting .400 with runners in scoring position. The fact that he's doing all of this while catching only adds to his status.

4. Rodriguez

Still hitting only .256, but upon returning from hip surgery in May, A-Rod's presence made an obvious difference in the Yankee lineup. He seems to have made significant strides in his recovery from the hip surgery lately, looking more agile at third base and swinging the bat with more confidence.

A-Rod's 17 home runs and 50 RBI have helped the Yankees beat up on a lot of mediocre pitching lately, and he's even hit in the clutch lately. Still, you can't help but notice that his .278 average with runners in scoring position pales in comparison to the others on this list.

5. Hanley Ramirez

Tough call over the likes of Chase Utley and Evan Longoria for final Top 5 spot, but the Marlins' shortstop is living up to the hype as a rising superstar. He's hitting .349 with 14 home runs and 61 RBI, and his clutch numbers are off the charts -- .456 with runners in scoring position, .448 with RISP and two outs.

So there's the list, and while A-Rod, who turns 34 in a couple of weeks, still belongs, he needs to finally have a big October one of these years or none of it will ever matter to Yankee fans. source>>>

As I sit here staring at my crystal ball it has occurred to me that my crystal ball does show me the future, but it never tells me exactly what I want to know.

My crystal ball works in a similar way to the palantiri of "Lord of the Rings" fame. It shows me events but leaves them open to misinterpretation. So, although I have seen glimpses of crucial March Madness matchups, I can't honestly say that I know exactly how they will play out.

But my device did leave me with one bit of information that I am sure I have not misinterpreted.

Throughout my search into the 2010 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament the image of Coach K has dominated my visions. His image occurs over and over from the first game all the way through the final whistle in April.

This can only mean one thing!

No, this doesn't mean that Duke will make a run to the finals this year.

It means that Coach K will be the star of a new commercial this spring. This commercial will be played 15 times per game minimally throughout the duration of the tournament.

This information does not in any way help my odds in Vegas, but it did lead me to ponder an NCAA rule change that would be fair to everyone and severely improve the station approval ratings from every basketball viewer.

It is a simple rule that could apply to every sport in college athletics.

The NCAA should immediately consider a rule change that states that commercials that apply to, or promote, any school in the NCAA should only be allowed to run as long as that program is still in contention for the current title that the commercial in question is promoting.

To put it in layman's terms, this would mean that if your school loses in the first round your commercial can't be aired after the first round. If your school makes it to the finals then your commercial would also make it to the finals.

Being forced to endure Coach K promoted credit card, car, insurance, and video game commercials every year in recent memory for weeks after Duke is eliminated has led to a public outcry. Many have stated that these commercials are an unfair recruiting tool to promote Duke at a time when recruiting is off limits.

Personally, I don't agree with this theory. If a player is swayed to attend a university by watching a commercial I'm not sure that I want that particular player on my team. A player who is that dumb wouldn't even be smart enough to graduate with a sociology degree (this is not to disparage sociology majors, this is an inside joke. Some of you will understand, but if you don't please don't be offended)

I don't think any commercial gives any school any special advantage. I am an advocate of this rule change for a very selfish reason. THESE COMMERCIALS DRIVE ME INSANE!

Now, before I get a slew of responses labeling me as a Duke hater, let me say this. Coach K is just the best example I could think of.

Old Roy has been in a few doozies that have made my skin crawl also, and I am a huge UNC fan. If I never saw another Coke or Rock Star video game commercial with "Old Roy" as long as I live I would be a better, and happier, man.

The reason this rule should exist is pure common sense. After a team is eliminated from competition, the number of viewers who support that team who continue to watch the tournament dwindles significantly.

For example, the number of Gonzaga supporters who watched the finals was much smaller than the number of Gonzaga fans who watched them play their final tournament game.

Companies target certain demographics when they put together an idea for a commercial. If a channel does not have the target audience that a company desires it makes little sense to advertise on that channel.

If you follow this logic, forcing MSU and UNC fans to watch a commercial featuring a hated rival's coach makes little sense from any perspective.

I use my crystal ball in an attempt to do good, and save humanity from unneeded strife. But I am only one average citizen.

I need your help.

Together we can save the sports world from self aggrandizing, patronizing, and self promoting commercials by famous sports figures. Use this article like a chain letter. Tell all your friends about this worthy cause.

There is still time to get this rule change put into effect before a new generation of college basketball fans are forced to Tivo every tournament game in order to escape the horror of watching a famous coach drill a mind numbing commercial into their head through sheer force of repetition.
source>>>