Wednesday, September 28, 2011

The foul treatment of Steve Bartman

ESPN's 'Catching Hell': The foul treatment of Steve Bartman

He wore glasses, a green turtleneck, and most damningly, Walkman headphones so he could listen to the Cubs’ historic pennant-clinching game on the radio. We would later find out that he was a computer consultant who still lived with his parents, but he looked like a little kid, which is what Fox announcer Steve Lyons initially thought he was. Steve Bartman, the 26-year-old Chicago Cubs fan who reached onto the field for what seemed like a meaningless foul ball in the eighth inning of Game 6 of the 2003 National League playoffs, fit a profile.Nfl bears jersreys cheap Even his name — Bartman — seemed to contribute to making him a villain,,cheap nfl jerseys china, the scapegoat who cost the cursed Cubs a chance for their first World Series title since 1908.

The television cameras lingered on Bartman after Cubs leftfielder Moises Alou failed to come up with the flyball. Lyons added to the palpable anger, saying, “I’m surprised someone hasn’t thrown that fan onto the field.” And when the Cubs subsequently collapsed that inning, allowing the Marlins to score eight runs, the crowd turned on him.,Cheap moncler vests, He had to leave the stadium for his own protection, and the image of him hiding his face while being being escorted away captures a man who himself understands — the radio announcers had probably already whispered his sudden notoriety into his ears — that his momentary and natural impulse to catch a foul ball had resulted in a great sports crime.

Of course, Bartman wasn’t the only man in his row who reached for that foul ball. Nor was he playing shortstop on the easy groundball that Alex Gonzalez subsequently bobbled.Nfl womens jerseys Nor was he one of the Cubs pitchers who squandered a three-run lead when they needed only five outs to make the World Series. He was just a fan, doing what fans do.

Tonight at 8 p.m. on ESPN, Alex Gibney, the documentary filmmaker who made Taxi to the Dark Side, searches for the reclusive Bartman in his documentary, Catching Hell.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Sonia steps in to defuse crisis

Sonia steps in to defuse crisis

With finance minister Pranab Mukherjee back from his visit to the US, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Monday stepped in to end the five-day-old political crisis triggered by a controversial note by his ministry on 2G spectrum allocation. The note had suggested lapses on the part of
related stories senior minister P Chidambaram, who was then finance minister,,cheap adidas shoes, in preventing the 2G spectrum scam.

Gandhi first had a 25-minute meeting with Chidambaram, who is understood to be upset at the note prepared in March this year.

Mukherjee, who drove straight to his North Block office from the airport after describing Chidambaram as “a pillar of strength”, was next. He was closeted with Gandhi for 45 minutes.

Neither Chidambaram nor Mukherjee spoke to waiting mediapersons outside Gandhi’s residence. The much-anticipated meeting between the two is yet to take place.

But law minister Salman Khurshid came up with an explanation that some Congress leaders indicated could resolve misgivings between the two stalwarts.

“Even if we take facts in the finance ministry note to be correct, the inferences drawn (blaming Chidambaram for the 2G scam) are not correct. If anyone reads the document with common sense,,Jogos Quentes Gold, he will reach the same conclusion,” Khurshid said.

Asked whether Mukherjee agreed with him, the law minister replied: “I hope he endorses my opinion.,BlackBerry Wholesale,”

HT has learnt that Chidambaram presented a chronology of the government’s internal correspondence during his days as finance minister,Discounts 1:1 replica Louis Vuitton handbags particularly during the period between 2007-08 when the alleged scam over the allocation of 2G spectrum took place.

CBI to probe if Maran had accessed 323 phone cables

CBI to probe if Maran had accessed 323 phone cables

The CBI will register a preliminary enquiry (PE) over the allegations that 323 high-capacity telephone lines were illegally installed at the Chennai residence of Dayanidhi Maran during his stint as telecom minister in 2004-2007. The PE—the precursor to a regular case—will be lodged
against “unknown officials of the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Chennai,” said an agency source.

The source also said the agency’s preliminary probe has revealed that the 323 telephone lines—which had the capacity to digitally transmit audio and video data simultaneously—installed at Maran’s residence were procured in the name of BSNL’s chief general manager, Chennai.,Moncler jackets,

The CBI had received complaints about the irregularities around four years ago.

“The decision was taken in a meeting attended by officials of the CBI and the Department of Telecommunication (DoT),” said the source. The lines were allegedly used via a covert cable by Sun TV, a television channel owned by the Marans.

According to the source, a covert cable was used to connect Maran’s residence with the Sun TV office.

The agency had sent a written complaint about the irregularities in its report to the then telecom secretary in 2007, but no action was taken in the absence of requisite sanction by the DoT,Christian Louboutin shoes said the source.

The CBI had reportedly found that the ISDN lines were of the type that are usually procured by commercial enterprises to meet special needs such as video conferencing and transmission of digital data.cartoon wholesale

“The CBI had informed the telecom secretary that except a few officials, no one in the BSNL had known of the installation of the cables, which were used by the TV office,” said the source.Moncler Jacket