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The more debatable point from the historic moment was the reception the President was afforded by the self-described "best fans in baseball." Though Obama was roundly cheered by the All-Star fans, his live presence still didn't attract the applause that George W. Bush did during a taped announcement by the four previous Presidents before the game and some boos could even be heard among the cheers.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) struck a positive tone for Republicans’ chances in 2010, while acknowledging that moderate candidates must be embraced in order to win regions that don’t run as red as his home state. “I think everybody agrees that one thing the Republican Party needs is a fresh face and new blood, and we’ve got, I think, some really promising candidates who’ve stepped up,” Cornyn, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said on C-SPAN’s “Newsmakers” broadcast Sunday. Cornyn argued that recent appointments had left openings for the GOP, including the controversy surrounding Roland Burris (D-Ill.), whom Democratic senators...

Statistics Phenomenon On The Pitch: Often Two Players With The Same Birthday At The World Cup ScienceDaily (Jun. 12, 2008) — The German defender Philipp Lahm and the Portuguese midfield star Maniche were both born on 11. November – and they were both playing in the game for the third place at the World Cup 2006. Anyway, in more than half of the games at the World Cup 2006 at least two persons on the field had the same birthday. That is what Yanina Lyesnyak found out within the scope of her bachelor thesis supervised by Prof. Walter Krämer. And...

One giant pitch for mankind: Astronaut to hurl Yanks' first pitch from spaceBy Caitlin Millat DAILY NEWS WRITER Tuesday, April 15th 2008, 5:21 PM Forget The Rocket. A real astronaut will throw the first pitch at Wednesday night's Yankee game. NASA astronaut Dr. Garrett Reisman will throw the ceremonial pitch from the International Space Station during Wednesday's game against the Red Sox. Broadcast on the stadium's JumboTron screens, it will be the first ceremonial first pitch in Yankee history thrown from space. Reisman, a lifelong Yankee fan, carried a Yankee banner, a cap autographed by George Steinbrenner and a pile...

A town baseball field in Farmington, Connecticut may seem about as far away from the major leagues as you can get. But it's been witness to baseball history recently, reports CBS News correspondent Anthony Mason. The key to throwing a gyroball, says sportswriter Will Carroll, is a football-like spiral spin that's easy to learn but hard to master. Minor league pitcher Steve Palazzolo is learning to throw what some claim is the first new pitch in a generation. It's called the "gyroball." True believers claim it's almost un-hittable. "We know that a curveball curves and a slider slides and a...

6/5/2006 - RADWINYA PALACE COMPLEX, Iraq (AFPN) -- Many Airmen deploy to foreign countries for months, never seeing the people whose lives they affect. They are either hundreds of miles from the conflict or are within the safety of their military compound for their entire tours. But for Airmen at Sather Air Base at Baghdad International Airport, they can finally link local faces to the operation in which they serve. Since September, Airmen from Sather AB have been spending a few days a week visiting the Army’s Civil Military Operations Center, or CMOC. They have touched the lives of thousands...

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger unveiled a proposed $125.6 billion 2006-07 budget Tuesday that hikes spending 7 percent overall for education, transportation and other programs but trims services for the poor. Schwarzenegger's budget depends on a growing economy and $7 billion in carryover from the current fiscal year to cover increased spending. It will maintain or increase the long-term, multibillion-dollar structural deficit, though the governor said he intends to again seek the authority to make midyear budget changes. "This budget continues California on the path of fiscal responsibility and economic recovery," Schwarzenegger said. The spending plan proposes no tax increases...

...I wanted to address the Lifetime series of "The Dirty Girls Social Club" again. First, I should let you all know I haven't heard a peep from anyone at the network since I last posted. I have talked to my co-executive producer, Nely Galan, who talked to an exec at the network who, I am told, told her that they have no problem with me at the repitch meeting. Rather, they just want to meet with everyone but me in order to "bond". Okay. ... Basically, there's a thing that happens in Hollywood. Moneylust. They all want to make money,...

I pick up a copy of the NY Times yesterday, and read an arts brief with the headline "Diversity Still a Problem For Hollywood Writers." ... A few minutes after reading this story, I get a call from my TV agent at ICM, telling me that the new management of Lifetime is not very interested in The Dirty Girls Social Club TV show. That, in fact, they wanted to "kill" it immediately, but that they are willing to listen to a re-pitch. That means that even though Lifetime owns the option for now (meaning I can't do anything with it)...

ATLANTA - His mother at his side, President Bush on Friday sought to rekindle interest in his languishing Social Security restructuring plan, marketing it as part of a "Senior Security" package. Calling his mother, Barbara Bush, "my favorite senior citizen," Bush said that the new prescription drug program under Medicare — which takes effect in January — would benefit nearly every one who signed up. "It's a good deal," Bush said. He also vowed that nothing in his Social Security proposal would reduce benefits for current retirees or those close to retiring. "Seniors have nothing to worry about...What you should...

Girl Pitches Perfect Little League Game Thu May 19, 2005 Katie Brownell is in a Little League all her own. The 11-year-old — the only girl playing in the Oakfield-Alabama Little League program — pitched a perfect game Saturday for her Dodgers. She struck out all 18 batters she faced in the six-inning, 11-0 victory over the Yankees. Oakfield-Alabama officials said they can't remember anybody ever throwing a perfect game in this western New York league between Buffalo and Rochester. In two games on the mound, Katie has struck out 32 of 33 batters. And she's hitting .714 through the...

Two California entrepreneurs are developing an IT services business plan that reads like a CIO's paradise: sharply lower IT prices coupled with easy access to software and engineering outsourcing developers just a short boat ride away. It's the "Code Boat," a plan by David Cook and Roger Green, the founders of SeaCode. Their venture calls for staffing a cruise ship three miles off the Southern California coast with customer IT specialists and then making the ship available to IT headquarters staffers through a short water taxi ride. "We're getting a good reception," said Green, a veteran software developer and executive....

SACRAMENTO (AP) - A communications firm with close ties to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is helping a state contractor persuade department heads to join a struggling procurement program, an official with the contractor said Wednesday. The contractor, Virginia-based CGI-AMS, recently hired Wilson-Miller Communications, which is co-owned by Marty Wilson, a top political adviser to Schwarzenegger and his main fund-raiser. Last May, the Schwarzenegger administration hired CGI-AMS to help the state trim its $4.9 billion purchasing bill. A spokeswoman for CGI-AMS said her company hired Beth Miller, Wilson's partner, to develop a marketing and education program aimed at getting more state officials...

SACRAMENTO – Days before proposing a package of harsh budget cuts, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to highlight his determination to solve California's problems by unveiling his massive plan to "blow up the boxes" of state government. Then he will hold rallies around the state to promote a government-reform package likely to include reorganization of the bureaucracy, elimination of state agencies and streamlining of government operations. Staffers at the Little Hoover Commission, which is required by law to review government reorganization plans, are clearing their calendars for the first week in January, when Schwarzenegger's proposal will land on their desks...

NEW YORK – Mayor Curt Pringle, Anaheim's pitch man for bringing the 2008 Republican National Convention to Orange County, hit a bump in the road Wednesday. The governor didn't show for his party. And neither did the kind of influential Republicans Pringle needs to back the bid of the home of Disneyland to host the GOP in four years. Pringle had a lavish spread laid out late Wednesday afternoon at the Ritz-Carlton in lower Manhattan, a new hotel with a spectacular view of the New York Harbor. Carved meats, Caesar salad, pasta, an open bar and hors d'oeuvres. Beach Boys...

Playing around with images again...

<p>NEW YORK -- When Louisiana is the only other state in the nation with a bond rating as low as California's, it's hard to put a positive spin on the Golden State's faltering financial condition.</p> <p>That didn't stop state Treasurer Phil Angelides and Steve Peace, the new finance director for Gov. Gray Davis' administration, from trying to do just that Thursday at the start of two days of meetings with hard-eyed bond analysts eager to hear how California can wrestle out of its current mess.</p>

<p>WILMINGTON -- Gov. Gray Davis asked Californians on Saturday to volunteer more time and money to causes in their own communities to patch the gaps a $35 billion state budget shortfall could leave in funding for recreation centers, homeless shelters and other services.</p>

<p>LOS ANGELES -- Concerned that the governor's veto of an immigrant driver's license bill has turned off Latino voters, Latino labor leaders and politicians rallied behind Gov. Gray Davis on Thursday in a campaign aimed at energizing Spanish-language television and radio audiences.</p>

<p>The Republican gubernatorial candidate tells the state GOP that this contest will affect the future of the state party and the next presidential race.</p> <p>GARDEN GROVE -- Republican Bill Simon called on his party Saturday to help him prove his skeptics wrong, saying defeating Democratic Gov. Gray Davis on Nov. 5 may determine the next presidential race and the future of California's Republican Party.</p>