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I'll drink to that — how England's Giles rewinds
REPRESENTING your country in sport is always a serious business but that doesn't mean you can't occasionally let your hair down as well. Well, that would seem to be the motto of England spinner Ashley Giles, who has offered a rare insight into life as a touring cricketer in a column he has written for England's Independent newspaper. He has revealed that after the first Test in Brisbane he and two of his teammates, Geraint Jones and Paul Collingwood drowned their sorrows over a few bottles of wine and next day travelled to Adelaide with a huge hangover, his mood not helped by the team being made to sit sweating on the tarmac at Brisbane Airport for an hour without air-conditioning. "You go out in the afternoon with the intention of getting drunk," wrote Giles. "After five days of pressure, worry and not sleeping you just go out and get wasted.
Running game keeps going
PISCATAWAY — With only nine players dressed and an opponent who loved to run and shoot, the last thing the Rutgers women's basketball team needed last night was a faced-paced game.
What they certainly didn't need was overtime. And they didn't get that. What they got was triple overtime. More importantly they got a win, evening their record at 4-4 with a wild 89-84 victory over Mississippi. It was the first triple-overtime game in Rutgers history. Mississippi, which jacked up 92 shots, fell to 7-3. Freshmen were the lead chapter in this never-ending story. Forward Brittany Ray poured in 23 points (3-for-5 3-pointers), backup center Rahidat Junaid came up huge in the overtimes, finishing with 14 points. Classmate Epiphanny Prince scored 22 points and had 10 rebounds.
Firefighters honored for efforts fighting recent downtown blaze
IRONWOOD -- Firefighters often don't receive recognition for their efforts, so it was especially fitting that the city commission honored heroes in the Dec. 15 downtown blaze at a Wednesday night meeting. "It's nice every so often to recognize our employees. We've done some spectacular things," said public safety department director Bob Erspamer. "So many people stepped forward," he said. The fire resulted in the death of Gregory Allan Pecotte, 25, of 102 E. Aurora St. He died in his apartment. Volunteer fire department member Mike Wiemeri spotted the fire from his office, called 911, ran across the street and risked his life under pitch-black conditions to rescue a woman from an upstairs apartment. Rod Passuello of the public safety department helped carry the woman downstairs.
Rescued from the avalanche
My daughter blames me. Every time she misplaces something like her keys, wallet, or camera, she calls to complain that she inherited her forgetfulness from her dad. No argument there; its the price we pay for our brilliance, I remind her. Most recently, it was the stylus from her digital drawing pad. I suggested that every lose-able little thing gets a four-foot length of avalanche cord. Avalanche cord is a lightweight and brightly colored line that winter mountaineers drag behind them in snow-laden backcountry. If they suffer the misfortune of burial, their avalanche cord floats up in the fluid snow, helping searchers find them. Would a bit of avalanche cord help us find that lost TV remote in the snowdrifts of newspapers, clothes, CD cases and dog toys?
Oh, tis the season of wonder, and Im wondering about being buried under our stuff.
Few bold enough to buy and ride goofy-looking bike/scooter hybrid
ST. PAUL - Look ma, no pedals! Also no uncomfortable bike seat, no greasy chain and no gears and derailleur to maintain. That's part of the appeal of the Kickbike, an adult scooter with brakes and a bike-sized front wheel that's being touted as a new form of low-impact exercise, outdoor recreation, competitive sport and self-powered transportation. Kickbikes, invented in Finland about 12 years ago, have caught on enough in Europe that there's a Eurocup competition and world championship Kickbike races. But in the United States, there are only about 1,000 Kickbikers, according to one estimate, a lonely but faithful few who apparently don't mind being the only ones in the neighborhood with a funny new way of getting around. "I can't figure why it hasn't caught on," said Mona Knutson, a Kickbike owner from Duluth.
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