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Sunday, August 26, 2012

Little League World Series 2012: Complete Guide to Tournament Finale

Japan and Tennessee are the two teams in the 2012 Little League World Series to survive pool play and thrive during the knockout round. On Sunday afternoon, they’ll battle in the championship game for the ultimate Little League crown.

Both Japan and Tennessee have had incredible runs to this point, and both have yet to lose in Williamsport. Making it thus far is something to be proud of, but doing so without losing a game is that much more impressive. It wasn’t easy, though.

The championship game on Sunday will be played at Lamade Stadium at 3:00 p.m. ET. The game can be viewed on ABC or online via ESPN3.

Let’s take a deeper look at Japan and Tennessee, how they’ve gotten to this point, which players to watch and who will go back to school as Little League champions.

How They Got Here Japan

Japan has been the most impressive team in Williamsport this year, featuring deep pitching and outstanding hitting. They won their opening-round game easily over Curacao and then defeated Chinese Taipei in a classic duel. A win over Panama clinched them a berth into the international championship game, and they ended up taking on Panama yet again.

The Japanese champions scored early and often against Panama on Saturday, backed by two home runs by their star player, Kotaro Kiyomiya. A strong four innings by Yuta Ishida propelled them to a 10-2 victory to clinch a berth into Sunday’s title game. Hi-res-150732612_crop_exact Rob Carr/Getty Images

As great as the Japan offense has been, the pitching has been better.

They have used six pitchers who have combined for 50 strikeouts and just four walks in 27 innings of work. They’ve allowed just two earned runs in four games and those two came in their most recent matchup. Kiyomiya is expected to take the mound for Japan on Sunday since he hasn’t thrown since their opener.

Tennessee

Tennessee’s path to Sunday’s championship game has been about as crazy as they come. They defeated the Mountain West 12-1 in their opening-round matchup and then took down California 9-6 in a wild game. A 4-3 victory over Texas gave them the opportunity to play for the United States championship on Sunday against California.

If you missed the United States championship game on Saturday, you missed the game of the year. Tennessee took leads, but continued to allow the West champions back into the game. They led California 15-5 going into the last of the sixth inning.

No problem, right? Wrong. California struck for 10 runs in the inning to send the game into extra innings.

Tennessee wouldn’t pout about California’s comeback, though, and they erupted for nine runs in the top of the seventh to take another commanding lead. The Southeast champions wouldn’t allow another comeback as they would take the final 24-16. Hi-res-150739218_crop_exact Rob Carr/Getty Images

Tennessee clearly can hit, but will they be too tired from Saturday’s ridiculous game? That’s a major question going into Sunday and could be the reason that they don’t win it all.

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Neil Armstrong, first man to walk on moon, dead at 82

Neil Armstrong, first man to walk on moon, dead at 82 The astronaut, who radioed the famous "one giant leap" line, died of surgery complications.


Armstrong was a pilot first and foremost, and with the dust flying, craters looming and fuel running low on July 20, 1969, he never wavered. As everyone else on Earth held their breath on that day, his heartbeat never changed as he and co-pilot Buzz Aldrin made the first piloted landing upon the moon.

"Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed," Armstrong informed mission controllers at NASA's Johnson Space Center, with the restrained aplomb that marked his life. Two and a half hours later with the words, "That's one small step for (a) man. One giant leap for mankind," he stepped upon the moon for the first

Armstrong, 82, died Saturday after surgery earlier this month for blocked arteries. A fighter pilot in the Korean War, a test pilot and an engineering professor, he will also be remembered as the astronaut who fulfilled the goal that President John F. Kennedy set out — to put a man on the moon by end of the 1960's — and the first among equals in the pantheon of astronauts from the moon race.



"Neil was among the greatest of American heroes — not just of his time, but of all time," President Obama said in a statement. "When he and his fellow crew members lifted off aboard Apollo 11 in 1969, they carried with them the aspirations of an entire nation."

Armstrong became the symbol of the dream not just of one country but of a whole world to reach beyond our own planet . "Even though we were farther away from earth than two humans had ever been, we were not alone," Aldrin said in a statement on Saturday. "Virtually the entire world took that memorable journey with us. I know I am joined by millions of others in mourning the passing of a true American hero and the best pilot I ever knew."

Armstrong flew dangerous mission attacking bridges during the Korean War, piloted the experimental X-15 rocket plane that ascended to the edges of space and once returned to the office after ejecting from a crashed test lunar lander, famously to complete paperwork.

"A lot of people couldn't figure out Armstrong," the author Tom Wolfe wrote in his novelization of the space race, The Right Stuff. Maybe that was because there was nothing to figure out, he was exactly who he said he was, a pilot and an engineer.

"He had nerves of steel. If anyone ever had the 'Right Stuff', it was Neil Armstrong," says space historian Roger Launius of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. "But he was a dignified, quiet man. He could have had the world at his feet but he went back to teaching, that was what was important to him."

Armstrong taught engineering at University of Cincinnati from 1971 to 1979, after retiring from NASA. He served on the presidential commission that investigated the 1986 loss of the space shuttle Challenger, living quietly in Ohio until recent years, when he spoke out against NASA's current plans to not pursue a return to moon landings and to rely upon private spacecraft.

"He wasn't political in his concerns. He was speaking out from his experience ," say John Logsdon, author of John F. Kennedy and the Race to the Moon. "He avoided the public spotlight as the first man on the moon. But his name will be famous forever. He is gone but his footprints are still up there and will be remembered centuries from now."

Sunday, August 12, 2012

London 2012 Closing Ceremony: Get ready for the greatest after-party

London: Get ready for a star-studded spectacular: Olympic Stadium is being transformed into a giant jukebox of British pop and pizazz for the closing ceremonies of the London Games.

The Spice Girls and The Who are among the acts prepping performances to celebrate the end of the Olympics. Although organizers have tried to the ceremony under wraps, many details have leaked out in the British media, and some of the performers have let the cat out of the bag themselves.

Director David Arnold is calling the production "the greatest after-party in the world."

"If the opening ceremony was the wedding, then we`re the wedding reception," Arnold said.



The Who, George Michael, Muse and Ed Sheeran have all said they will take part in a show that will include performances of 30 British hit singles from the past five decades. The Pet Shop Boys, Annie Lennox and Fatboy Slim will also be on hand to get people dancing.

Do the Olympics really need to end?

As amazing as these Games have been, I wish they didn't have to come to a close. But all good things must run their course, and the 2012 Summer Olympics are no exception. Which means we have one more thing to look forward to before London says goodbye: the closing ceremony.

I may not be one to get excited for opening and closing ceremonies, but it's hard to argue with some British humor and music to close what was an excellent two weeks of competition. From Usain Bolt to (spoiler alert) The Spice Girls, London will leave us with all sorts of interesting performances.

Below, you'll find info on how and when to watch and a whole lot of spoilers as well. Here's to hoping the closing ceremony does the Games that preceded it some justice.

When: Sunday, August 12 at 4:00 p.m. ET.

Television: The closing ceremony will be shown on tape delay on NBC at 7:00 p.m. ET and 7:00 p.m. PT.

Streaming: The closing ceremony will be shown live on NBCOlympics.com at 4:00 p.m. ET.

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Perseid meteor shower 2012 peaks tonight


Perseid meteor shower 2012: Video shows where to look for planetary alignment







Sometimes it is good to have a bit of a heads-up when it comes to stargazing, like in the case of the Perseid meteor shower that peaks in the early morning hours of August 12, otherwise one might miss something of interest. In the case of the Perseids, what one could have missed without a mention might have been the planetary alignment of Venus and Jupiter with the crescent moon. But would you know where they were in the night sky? Science@NASA put together a little video primer that shows you where to look for the planets while viewing the meteors streaking across the sky. All can be seen with the naked eye, but since the planets will appear as mere points of light and relatively motionless against the dark backdrop of space, it might be a plus for the amateur starwatcher to know where they are and just how they line up.



They align first on August 11. As the Perseid meteor shower seems to emanate from the constellation of Perseus (thus the name), the alignment will occur below the central emanation point in the Eastern sky in the early morning, with Venus holding a central position below the center of the dispersal region. Jupiter will be seen further up the sky to the viewer's right, and the crescent moon will finish the alignment in what appears to be roughly a 50 degree angle. The red giant star Aldebaran can be seen as well just slightly below and to the right of Jupiter. On August 12, as the meteor shower peaks, the crescent moon, which is waning, moves to place itself in between the two planets, which, given their distances from Earth, appear to be nearly stationary. On the following night -- and last of the alignment -- the crescent moon moves to a position relatively close to Venus but still between the second planet and the fifth.

2012 Olympic Medal Count

2012 Olympic Medal Count

U.S. Will Try To Extend Medal Count Lead As Closing Ceremonies Approach



The United States extended their lead in the 2012 Olympic medal count Friday and they will look to pull even further ahead of China on Saturday.

With closing ceremonies set for Sunday, Saturday is the last day with a full schedule of events. A total of 32 gold medals will be up for grabs on Sunday, making it one of the busiest days of the 2012 London Olympics. The United States figures to have another strong day.

The U.S. women's basketball team will play France for the gold medal. It would be team USA's fifth straight Olympic gold medal. The United States will also play for gold in women's vollyeball as the Americans will take on Brazil in the gold medal match.

So far, the United States has racked up 26 medals in track & field and that total is likely to grow on Saturday. The men's 4x100m relay, women's 4x400m relay and the men's 5000m are just a few of the events the United States is expected to contend for a medal in.

Here is how the top five looks in the latest medal count:

Following is a list of the top five countries leading the gold medal standings at the end of Day 15 competition with a breakdown by type and total of all medals: Country……..Gold...Silver...Bronze...Total

United States...44…...29…..…29…....102
China………....38…...27…..…22.........87
Great Britain…28…….15…..…19…....62
Russia………..21….…25…...…32…...78
South Korea….13…….7…...….7….....27


Following is a list of the countries which have earned at least 10 medals after the end of Day 15 competition, with a breakdown by type of medal:

Country………..Gold...Silver...Bronze...Total

United States…...44…...29.....…29…....102
China……….…...38…...27…..…22.........87
Russia……..…...21….…25…..…32….…78
Great Britain ......28……15…..…19….…62
Germany………..11……19…..…14….....44
Japan.…….…......6……14…......17….....37
Australia…….…...7……16…...…12…..…35
France……….....10…….11…..…12….….33
South Korea.…...13…....7…...….7….…..27
Italy……….……...8….….7…...….8 .........23
Netherlands….....6….….6…...….8 .........20
Ukraine…..……...5….….4…...….9 …......18
Canada.….…......1….….5…...…12 .........18
Hungary….……...8….….4…...….5 ..........17
Spain…….……...3….….9…...….4...........16
Brazil.……….......3….….4…...….8 ..........15
New Zealand…...5….….3…...….5 ..........13
Iran……….……...4….….5…...….3 .........12
Jamaica….…......4….….4…...….4...........12
Cuba…………….4….….3…...….5..........12
Belarus …..….....3….….4…...….5 ..........12
Kazakhstan….....6….….0…...….4...........10
Poland……….….2……..2……….5…..….10
View more here: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/olympics/2012/medals/tracker/?xid=sbnation

Friday, August 10, 2012

London 2012 soccer: How to play and beat Google (+video)

London 2012 soccer: Challenge your friends to a game on Google's homepage. Google


The Google home page on Friday has another big time-waster to bring down office productivity As the London 2012 Olympic games are coming to a close with only three days left, so does the Olympic banter with our colleagues, friends, and family.

The second week of the Olympics has been exciting watching our favorite teams and athletes represent their home country with pride and compete for the dream of winning gold, silver, and bronze medals. It was exciting when U.S. women's soccer player Alex Morgan's header was the winning goal on Monday with 30 seconds left in the semifinal against Canada.

On Tuesday, down to the last day of gymnastics, watching American Aly Raisman win on floor exercise, as she had dreamed of most of all, was amazing. As Monitor staff writer Mark Sappenfield reports, "Today has been a dream come true," she said. "I'm so glad I got the medal I wanted."

And after Jamaican Usain Bolt won the 100-meters on Sunday, all eyes were on the 200-meter dash Thursday night to see what Bolt would do next. As he crossed the finish line first in 19.32 seconds, he became the first man to win both the 100 and 200 consecutively at the Summer Games.

To celebrate the Olympic games Google-style, today's interactive-doodle features soccer, complete with goal keeper, goal scorer, and scoreboard.



Here's your chance to claim a gold medal all your own,with a link to share your results on the search engine's very own social network, Google+.

The rules are simple - to block the ball from going into the net, there are two possible ways to do so:

1.) Use the left and right arrow keys to move your keeper from side to side. To catch a high ball, press the space bar.

2.) Sliding the mouse side-to-side moves the goal keeper, click and you will jump to make that save.

As in a real-live soccer match, timing is everything.

Each time you miss the ball an X will appear on the top left of the screen, your score is on the top right, if you get 3 X's the game is over.

If the boss still isn't looking, then it's time for a rematch.