jimblr.com

Updated Sat. May. 24 2008 11:06 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
A skydiver from France is hoping to break the sound barrier and a world record with a 40-kilometre free fall planned for early Monday morning.
Launching from the airport in North Battleford, Sask., Michel Fournier will make his third attempt in 15 years to make the 10-minute jump to Earth from the edge of outer space.
If successful, it will break the world record for free-falling, set by Col. Joseph Kittinger in 1960 with 102,800 feet, or about 31.3 kilometres.
Fournier, who came to Canada when France would not allow him to attempt his jump, has a group of 50 technicians who have helped devise his plan.
Although it’s a nerve-wracking project, members of his team say Fournier, 64, is attracted to the challenge and excitement and wholly focused on the goal at hand.
“Michel’s motivation is totally passion,” the team’s communications manager, Francine Lecompte-Gittins, told CTV News. “It’s like love at first sight.”
If Fournier is successful, he will break the speed of sound on his descent. There are many safety precautions his crew must consider, particularly regarding the delicate helium balloon that will take him to the starting point of his fall, said Ricardo Correa, his launch director.
“It’s really cold and we can have really high-speed winds,” Correa told CTV News. “That’s the jet stream. It can go to 180 kilometres per hour. That’s the really dangerous part because it can tear the balloon.”
Fournier’s ascent will take almost three hours. He will be in a capsule attached to the balloon, wearing an airtight suit. When he reaches the beginning of space, he will lean forward — being careful not to twist and incite a potentially suffocating spin — and free fall most of the way down.

ctv.ca

Paris (ChattahBox) - Michel Fournier. a 64-year old retired French army officer will attempt to break the current world-record for a skydive when he throws himself off a balloon 130,000 feet above the Earth.
Fournier is going to be taking a helium-powered balloon 130,000 feet above the Earth, where the temperatures may hit -148 degrees Fahrenheit, or -100 degrees Celsius.
He will be wearing a specially-designed pressurized suit to withstand these extreme temperatures.
The jump will last for 15-minutes, with Fournier possibly breaking four world records.
He could break the record for the fastest free fall, longest free fall, highest jump, and highest altitude reached by a man in a balloon if he pulls it all off.
Weather pushed the jump back from 6 a.m. ET to 10 a.m. ET on Monday due to winds.
The current record for a high jump is by Col. Joseph Kittinger from the U.S. Air Force, who jumped from 101,700 feet on August 16, 1950.

chattahbox.com

We’ve heard the concern, often voiced among Democrats over the past few weeks, that the superdelegates would be risking a bloodbath in the party if they overturn the verdict of the voters and give the nomination to Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama.
This is certainly true. Yet information bleeds into the picture now to suggest that something like the opposite is also true. That is, it seems pretty clear that elite Democrats (of the sort the superdelegates tend to be) are probably slightly more pro-Obama on average than rank-and-file Democrats and want a quicker resolution to the race.
I’m looking at two pieces of information here - first, today’s New York Times poll showing that Democrats consider Obama’s nomination far less likely than they did a month ago; second, the continuing flow of superdelegates into Obama’s column, despite the fact that he’s been losing and she’s been winning.
The Times’s results can be interpreted in a range of ways I suppose, but I interpret them like this: Democrats are less certain about Obama than they were a month ago and are pretty well persuaded that the nomination isn’t going to be decided until the convention in late August (a whopping 68% say so). And, importantly, they’re divided on whether this is a bad thing. A substantial 43% say it would hurt the party, but 50% say it would either help (22%; who are these people?!) or have no effect (28%).
Now. I’d bet that if the Times had been able to poll elite Democrats on these questions - superdelegates, insiders, fixers and so on - we’d get a remarkably different set of numbers. A smaller percentage would think the fight would last until the convention, and a much, much higher percentage would say that a protracted battle would hurt the party.

commentisfree.guardian.co.uk

LAS VEGAS - Enzo Calzaghe, proud father and trainer, presented 43-year-old Bernard Hopkins with a cane Wednesday during the start of the final press conference for the match between Hopkins and Joe Calzaghe at Planet Hollywood Casino.
Antonio Tarver was the last person to present Hopkins with an age-related prop (a rocking chair) at a press conference, and after the fight, Tarver needed it more than Hopkins. Hopkins, moving up from middleweight to light heavyweight, bounced Tarver all over the ring on the way to a lopsided decision.
Calzaghe (44-0, 32 KOs), a super middleweight menace who has held his championship for 11 years, is no Tarver. But he and his father shouldn’t count on Hopkins acting his age when he climbs into the ring for the 12-round light heavyweight match Saturday night at 9:45 at the Thomas & Mack Center on HBO.
It’s the Ageless Wonder vs. the Welsh Wonder. Combined, they have successfully defended their titles 40 times over a 20-year span - Hopkins at middleweight and Calzaghe at super middleweight.
Hopkins has talked up his five-year stint in a Pennsylvania prison as giving him an edge if the going gets tough in the ring.
“Hopkins went to prison to make him hard,” Calzaghe said. “To me that’s a sign of weakness. I was born hard. He keeps talking about prison. Big deal. I’ve knocked out sparring partners. In the end you’re going to see a grown man cry.”
Hopkins (48-4-1, 32 KOs) has assembled a dream team to help him prepare for this match. Sports fitness guru Mackie Shilstone is handling his conditioning with trainers John David Jackson, Nazim Richardson and Freddie Roach working on ring strategy.
“A lot of times when you’re working with a fighter one-on-one you can’t step back and see if they’ve slipped,” Richardson said. “I was able to sit back and watch to see if there were any kinks in his armor. There are no kinks in his armor. Bernard Hopkins is an exceptional champion.”

nydailynews.com

Duke athletics director Joe Alleva will interview for the same position at Louisiana State University on Wednesday, the Baton Rouge school has confirmed.
Alleva is one of six candidates LSU is considering.
"He was recommended to us by our search consultants, Parker Executive Search of Atlanta," Jack Weiss, the chair of the search committee and the chancellor of the LSU school of law, wrote in an email to WRAL. "He will interview here in Baton Rouge [Wednesday] along with five other applicants.
"After the interviews, the search committee plans to make its recommendation to Chancellor William Jenkins of those applicants we consider most highly qualified. We anticipate making our recommendation tomorrow at the conclusion of the interviews.
"Chancellor Jenkins will select the new AD with the concurrence of LSU System President John Lombardi and the LSU Board of Supervisors. It is my expectation that the final selection will take place before the end of the week."
The others are LSU Senior Associate Athletic Directors Verge Ausberry and Herb Vincent; Craig Angelos, athletic director at Florida Atlantic; Rob Mullins, deputy athletic director at Kentucky; and Dave Hart Jr., former athletic director at Florida State.
Hart is also a former athletics director at East Carolina.
LSU is looking to replace Skip Bertman, who will retire in June and then serve in a fundraising capacity.
Alleva, in a statement released by Duke, said, "I have been contacted by a representative of Louisiana State University regarding its vacant Athletics Director position and am honored to be considered for such a prestigious position. At this point, the conversations have been limited and exploratory in nature. I plan to meet with LSU officials soon to determine if interest in the position remains mutual."
Alleva’s name had come up in the media when Miami was searching for a new athletics director, but Alleva said through a Duke spokesman he had not been contacted at the time.

wral.com

THE SETTLERS Inn Hastings Valley Vikings will use tomorrow’s memorial match at Lake Cathie as a measuring stick for the impending season.
Set to play Coffs Harbour Reds in the opening round on April 12, the Vikings are sure to benefit from the Stuart Lawrence Memorial Challenge.
It is an annual match against Lismore City in honour of former player Stuart Lawrence who died in 2001.
“We have to create benchmarks, and take appropriate action in plotting out our course and goals for 2008,” coach Paul Dollison said.
Dollison has been working closely with the club’s new conditioner and sports trainer Louise Pitt to achieve the Viking’s pre-season goals.
With the conclusion of the MNC representative season, coach Tonkin has been impressed by the early form of the 12 Vikings who represented at zone level.
The combination of Vikings halves Chris Dolden and Jeremy McKinnon during the representative program is sure to be a plus for the Vikings squad going into tomorrow’s charity match.
With Vikings backing up from the MNC U19s program, the juniors are looking odds on to defend their ‘07 premiership and will again provide much needed support to their senior counterparts.
The hot form of Joe Tonkin, Mitch Robinson, Jake Cooper, Steve Riley, Luke Gunter, Peter Couchman, Matt Purdy, Sam Priddis, Jake Owen and James Pinkerton is sure to challenge their Lismore rivals.
Tonkin will reward such performances and will look to encourage players to use their natural abilities.
“It is important to stay structured, but it also imperative that this structure does not hinder a players natural ability,” Tonkin explained.
The Vikings recently triumphed against a determined Muswellbrook outfit at Port Macquarie’s Regional Sports Stadium. New recruits Gil Hopley from Bourke, Paul Hardy from Ballina and Tawhai Carter stood out.
Two games ? U18s first grade ? will be played , with the action beginning at 1.45pm at the Lake Cathie Sports Ground. Full canteen and bar facilities will be available.

portmacquarie.yourguide.com.au

I’ve been dreading this movie since I first heard of it, but something about this leaked image of Snake-Eyes makes me think it’ll be alright.
I mean, look at him. That’s Snake-Eyes. When I got this in my inbox, I knew who it was before I read the email. This is Snake-Eyes. This is awesome, please don’t let them muck it up.
I’m worried because the plot’s odd (the Real American Hero’s based out of Belgium), and Cobra Commander is in his 20s (really) but the team behind it is solid, so I remain optimistic. Hopefully I’m as pleasantly surprised as I was with Transformers, but I refuse to hold my breath.
Thanks goes to Evan for the tip!
WTF they’re making a GI joe movie? Whats up with all the revival of 80’s hits. What next The terriorism of Care bears?
“Global Integrated Joint Operating Entity” …almost a deal breaker for me on the title alone.
Although I read today they will be based in the US after all as opposed to Belgium, which almost gets my hopes up that this won’t be too terrible.
Contest: Win this Geeks.com 2GB hunk of garbage
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Exclusive first look: Snake-Eyes from the forthcoming G.I. Joe movie!

crunchgear.com

This reunion is going to be GREAT! And in Omaha… we couldn’t have asked for anything better, and Nebraska is about to host some big-time NBA talent. Go STATE!!
“Texas A&M switched free throw shooters at the end of the KSU game last night. On the rebound of the last Beasley shot, Joe Jones of TAM was fouled, Jones a 67.7% FT shooter was replaced by Josh Carter a 82.5% shooter. Carter indicated that he intentionally stepped to the FT line hoping to fool the officials. I have come to expect this kind of carelessness & unprofessionalism from college bball refs, but I am disappointed that our coaching staff didnt catch the trick. Carter’s 2 made free throws put us down 3 on the last possession forcing us to go for three.” - from fan site
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Frank Martin sat on a black four-legged mini-stool outside the KSU locker room in the Sprint Center. With both feet flat on the floor, forearms on his knees, and holding a Diet Dr. Pepper can, he had the look of one losing a puppy.
He was feeling the disappointment of his K-State being bounced as a No. 3 seed in the quarter-final round of the Big 12 Championships by Texas A&M, 63-60. It was an Aggie team that the Wildcats had mauled by 21 points just two months ago.

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Philly.com’s Jonathan Tannenwald caught up with famed ESPN.com bracketologist and St. Joseph’s radio analyst Joe Lunardi to get his thoughts on the prospects for Philadelphia teams making the NCAA Tournament.
Lunardi also offers some insights into what teams across the country are rising and falling as Selection Sunday approaches.
The conversation was recorded at halftime of the Charlotte-Temple semifinal in the Atlantic 10 Tournament. The Owls went on to beat the 49ers and advance to Sunday’s championship game against St. Joe’s.
Check out Soft Pretzel Logic, Philly.com’s college sports blog, for live blogging and more multimedia from Atlantic City.

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