That's a big thing for us the whole series

Maybe it was the hubris an athlete must possess in order to be successful at the highest level of his sport. Maybe it the unshakable belief an athlete louis vuitton sunglass has in a team that finished the regular season with an Eastern Conference-best 51 wins and 109 points. Or maybe it was simply a case of an athlete spitting into the wind. “It’s pretty evident that we’re clicking on all cylinders,” New York Rangers center Mike Rupp said following his team’s abbreviated practice Tuesday afternoon at Madison Square Garden in preparation for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Rangers are tied with the New Jersey Devils at two games apiece in the now best-of-three series. The Devils won a nasty Game 4, 4-1, Monday night at the Prudential Center. Game 5 is at the Garden Wednesday night. “We're focused on a three-game series and we've got two of those games at home. So we're confident in that. We faced that the first two rounds. So we're going to go at [it] the same way,” Rupp said. “We just have to get to our game. We play a particular way and we have that swagger to our game.” Which had not been apparent during the first four games. New Jersey has outplayed the Rangers for 190 of the series’ 240 minutes, holding a 114-104 advantage in shots. Yet the teams are deadlocked because Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist has been the best player on the ice in the series. Lundqvist has two shutouts in the four games along with a .947 save percentage and a goals against average of 1.50. “We felt we could score. I know we scored during the season against him. He's a very good goalie and they defend very well. We knew it wasn't going to be easy, but I don't think there was any point where we didn't feel we could score,” Devils coach Pete DeBoer lv men bag said during a conference call with reporters Tuesday. New Jersey scored three goals against Lundqvist in Games 2 and 4. Zach Parise added an empty-net goal with 1:29 left in Monday night with New York trailing by two goals. Lundqvist routinely spoke of finding a mental balance throughout the regular season, a point he echoed once again Tuesday. “You get more and more excited each game and you know you're getting closer to where you want to be. But at the same time there's a lot of work ahead of us,” Lundqvist said. “My approach doesn't change. I try to go into every game the same way. “You want to try to get a balance there where you don't get too high or too low between games or during the game,” Lundqvist continued. “You have to approach it the same way. You make concessions there. Of course you feel the pressure, but you don't want to put too much pressure on yourself. You see it as very challenging, a great opportunity in regards to the pressure.” The goaltender may not put any additional pressure upon himself during this playoff run. It would greatly aid his cause if his teammates would begin to pressure the Devils in the same fashion that New Jersey has pressured the Rangers in the first four games. Lundqvist’s counterpart, Martin Brodeur, has not been as consistently busy as the Rangers’ netminder but he has been very strong. Brodeur has a 1.75 GAA and .931 save percentage, including highlight-reel thefts on Marian Gaborik in Game 2 and Ryan Callahan in Game 3. The reason Brodeur has not had stress-intensive nights in the series is due to his team having jumped out to strong starts against an unusually passive Rangers squad. “We have to concentrate on our start. That's a big thing for us the whole series," Callahan said. "I don't think we started games well. We've addressed that and we've realized that we need to be better at the beginning of the game. Especially the way they come out, how hard they come at you. That's something we need to be better with. “It has to do with them coming hard at us, we have white louis vuitton bag to control that. Getting on our forecheck, that's where we're successful. We need to keep rolling it over and holding onto some pucks and if we do that we'll get our confidence in the first and be going [well].”

It's good to face your problems

Eighteen wins in a row, and eight more victories to go. That says it all about how the San Antonio Spurs lv sunglasses 2012 cost are steamrolling through these playoffs at a pace that is flirting with NBA history, even if they are saying as little about it as possible. "We don't have any secret. We don't even think about it," Spurs guard Tony Parker said. There's plenty for everyone else to mull. Like whether these Spurs -- some 13 years after winning their first of four championships -- actually might be the best version yet as they get ready for their first Western Conference finals since 2008. They'll play either the Los Angeles Lakers or Oklahoma City. If the Thunder wins Monday night, Game 1 will be Sunday in San Antonio. Sweeping the Clippers last weekend put San Antonio's winning streak among the 10 longest in league history -- tied for fifth along with Michael Jordan's 72-win Chicago Bulls in 1996, among others. Eighteen straight victories is a franchise record, and getting to 19 would tie the 2001 Lakers for the record of longest winning streak kept alive in the postseason. Yet with the Spurs facing another weeklong break until their next series -- just as they had after sweeping Utah in the first round -- Parker said before leaving Los Angeles that he won't pass the time weighing where this run is starting to stack up in the Tim Duncan era. "Until we go all the way, I can't compare this what is the best louis vuitton bag for men team," Parker said. Duncan, who's averaging 17.6 points and nine rebounds in the playoffs, at least acknowledged getting the same vibe as he felt during championship runs in 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007. But that's as much as he's willing to say. "It feels a lot like some of the other championship teams. In saying that, we haven't done anything yet," Duncan said. "We've won two rounds. We haven't done anything so you can't qualify, or classify our team as anything other than that we've gotten this far." That's not entirely true: these Spurs can be classified as the higher-scoring, better-shooting and more balanced than in any of their four championship seasons. San Antonio is the only playoff team averaging more than 100 points per game (102.5), and unlike in their previous championship runs, Duncan, Parker and Manu Ginobili aren't burdened with more than half the scoring load. The Big Three are so far responsible for 46 percent of San Antonio's playoff points. In 2007 and 2005, they accounted for at least 62 percent. "We're a deeper team," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "It's good to face your problems. We knew we had to get younger. Kawhi (Leonard) and (Danny) Green made us a lot younger. It's been a process these last couple of years to get these younger kids. With any championship, we have never gone into a playoff thinking we can get it done. We go in with appropriate fear. " Yet any fear so far has seemed to come from the opposing locker room. Jazz forward Al Jefferson said he didn't see anyone beating the Spurs during their first-round series, which wasn't even finished at the time. The Clippers confronted the reality of successfully harassing Parker into his lowest-scoring playoff game since 2003 in Game 1, only to get burned with a franchise-record 3-point barrage by the rest of the Spurs. Forward Stephen Jackson, who won with the Spurs in 2003 and rejoined them at the trade deadline this season, said despite the changes the energy feels the same. "This year reminds me of when I was here last time," he said. Duncan isn't getting that specific. He just says the white louis vuitton handbags Spurs have a chance. "We're excited about the opportunity now," Duncan said. "We'll see what happens."

It's a contagious thing that gets not just them back

"The Avengers" continues to muscle out everything else Hollywood throws at it, easily sinking naval rival "Battleship" and other new releases. With $55.1 million domestically, Disney's superhero discount louis vuitton shoes women sensation remained No. 1 for a third-straight weekend and took in more than the three big newcomers combined. Overseas, "The Avengers" added an additional $56 million. The film is approaching the $1.2 billion mark worldwide, totaling $457.1 million domestically and $723.3 million internationally. "'The Avengers' is dominating the marketplace so profoundly that the newcomers are having a tough time breaking in now," said Paul Dergarabedian, analyst for box-office tracker Hollywood.com. Universal's "Battleship" opened a distant No. 2 with $25.4 million domestically, well below industry expectations. But the board-game adaptation starring Liam Neeson, Taylor Kitsch and Rihanna already has grossed $226.8 million overseas since launching in April, giving it a worldwide total of $252.1 million. "I would be glad to be No. 2 if we opened to a better number. But given the presence of an absolute juggernaut in the marketplace, there's nothing you can do," said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal. "Not to have a shot at being No. 1 this weekend is disappointing. But it's a challenge with 'Avengers' out there." Sacha Baron Cohen's comedy "The Dictator," in which he plays a tyrannical third-world leader, debuted in third-place with $17.4 million for the weekend. Since opening Wednesday, the Paramount release has taken in $24.5 million. "The Dictator" opened with $30.3 million in 29 overseas markets, giving it a worldwide haul of $54.8 million. Paramount executives said they were happy with that start, but even a movie aiming for laughs had some trouble making in-roads against "The Avengers." "This is a full-out comedy, very different than 'Avengers.' But when you've got a movie that big, it just absolutely sucks up the marketplace," said Anthony Marcoly, head of international distribution for Paramount. "But it's also good for the entire business. Hopefully, those that see 'Avengers' will go, 'Hey, I want to see another movie,' and hopefully, they'll think of our movie as a next choice." Johnny Depp and Tim Burton's vampire romp "Dark popular bracelets 2012 Shadows," which opened in second-place a week earlier, slipped to No. 4 with $12.8 million. The Warner Bros. release lifted its domestic total to $50.9 million, a weak result compared to the previous Depp-Burton blockbusters "Alice in Wonderland" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." Lionsgate's pregnancy comedy "What to Expect When You're Expecting," featuring Cameron Diaz and Jennifer Lopez, premiered at No. 5 with $10.5 million. "The Avengers" and the newcomers were unable to maintain Hollywood's sizzling start to the summer season. Overall domestic revenues totaled $144 million, down 14 percent from the same weekend last year, when "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" opened with $90.2 million, according to Hollywood.com. At $1.18 billion worldwide, "The Avengers" climbed to the No. 4 spot on the all-time charts, trailing only "Avatar" ($2.8 billion), "Titanic" ($2.2 billion) and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" ($1.3 billion). Domestically, "The Avengers" at $457.1 million is No. 6 all-time but will quickly pass "Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace" ($474.5 million) and the original "Star Wars" ($460.9 million) to take the No. 4 spot. "Avatar" is No. 1 domestically at $760.5 million, followed by "Titanic" at $658.5 million and "The Dark Knight" at $533.3 million. Factoring in today's higher admission prices, many older movies sold more tickets than "The Avengers," which also has a price advantage because of the extra few dollars it costs to see the 3-D version. But the Marvel Comics superhero ensemble has proved an overwhelming lure, drawing in all audience segments and packing in some fans who are seeing it over and over. "It's a contagious thing that gets not just them back, but their friends back to see it again," said Dave Hollis, head of distribution for Disney. "I'm always happy to see a white louis vuitton handbags friendly competition among friends to see who can see the movie the most times." Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

Though they have impressive weapons and the resources to make the journey to Earth

"Battleship"is not the first major motion picture www.designerburberyoutlet.com to be based on a board game — who could forget 1985's benighted "Clue"? — but it is surely the most expensive. With every superhero more celebrated than Amazing-Man or the Chameleon already spoken for (ditto for hot toys like Transformers), Hollywood has fallen back on popular games as likely fodder for action epics. If "Scrabble: The Movie" or "Qwirkle or Death" appears on a future marquee, don't say you weren't warned. As its north-of-$200-million budget indicates, "Battleship" has been expanded considerably from its origins as a pre-World War I pencil and paper game to include a major alien invasion that puts the very fate of the human race at stake. Only the stalwartU.S. Navy stands in the way of what a nervous bureaucrat calls "an extinction event." This may sound thrilling, but it's not. The infusion of all that cash notwithstanding, "Battleship" plays ordinary and pedestrian because it's always been a job for hire, never anyone's passion. Powerhouse toymaker Hasbro ordered up a movie based on one of its most popular games and everyone, from director Peter Berg and Burberry handbags outlet, cheap burberry bags on sale, 60% off screenwriters Jon Hoeber and Erich Hoeber on down, tried as hard as they could to fulfill the order. But that's hardly a recipe for excitement. The only person avid about anything was Berg, the son of a naval historian whose unbounded enthusiasm for all thingsU.S. Navyled to exceptional cooperation from that branch of the military. That zeal, however, also unbalances the film, turning it into something of an earnest, two-hour infomercial that should do wonders for naval recruiting if not civilian entertainment. The invading aliens start off like gangbusters, but they end up resembling the Washington Generals of yore, fated to lose to the Harlem Globetrotters night after hopeless night. It takes a full half hour into this overly long film before those aliens hit the screen. Until then, "Battleship" is under the illusion that its characters are completely fascinating, and it takes its time introducing us to the dramatis personae. Front and center is Taylor Kitsch (best known for his role in Berg's TV hit "Friday Night Lights") playing Alex Hopper, a stubborn and hot-headed young man who's made a habit of screwing up his life. While his straight-arrow brother Stone Hopper (Alexander Skarsgård) is making a career in the Navy, Alex is doing things like breaking into a closed convenience store to procure a chicken burrito to impress a hot woman he's just met in a bar. Really. Said woman, Sam Shane (Brooklyn Decker), just happens to be the daughter of Adm. Shane (the reliably gruff Liam Neeson), the man in charge of the entire Pacific fleet. Before you can say "anchors aweigh," Alex not only has joined the Navy, but he's also somehow become a lieutenant louis vuitton whom Sam has agreed to marry, with a catch: Alex, still a screwup, has to get the admiral to agree to the match. While these dubious shenanigans are going on, something called the Beacon Project is playing out in the background. NASA has been beaming a signal to the universe in an attempt to make contact with presumably friendly aliens. An outerspace race does get the signal and uses it to find its way to Earth, but these aliens are anything but friendly. In fact, these other-worldly types from Planet G leave no doubt as to their intentions by launching weapons that look like enormous fiery ball bearings intent on shredding everything in sight. Right in their line of fire are the Pearl Harbor-based Pacific fleet vessels that the Stone boys (as well as gunner Cora Raikes, played in a pleasantly feisty debut by Rihanna) call home. Will an alien invasion that puts all of humanity at risk be enough to get Alex to finally stop screwing up? "Battleship" considers this an open question. Though they have impressive weapons and the resources to make the journey to Earth, these humanoid aliens are as ungainly as the movie itself, clunking around in awkward, protective suits. Once revealed, their prominent chin whiskers make them look like surly Amish farmers upset at a barn-raising gone wrong. Amish or not, in a logical world, these folks are so technologically superior that the Earth would be toast. But of course a way has to be found to give humanity a louis vuitton scarves fighting chance, a way that turns out to be fully in keeping with Berg's sentimentality about the Navy. It's all very earnest, but it's not a whole lot of fun.

She heads out on a North American tour in July

When news of Nick Stahl's disappearance broke out, there are concerns that drugs may be involved. The Los Angeles Police Department are trying to keep the case private, but Detective Carmine Sasso of the Adult Missing Persons Unit did say that the 32-year-old actor is indeed louis vuitton women sneakers dealing with some personal issues. To PEOPLE, Detective Sasso shared that the "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" star "has got some personal issues that he's trying to work through. The family asks that this be kept very low-key, and that affects our ability to successfully solve these cases." He added, "We are tracking down a few leads and using internal sources with information we have to see if we can quickly locate him." On the possible involvement of drugs, the detective commented, "In general, [this case] is similar to a lot of our adult missing persons cases. Of the 14,000 missing persons cases I've handled over the past four years, there's a very good percentage of those involving drug issues and a separation from families. The vast majority of them have been successfully solved. Hopefully this one will be too." Stahl was reported missing by his wife Roseann on Monday, May 14 morning. Words on the street are, the former child actor was last seen in Los Angeles' run-down Skid Row district on May 9. His wife has expressed concern about him possibly using drugs in court papers she filed back in February regarding their visitation agreement over their 2-year-old daughter, Marlo Murphy. Jennifer Lopez is casting doubt on whether she will return to "American Idol" next year as she juggles motherhood with a comeback in both her pop music and acting careers. Lopez, who has young twins, told talk show host Ellen DeGeneres this week that she wasn't sure about renewing her contract as a judge on the TV singing contest for a third year. And on Wednesday, sources close to the singer told E! News that she was "just too busy" and was planning on calling an end to her time on "American Idol". "Now this is my second year - I don't know if I can go for a third year. I miss doing other things. It really does lock you down, which was nice the first year with the babies being three, but now they're getting more mobile, they're about to go into school ... So I just don't know," Lopez told DeGeneres on Tuesday. Fox television, which airs the popular show, declined to comment. But "Idol" executive producer Nigel Lythgoe told celebrity website TMZ that the show wanted her back. Lopez made similar noises last year before signing again for "Idol", which has revived her career and boosted her celebrity. Her public misgivings follow the signing this week of Britney Spears to the U.S. version of "The X Factor" for a reported $15 million a year - one of the highest paydays for TV celebrity judges. But Forbes on Wednesday named "On the Floor" singer Lopez the most powerful celebrity in the world, citing her earnings from multiple endorsements, record sales and social media buzz. She heads out on a North American tour in July and August with Latin singer Enrique Iglesias. She also has three movies coming out in the next 12 months, including comedy "What to Expect When You Are Expecting" this week. Fox executives told reporters earlier this week that they were happy with the three "American Idol" judges - Lopez, Steven Tyler, and Randy Jackson. But they said there were would be some "creative suits for men 2012 reinvigoration" for next year's 12th season after a bigger than expected drop off in viewers that has taken the audience to under 20 million this year.

They should know that Iranian nation will not take a single

The negotiating stance from Iranian officials never varies: The Islamic Republic will not give up its capabilities to make nuclear fuel. But embedded in the messages are meanings that reach beyond Tehran's talks with world powers. It points to the struggles within Iran's louis vuitton women sneakers ruling system as it readies for the next round of talks scheduled to begin next week in Baghdad. Iran's Islamic leadership — which crushed an opposition groundswell nearly three years ago and later swatted back a power grab by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad — has now staked its political credibility on its ability to resist Western sanctions and hold firm to its rights under U.N. treaties to enrich uranium. Any concessions — either too great or too fast — could risk internal rifts within Iran's power structure. And that could draw powerful forces into the mix, including the Revolutionary Guard that acts as defender of the theocracy and overseer of the nuclear program. As talks deepen, so do the political considerations for an Islamic establishment that cannot afford to appear to come away empty handed. "Insisting on a halt to enrichment is a deal breaker," said Tehran-based political analyst Behrooz Shojaei. "It is Iran's red line." This means smaller targets are likely necessary to keep dialogue alive after the Baghdad session next Wednesday between Iran and the six-nation group comprising the permanent U.N. Security Council members plus Germany. A possible steppingstone goal for the U.S. and allies is to seek to halt Iran's production of uranium enriched to 20 percent levels, the highest-grade material acknowledged by Tehran. The enrichment level is far above what's needed for Iran's lone energy-producing reactor, but it is appropriate for use in medical research. It also could be boosted to weapons-grade strength in a matter of months. Iran insists it has no interest in developing atomic weapons, but it sees its uranium labs as a mainstay of its technological advances that include long-range missiles and an aerospace program that has promised another satellite launch this month. There still could be some room, men suits 2012 however, for bargaining. Iran has signaled it could consider ending the 20 percent enrichment. In return, though, it wants Washington and Europe to ease some of the most painful new sanctions, including those hitting Iran's oil exports and its access to international banking networks. Such demands would directly test the West's flexibility. Previously, Washington and European allies have insisted that Iran must take the first step and suspend all uranium enrichment as required by several U.N. Security Council resolutions. They also are under pressure from Israel to avoid protracted give-and-take negotiations. Last week, the European Union's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton met with Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to discuss the upcoming talks. Later, Ashton said she hoped for "concrete" results in Baghdad. But the semiofficial Fars news agency quoted Gen. Yadollah Javani, a Revolutionary Guard adviser, as saying it's too early to be optimistic. "Iran does not trust the West," he said. "The West should build the trust in the long run." Netanyahu derided the opening round of talks last month in Istanbul, mocking them as a "freebie" that gave Iran international cover to continue enriching uranium. Iran, in turn, has accused Israel of trying to destroy the negotiations as pretext to a possible military strike. "All the sides are moving with extreme caution," said Mustafa Alani, a regional affairs analyst at the Gulf Research Center based in Geneva. "It seems no one wants to give too much or say too much at this stage. But also no one wants to be portrayed as the side that killed the talks." This is the tricky ground being navigated by Iran. Its leaders are desperate to avoid any impression burberry handbags of caving under the Western economic squeeze. Any serious rollbacks — without Western concessions in return — could open room for hard-liners to take pot shots at the ruling clerics. It also could put the Revolutionary Guard in the awkward position of defending the Islamic system against ultra-nationalists who normally side with the Guard. The timing, too, brings added concerns for Iran. Ahmadinejad is moving into his last year in office and the ruling theocracy is closely watching for any signs of an opposition resurgence before next year's elections. It took months for the Revolutionary Guard to snuff out unprecedented street protests after Ahmadinejad's disputed re-election in June 2009. Then the ruling system turned against Ahmadinejad last year after he tried to challenge the authority of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. "Too much political capital has been invested in the nuclear program for ... Khamenei to simply slink away and retreat," wrote Iranian affairs analyst Afshin Molavi in Tuesday's edition of The National newspaper in Abu Dhabi. Even after the feuds with Khamenei, Ahmadinejad has been a loyal advocate to Iran's negotiating positions at the talks. "If the Westerners change their attitudes and pay respect to the Iranian nation, they will be treated respectfully by Iranians, in return," Ahmadinejad said Monday during a tour of eastern Iran. He added: "They should know that Iranian nation will not take a single step back from their basic rights" — a clear reference to uranium enrichment. In Vienna, envoys from Iran and the U.N. nuclear agency held a second day of talks over suspicions that Tehran might have tested atomic arms technology at a military site. Iran denies the claims. The International Atomic Energy Agency has sought access to the Parchin base for more than four years. It also wants to interview scientists and review documents. The IAEA believes Iran in 2003 ran explosive tests needed to set off a nuclear charge. The suspected blasts took place inside a pressure chamber, the agency said. A senior diplomat familiar with the IAEA burberry handbags outlet probe says Iran has never said whether the chamber existed. A computer-generated drawing provided to The Associated Press by a nation critical of Iran's nuclear program shows such a structure. The official who shared it said the drawing was based on information from someone who saw the chamber. Iranian envoy Ali Asghar Soltanieh told reporters in Vienna "everything is on the right track." He described the atmosphere as "very constructive."

Fox on Monday announced what we’ve all known for weeks

Howard Stern was tough on some of the contestants on Monday's season premiere of "America's Got Talent." And the viewers seemed to crave it. "I forgot how much I love Howard Stern," louis vuitton sunglasses tweeted @OptiMISS_Prime. "Never was a fan of Howard Stern but gotta say I'm loving him on the show," added @ShammyCW, expressing a point of view widely shared on Twitter. Stern, the Sirius XM shock jock famed for his naughty ways, replaced Piers Morgan as the third judge on the show, which has for years been among summer's top-rated. The other judges are Sharon Osbourne and Howie Mandel. Before the premiere, speculation had centered on whether Stern's R-rated sensibility - porn stars and flatulence are among his favorite obsessions - would fit with a prime time broadcast talent show. Based on the initial reaction, viewers seem to think so. On Monday's show, Stern was sometimes surprisingly warm, at one point climbing onstage to dance with Simply Sergio, a singer whose wobbly audition was redeemed by an impromptu version of "God Bless America." But he was also at times brutal. When one unfortunate contestant reported louis vuitton earrings this his parents had passed away, Stern cracked: "Did they die of embarrassment?" Not everyone is offering the thumbs-up, of course. "Reading a pile of positive laudatory reviews of Howard Stern on America's Got Talent tonight," tweeted @mediageek. "Did we see the same show?" But that was a minority opinion. Many viewers seemed to believe that NBC had succeeded in reinvigorating the show. "Adding Howard Stern to #AGT seems to have been the burberry handbags outlet best thing @NBC has done this year," tweeted @TheJustinColman. What did you think of Stern on "AGT"? It’s official! Fox on Monday announced what we’ve all known for weeks: Britney Spears will be a judge on season two of The X Factor. The network made a big to-do about it, trotting out (like so much overpaid cattle) Brit, 30, and a second hire, multitalented youngster Demi Lovato, 19. They will join show czar Simon Cowell and L.A. Reid this fall at the judges’ table. The gals uttered words such as excited and thrilled. (Brit better be happy: She designer burberry cheap bags for women brown sale reportedly will pocket $15 mil just for one season!) Cowell was all smiles, “Britney remains one of the biggest stars in the world,” he said. “Demi’s had an amazing career in music, TV, and film for someone her age.” Added Simon, “the new panel will be dynamic.”

Domestic receipts for the year are at $US3.83 billion

The superhero blockbuster took in $US103.2 million ($A102.92 million) to lead for a second-straight weekend, raising its domestic total to $US373.2 million, louis vuitton sunglasses according to studio estimates yesterday. With $US95.4 million more overseas, The Avengers lifted its international receipts to $US628.9 million and a worldwide haul of just over $US1 billion, only 19 days after it began rolling out in some markets. "You never think that it can happen this quickly," said Dave Hollis, head of distribution for Disney, whose Marvel Studios unit produced the ensemble film after a long buildup in its solo superhero outings. "You hope you can get to this day, and the fact that it is happening this early is a testament to a lot of work that went in on the Marvel side over the last six years to get us to a place where people wanted to see the Avengers assemble." The Avengers easily fended off Johnny Depp and Tim Burton's vampire romp Dark Shadows, which had a so-so domestic start of $US28.8 million to finish a distant number two. That's far below such past Depp-Burton collaborations as Alice in Wonderland, which opened with $US116.1 million, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which debuted with $US56.2 million. Dark Shadows added $US36.7 million in 42 overseas louis vuitton jewelry markets for a worldwide total of $US65.5. The Avengers was the first movie ever to pull in more than $US100 million domestically in its second weekend, passing the previous best of $US75.6 million for Avatar. The film also topped $US300 million domestically Saturday after just nine days in release, beating the previous record set by The Dark Knight, which hit that mark in 10 days. Already the year's biggest hit worldwide, The Avengers is on the verge of passing The Hunger Games at $US386.9 million to become the top-grossing film domestically for 2012. Revenue for The Avengers was off just 50 per cent from the film's domestic debut of $US207.4 million the previous weekend, a remarkable hold given how big it started. A round-up of such Marvel idols as Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Captain America (Chris Evans) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth), The Avengers has shot past the revenues that its solo superhero predecessors took in for their entire runs. The best of those domestically was Iron Man with $US318.4 million. "There has been a surprise around every corner with this picture in terms of how high is high and how big is big," Disney's Hollis said. Inspired by the supernatural soap opera that debuted on TV in the mid-1960s, Dark Shadows stars Depp as an 18th century vampire who is freed after two centuries of burial cheap burberry bags and returns to his ancestral homestead in the 1970s, aiming to rebuild the family fortunes. The TV show has only a cult following, so the Warner Bros. update relied on the lure of a reunion between frequent collaborators Depp and Burton taking on another otherworldly tale. But Dark Shadows left both critics and audiences cold, failing to make much of a dent in the intense appeal of The Avengers. "Certainly, more is better, but it was a busy weekend, especially with Avengers doing $US100 million in its second weekend," said Dan Fellman, head of distribution at Warner Bros. "The box office can only expand so much, and that was a hard one to anticipate. Those numbers are staggering." Fox Searchlight's crowd-pleaser The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel broke into the Top 10 in its second weekend as it expanded from a handful of cinemas to 178 theatres. The film took in $US2.7 million to finish at number eight. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel features Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith and Tom Wilkinson in a tale of older Brits looking to retire to a cozy life in India. Also in narrower release of 322 theatres, Eva Mendes' comic drama Girl in Progress opened at number 10 with $US1.4 million. The Lionsgate release stars Mendes as a nomadic single mum with a precocious teenage daughter. The Avengers again provided the bulk of Hollywood's business. Overall domestic revenues totalled $US172 million, up 23 per cent from the same weekend last year, when Thor led with $US34.7 million, according to box-office tracker Hollywood.com. Domestic receipts for the year are at $US3.83 billion, 17.6 per cent ahead of last year's with a huge summer lineup yet to come. Hollywood.com analyst Paul Dergarabedian said he expects Hollywood to break the summer revenue record of $US4.4 billion it set last year and top its all-time annual high of $US10.6 billion from 2009. "I think we will surpass that given the strength designer burberry cheap bags for women brown sale of just the first two weeks of the summer and the strength of the films on the way," Dergarabedian said. "Records are just made to be broken this summer and this year."

Obama proposed lower lending rates for millions of borrowers

This Morning, Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney will give the commencement address at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. Liberty has become a frequent louis vuitton shoes stop for Republican Candidates. Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry and Sarah Palin have visited the campus in the past year. In excerpts released by the Romney campaign, the former Governor will stay away from religious themes. Instead he talks about family and urges graduates not to get discouraged by the current economy. “America needs your talent and your energy, all the more now that our country’s in a tough spot. For you and so many young Americans, our current troubles can be discouraging. You are ready for jobs that were supposed to be ready for you. Millions wait on the day when there are jobs for everyone willing to work, and opportunities to match your hopes and your goals. But don’t lose heart, because that day is coming” The University estimates 34,000 people will hear Romney’s message. The ceremony will be held at Arthur Williams Stadium in Lynchburg, Virginia. President Barack Obama and rival Mitt Romney campaigned in two key states and tried to put aside politically risky talk of gay rights Friday and return to Americans' top worry: the economy. Obama discussed how to help homeowners avoid foreclosure in Nevada, while Romney focused on jobs in North Carolina -- more evidence that each views the sluggish economic recovery as the key issue in November's election. For both, it was a day to move past the week's back-and-forth on gay marriage, punctuated by Obama's announcement that he supports it. Romney, who repeatedly reiterated his opposition to same-sex marriage, was distracted by a news report that led him to apologize for decades ago mistreating a high school classmate who was gay. "There are things that we can do right now to help louis vuitton earrings create jobs, to help restore some of the financial security that so many families have lost," Obama told Nevada voters after he met with struggling homeowners. "But I have to say that there are a few too many Republicans in Congress who don't seem to be as optimistic as we are." Obama also drew a contrast with Romney's plan for the nation's struggling housing market. While never mentioning Romney by name, the president criticized his rival and others in the GOP for saying the government should allow the housing market to "hit bottom and hope for the best." Romney will give the commencement address today at an evangelical university in Virginia, a speech designed to help him reconcile with religious conservatives nervous about his record on social issues. The presumptive Republican nominee planned to blend social and economic themes by telling Liberty University's graduates that strong families are central to a strong economy. "America needs your talent and your energy, all the more now that our country's in a tough spot," he said in prepared remarks for his speech at the school founded by the late Rev. Jerry Falwell. "In the most practical, everyday terms, the best cultural assets are values as basic as personal responsibility, the dignity of hard work, and, above all, the commitments of family." GOP leaders are warning conservative activists against making the gay marriage issue more prominent than Obama's stewardship of the economy. "I'm gonna stay focused on jobs, thanks," House burberry handbags outlet Speaker John Boehner said the day after Obama's pronouncement on gay marriage. "The president can talk about it all he wants." Romney took a similar approach Friday in Charlotte, N.C., avoiding even mentioning social issues, even though North Carolina voters on Tuesday strengthened the state's ban on same-sex marriages. Instead, he focused his remarks on Obama and the slow speed of economic recovery. Obama, meanwhile, focused on foreclosures. He spoke in Reno, Nev., on Friday, pushing Congress to approve mortgage refinancing legislation. For contrast, his campaign pointed to Romney's past assertion that the solution to the foreclosure crisis was to let the housing market hit bottom. Earlier this year, Obama proposed lower lending rates for millions of borrowers who haven't been able to get out from under burdensome mortgages. Obama would cover the estimated $5-billion to $10-billion cost with a fee on large banks. But that plan faces an uphill fight in Congress. The White House said it would not insist on the bank fees to finance the plan. In choosing Nevada, Obama focused on a state burberry watches that he won in 2008, but whose economic struggles have been among the worst. Nevada's unemployment rate was 12% in March -- the highest in the nation. The state's foreclosure rates are second highest in the country, behind only Arizona.

Getting flicks off the ground together has gotten easy

Settle down, TMZ. Depp isn't making proclamations about his proclivities. He's just in a playful mood, a tendency when Tim Burton is near. Depp and Burton — together again for cheap louis vuitton sunglasses the big-screen version of the TV soap Dark Shadows, which opens Friday — are volleying one-liners with sound-machine toys that Burton sneaked into his jacket. Now they're using them like kids on walkie-talkies. Except these gadgets — two That's So Gay! sound machines — do the chattering for them. Sassy chattering. "Save the drama for your mama," Depp fires at Burton. "It's not homophobia, sugar," Burton auto-retorts. "Everyone hates you." Even when it's time to talk shop, Burton keeps the toy. "What's it like to work with Johnny Depp?" he begins the interview by asking the gadget. "You're a hot mess and I love it." Burton sets the device aside, though he and Depp are still laughing — and game for an experimental interview. "Let's all get fired!" Burton suggests. "Wouldn't that be great? You'd get great quotes. We could do the whole interview this way." If any pair would, it's Burton and Depp, who boast Hollywood's healthiest professional marriage. Shadows, a twisted take on ABC's 1966-1971 horror soap opera, marks their eighth film together. Their 22-year relationship, which has included no sequels, marks one of Hollywood's longest-running director-actor pairings. Their eight movies together "has to be a record," says film historian Leonard Maltin. "You've had some well-known people: John Wayne and John Ford, Scorsese and De Niro, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg had a few together. But I don't know of anything that comes close to Tim and Johnny's number." Shadows fits neatly into the Burton-Depp canon. Depp reprises the role of Barnabas Collins, a vampire awakened after a two-century nap to discover 1972 is a world away from his days of horses, torches and wooden stakes. Depp, who has played Willy Wonka, Ichabod Crane and the Mad Hatter for Burton, sees Collins as a continuation of a theme from which the two have yet to stray: celebrating the rebel. "We relate to characters who are a little off," Depp says. "People who don't feel like they fit in anywhere. I think that's why we work well together." Well, he assumes they do. Johnny Depp has never seen a Tim Burton movie featuring Johnny Depp. Depp's reasoning catches even Burton off-guard. "I don't want to run around and look at a shot through a monitor, even," Depp says. "That doesn't improve what I'm trying to do. I figure, once I've done my job, it's none of my business." Burton starts back, laughs, then has another bonding moment. "To tell you the truth, I haven't either," Burton says. "I certainly see it in editing, so it's not the same. But I don't think I've ever seen one of our movies designer louis vuitton shoes for men black 2012 hot sale cheapest in a theater or on video." That means more than two decades of avoiding: Edward Scissorhands (1990). Burton gave Depp his big film break as the title character, a leather-clad outcast with scissors for hands and a knack for hairstyling. Ed Wood (1994). The real-life filmmaker received a black-and-white homage in this loopy biopic of the legendary B-movie director. Sleepy Hollow (1999). Depp played Ichabod Crane in the pair's first attempt at outright horror. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005). Depp says he imagined a stoned George W. Bush in order to play Willy Wonka. Corpse Bride (2005). In their first animated collaboration, Depp voiced character Victor Van Dort. 'Dark Shadows' Clip: People don't throw balls anymore Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007). Depp showed surprising pipes as the titular character in their first musical. Alice in Wonderland (2010). Depp was the Mad Hatter in this remake, which remains the pair's biggest commercial hit to date, with earnings of $334 million. Recalling the films, both men concede surprise that the partnership became long-term. "I don't even like to have dinner with my family eight times," says Burton, 53. Depp, too, never expected a BFF. He nearly canceled his first meeting with Burton to discuss playing Scissorhands. "I figured there was no way they were going to hire a kid from TV," Depp says. "Back then, TV was a gutter." And Depp, 48, felt relegated to it. Though he had found stardom as the undercover high school cop in Fox's 21 Jump Street, Depp loathed the pinup popularity and wanted to make the jump to movies. "I wanted to get fired from the show," he says. A cinephile at heart, Depp grilled acting friends about independent directors. He found Burton's 1982 stop-motion movie, Vincent, a six-minute short about a 7-year-old boy who fantasizes about being Vincent Price. Burton would cast Price in Scissorhands, the actor's last live-action film. Depp was sold. He kept the appointment, and "15 minutes in, I knew we got each other. He'll make a joke that maybe two people in the world would get. It was usually us." Burton, too, wanted Depp for the role — "You could tell he was putting everything he had in every role, even in the TV show" — but had to plead with 20th Century Fox executives to approve the green actor. Now studio chiefs ask Burton if he could, you know, maybe see if Johnny would be free to do this movie, too. If Tim asks, Johnny will make himself free. "He started burberry handbags the path I'm on now," Depp says to an embarrassed Burton. "I'm nothing without him. If he thinks a story is worth telling, I trust him with everything." Getting flicks off the ground together has gotten easy, says Burton, who notes that everything changed after Depp starred in 2003's Pirates of the Caribbean and launched a franchise juggernaut for Disney. "At least on the studio end. No one wants to lose money, but neither one of us cares much about how much money (the movie) makes." That's a line coming from most filmmakers' mouths, but neither Burton nor Depp has a reputation as a commercial peddler. Even Depp's iconic Jack Sparrow is an androgynous swashbuckler that gave Disney second thoughts. (Depp once teased an exec to relax, that all his characters are gay.) "Johnny is unafraid to take parts that could be the end of their careers," says Richard Zanuck, who has produced half of the duo's movies, including Shadows. "Tim is the same way. They'd prefer to make a movie that doesn't remind you of any other movie." There aren't many like Shadows, a hybrid of comedy, horror and fish-out-of-water themes as Depp's Barnabas tries to get '70s funk music and figure out how "those little songstresses" got wedged into a TV box. While the work may not repeat itself, friends say, their chemistry does. As neither talks much, they've developed a signal system while shooting. If Burton thinks Depp is over the top, he'll wince a little and shake his head behind the camera. If he needs more energy from Depp, he might take a deep breath, stretch his back, make himself bigger. "There's an absolute shorthand," Depp says. "Probably because neither of us can string a coherent sentence together." That social discomfort made them simpatico co-workers — and spawned Shadows. Depp recalls watching the TV show as a kid growing up in Florida. Burton, too, was a devotee who watched in his apartment in Burbank, Calif. The two were chatting on the set of Sweeney Todd when Depp mentioned how much he wanted to make a vampire film. That was all the convincing Burton needed. Depp's production company, Infinitum Nihil, bought the rights to the property and built the haunted town of Collinsport, Maine, bay and all, in an abandoned parking lot in Kent, England. On set, observers say, the chemistry burns brightest. "It's almost symbiotic," says co-star Bella Heathcote. "They finish each other's sentences." There's reason for that, Depp says. "I don't think we could finish a coherent thought without help from each other." Or an effeminate sound machine. Burton new burberry handbags blue beige cheap buy 2012 can't help but play once more before Depp returns to Hollywood's paparazzi Serengeti. "What's it like to work with Tim Burton?" he asks the machine.

Some voters crossed party lines to play shenanigans in Wisconsin’s open primary

Hackers claiming to be affiliated with the hacktivist group Anonymous claimed this week to have accessed and published the details of about 55,000 Twitter accounts. Burberry handbags outlet, burberry 2012 new arrivals on sale, including cheap burberry bags, shoes, watches, sunglasses, clothing and accessories for men and women, with high quality and low price. But Twitter said Tuesday those claims are largely bogus, and that the group mostly posted duplicate information or username and password information for suspended spam accounts. An anonymous Pastebin user posted five extremely long pages of alleged Twitter usernames and passwords to the text storage site on Monday. (Here are pages one, two, three, four and five.) The hacking news aggregator Airdemon.net reported the supposed breach on Tuesday, beginning to fuel speculation around the web of a massive successful attack on Twitter’s servers. Airdemon said celebrity accounts were among those compromised, and also claimed to have information from a “Twitter insider” confirming the attack. Responding to a Mashable comment request Tuesday afternoon, however, a Twitter representative debunked the notion of a hugely successful breach but said the company is still investigating the situation. The list of accounts posted to Pastebin contains more than 20,000 duplicates and information for many spam accounts that have already been suspended, a spokesperson told Mashable in an email. Furthermore, Twitter says, many of the usernames and passwords do not in fact appear to linked to one another, rendering them essentially useless. Twitter has sent out password resets to accounts that may have been affected and encourages other concerned users to visit the network’s Help Center to change http://www.designerburberyoutlet.com/ their passwords and review security settings. Do you believe Twitter that hackers’ claims to have leaked credentials for 55,000 accounts are overblown, or do you worry your security was compromised? Let us know in the comments. Whichever Democrat wins Tuesday’s recall primary in Wisconsin will have only a short four weeks to make the closing argument that Republican Gov. Scott Walker should be booted from office after 16 contentious months on the job. For Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, one of four Democrats in the running, a victory would set up a June 5 rematch of the 2010 race that Walker won by 5 percentage points. Walker easily defeated token opposition in the GOP primary Tuesday. It was an election that failed to hint at the turmoil to come. Once inaugurated, Walker almost immediately joined with Republicans who had also retaken control of the Legislature to strip most state workers of their collective bargaining rights. The move blindsided Walker’s opponents, who proceeded to pack the state Capitol by the thousands for weeks of protest as Democratic lawmakers fled the state in an ultimately unsuccessful effort to block the newly minted governor’s plans. Walker emerged from the fight as a hero to Republicans nationwide, but a villain to unions and Democrats who responded by collecting more than 900,000 signatures to put Walker back on the ballot less than two years into his four-year term. If defeated next month, Walker would be just the third governor recalled in U.S. history. Republicans both in Wisconsin and across the country have rallied to his defense, helping him take advantage of a quirk in state law to collect $25 million in campaign donations, mostly from louis vuitton sunglasses out-of-state donors, and shatter state fundraising records. “It should never have come to this crap,” said Carl Schramm, 77, a Whitefish Bay man who works part time for a plumbing and heating contractor and who voted for Walker against token opposition in the GOP recall primary. “It’s stupid. It costs a lot of money. He was duly elected.” Preliminary results showed Walker beat protester Arthur Kohl-Riggs with 96 percent of the vote. Kohl-Riggs ran as a Republican, even though he has protested against Walker and his initiatives for months. Kohl-Riggs, who had no money and even less name recognition, said he was running as a progressive Republican in the spirit of Abraham Lincoln. While the union fight spurred the recall, the campaign has been much broader and focused largely on Wisconsin’s economy. Though the state’s unemployment rate is at its lowest level since 2008, Wisconsin lost more jobs than any other state between March 2011 and March 2012. Since Walker took office, only 5,900 private sector jobs have been created. Polls heading into the primary have consistently shown Barrett ahead of the other Democrats, including one last week that showed him 17 points up on his nearest rival, Kathleen Falk. Barrett’s emergence as the front-runner was aided by his strong name recognition across the state. With just 3 percent of precincts reporting, Barrett louis vuitton lady t-shirts led all challengers with 55 percent of the vote. Jon Dzurak, a 55-year-old assistant principal in Milwaukee, said he initially was leaning toward Falk but decided to vote for Barrett because he was up in the polls and projected to fare better against Walker. “Whichever one wins is going to get my vote,” he said. “I just would like to see Scott Walker defeated. I’ve never seen a division in our state like this. I’m not talking to some of my friends right now because of it.” Keith Symonds, 49, of Madison, said he voted for Barrett because he thought he had the best chance at beating Walker next month. “I though Falk was coming with just a little too much baggage,” he said in reference to Falk’s widespread union support. Barrett has had a rockier relationship with the unions, which Symonds said he thought would help him appeal to more independent voters. Falk snared key endorsements from unions, including the AFL-CIO and the statewide teachers union. She promised to veto any budget that doesn’t restore the collective bargaining rights Walker took away, while Barrett has merely promised to work toward restoring those rights. Jessica Schafer, a 38-year-old marketing manager who lives in Milwaukee, said she voted for Falk, despite voting for Barrett two years ago. “She is really interested in the environment and protecting the environment and our clean water. Also I think it would be unbelievably great to have a female governor,” she said. Some voters crossed party lines to play shenanigans in Wisconsin’s open primary. Walt Buschkopf supports Walker but voted for Falk because he believes she would be easier for the governor to beat. The 80-year-old retired dental equipment salesman from Sun Prairie said the recall should be used only when officeholders have committed a crime. “I’m against the general public paying for a recall most of us don’t want,” he said. Other Democrats on the ballot are Secretary of State Doug La Follette and state Sen. Kathleen Vinehout. They ran low-profile campaigns that failed to gain traction with voters. Gladys Huber is a Republican running as a Democrat. Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch and three Designer louis vuitton women shoes 2012 style outlet black Republican state senators also faced recall elections. There was an election in a fourth Senate district where the Republican incumbent targeted for recall resigned rather than run to keep her seat. Turnout in the primary was projected to be 30 percent to 35 percent of eligible voters, which would be the highest for a primary in a governor’s race since 38.9 percent in 1952.

MasterCard will also allow third parties to create payment systems

MasterCard WorldWide announced a digital wallet louis vuitton sunglasses on Monday that consumers will be able to use for purchases in stores, on the Web and on their mobile phones. The global credit-card company's entry into digital wallets will tie into its PayPass point-of-sale system, with nearly 500,000 locations around the world where consumers can tap a card or phone with NFC (near-field communications) to make a purchase. But with the new offering, called PayPass Wallet Services, MasterCard will also allow third parties to create payment systems under their own brands. MasterCard announced the system at an event on Monday evening in New Orleans, the night before the CTIA Wireless trade show begins. In a Tuesday morning keynote speech at the show, the company will also unveil a partnership with Intel to help PC makers build PayPass tap-to-pay hardware into ultrabooks. To use PayPass Wallet, consumers will sign up and provide information for as many as 25 credit cards, including brands other than MasterCard, plus shipping information. When making an online or mobile purchase, they will be able to choose a card and a shipping destination from among the selections they've entered. Burberry handbags outlet, burberry 2012 new arrivals on sale, including cheap burberry bags, shoes, watches, sunglasses, clothing and accessories for men and women, with high quality and low price. When buying on the Web or a phone, users will tap the PayPass Wallet Services logo and be prompted for a single password. Once that is entered, they will choose a card and shipping site and click to complete the transaction. Using an NFC-equipped phone at an in-store terminal, they will also get that "carousel" of selections, though they will have to choose a card from their list that could be used with the PayPass tap-to-pay system. What sets MasterCard's offering apart from digital wallet systems announced by Visa, Google, PayPal and others is how much the company is opening up its platform to third http://www.designerburberyoutlet.com/ parties, said Gartner wireless analyst Mark Hung. Banks and other partners will be able to adopt PayPass Wallet Services in two different ways: They can use MasterCard's own service under their own brand or just use the company's API (application programming interface) to build their own platform. The only sign of MasterCard in partners' offerings will be the company logo built into the PayPass Wallet logo. Visa's V.Me system, announced last year, also spans online, mobile and in-store purchases, but Visa is holding that offering closer to its chest than MasterCard is, Hung said. That should mean consumers are offered more opportunities to sign up for PayPass Wallet, he said. And compared with PayPal, which is approaching the in-store space from online and mobile by slowly building up a network of point-of-sale devices, MasterCard has a head start in the hardest part of the equation, he said. MasterCard won't get paid when consumers use a rebranded PayPass Wallet-based service and choose another brand of card, but offering the service does give MasterCard some louis vuitton bangle advantages, said Geoff Iddison, group executive for innovative platforms at the company's E/M-Commerce division. For example, banks that use the platform could offer MasterCard customers sign-ups for PayPass Wallet before users of other cards, he said. Iddison expects the wallet to be used with MasterCard cards 80 percent of the time. The built-in PayPass radios in ultrabooks are designed to let consumers make online purchases using physical credit cards for extra security. Intel is building support for the PayPass components into its chips for ultrabooks and has built reference designs of systems with the radios built in. Manufacturers will be able to start offering ultrabooks with PayPass built in starting in the second half of this year, said Amit Bodas, a strategic planning manager at Intel. PayPass tapping will work in conjunction with the identity protection technology built in to all ultrabook platforms. The combination of the consumer's own card tapping their own ultrabook, in conjunction with using PayPass Wallet on an online store, will provide multiple factors of authentication, Bodas said. Gartner's Hung thinks digital wallet adoption has been Louis vuitton white sunglasses 2012 new style outlet constrained by the weak economy but will show significant growth over the next few years. Yet he cautioned that traditional credit-card purchases will still far outnumber digital wallet purchases in five years.

It was a great win for us and our fans to get over the hump

A homicide investigation followed the Kentucky louis vuitton sunglasses men Derby after a man’s body was found in a stable area of Churchill Downs less than 12 hours after the race was run. The body of an unidentified Latino, who showed signs of having been in a fight, was found about 5 a.m. in a barn four down — or about 150 yards away — from the one where winner I’ll Have Another was boarded. Investigators “don’t have anything pointing to” the killing being related to the race or the racetrack, said Louisville Metro Police spokeswoman Alicia Smiley. “Based on preliminary evidence, we believe that foul play was involved and the suspect appears to have sustained injuries [as well\],” Smiley added. No one was under arrest. The victim was found in a barn belonging to trainer Angel Montano, who did not have a horse in the Derby or the undercard race. Smiley said investigations are being conducted of Montano’s barn and of the stables. Investigators, Smiley added, are trying to determine why the victim was at the barn following the 138th running of the first leg of the Triple Crown, which louis vuitton sunglasses cheap drew a record attendance of more than 165,000 people. An autopsy is expected Monday. Some 200 people live at the racetrack, with some staying in apartments over the barns. For all the baggage they inherited and hauled around, all the mishaps they have endured or missteps they have taken, the Knicks deserved one. If for no other reason that they showed up battered and bandaged, they merited an endgame buzzer that put a bounce in their steps and teeth in their smiles. They earned the streamers that fell from the Madison Square Garden rafters, a spontaneous celebration of sheer — and mere — survival. “I know what it’s like to be a winner in the playoffs — I can finally say that,” the second-year Knick Landry Fields said after Miami’s Dwyane Wade misfired on what would have been a series-ending 3-pointer from the right corner and the Knicks broke their 11-year playoff victory drought, 89-87. “It feels good.” It also seems almost inconceivable that a big-market franchise that spends as much money as the Knicks have from year to year could go so long without winning a measly postseason game. In the N.B.A. only the Charlotte Bobcats have failed to notch a playoff victory in that time and they have had louis vuitton jewelry the excuse of not existing before 2004 and being run on a shoestring tied to Michael Jordan’s Nikes. The Knicks had last outscored a playoff opponent — the Toronto Raptors — on April 29, 2001. They had lost 13 straight until the Heat, leading the Eastern Conference series 3-0, contributed 11 missed free throws and 41 percent shooting to a philanthropic cause known as the long-suffering Knicks fan. Think about it: that last Knicks playoff victory came before 9/11, before the start of the war in Afghanistan. The drought easily exceeded America’s other marathon military action in Iraq. It consumed the better part of three presidential terms. It preceded Apple’s unveiling of the iPod in October 2001 and extended beyond the invention of the iPad. The Los Angeles Lakers won four championships between Knicks playoff victories and the San Antonio Spurs claimed three. The New England Patriots’ three-title dynasty in the N.F.L. happened and Eli Manning arrived in New Jersey in 2004 and won two titles for the Giants. Alex Rodriguez began a three-year run with the Texas Rangers the same month of the Knicks’ previous playoff triumph and has since played what feels like a lifetime — this being his ninth season — with the Yankees. And through all of the head-spinning events that spanned the globe, through so much dysfunction that enveloped the Knicks from regimes fronted by Scott Layden, then Isiah Thomas, then Donnie Walsh, Knicks fans kept showing up, filling the building. They have dealt with continuing change, embarrassing behavioral episodes, outrageous ticket price increases and other miseries foisted on them by the Family Dolan while waiting for something good to happen, for the streamers to come down. Yes, of course, fans had championship aspirations Burberry handbags outlet, cheap burberry bags on sale, 60% off more in mind. But considering the alternatives, they took what they could get early Sunday night. They watched Carmelo Anthony finally finish his one-man show with a flourish with 41 points and sent the Knicks off to Miami for Game 5 on Wednesday night, more crippled than ever and contemplating a miracle. Easy to please, they forgave Amar’e Stoudemire’s attempted smackdown of a fire extinguisher casing after Game 2 in Miami and roared for his 20 points and 10 rebounds as at least partial redemption. They chanted “Baron Davis” as the team’s latest casualty — a Knick for all four months and change — was carried off on a stretcher and out of the series with a dislocated kneecap. Down to Mike Bibby, who delivered a clutch 3-pointer late in the game, at the point, the fans readied themselves for the next news cycle preoccupation obsession, a possible return of Jeremy Lin, or Linsanity itself, to take more heat to South Beach. “He seems to be well, real well,” Fields said of Lin’s recent workouts, already stoking the story. “I hope so, although it’s up to the doctors and him.” Knicks fans will wait three days with bated breath. They will interpret Wade’s inability to exploit the defensive switch that left the vulnerable Stoudemire on him — “I lost control of the ball and had to take it out for 3,” Wade said — as a sign of something, anything, that might bring them back to the Garden on Friday night. Maybe the Heat will start to hear footsteps or have a player go down; that’s been happening this playoff season. Wade, for one, had his ankles in ice after Sunday’s game. Burberry handbags outlet, burberry 2012 new arrivals on sale, including cheap burberry bags, shoes, watches, sunglasses, clothing and accessories for men and women, with high quality and low price. Bottom line: don’t tell Knicks fans — that ever loyal band of wishful thinkers and Anthony worshipers — that no N.B.A. team has ever recovered from a 0-3 playoff deficit. Not after their team finally finished a playoff game without that familiar deflated shrug, the need to curse the mistakes or the fates while finding the rationalization to still care. “It was a great win for us and our fans to get over the hump,” Stoudemire said. “To finally get over the hump now and win a game today is great.” It was now or not until next year for the Knicks, 2012 white louis vuitton handbags several of whom won’t be back, and their fans, most of whom certainly will return just as they have season after deflating season. They all earned the victory Sunday. But the sufferers in the stands deserved it more.

The same for snoozing the alarm clock

Done. In the books. No more Samsung Galaxy S III rumors or leaks to worry about ever again. Though Android fans in the United States still louis vuitton sunglasses men have to guess about a release date, at least we know what Samsung has been working for the past few months. So was it all worth it? At first blush, I say the answer is a resounding yes. If you haven't had the chance to watch the Unpacked press conference yet, I encourage you to do so. What you'll find is roughly an hour of what makes the Galaxy S III so special and how it might change Android. If this product unveiling is any indication, Samsung understands that the future of the operating system isn't just about specifications. You can't beat the experience It's the experience, rather, that ultimately will impress users the most. In an era of dual-core this and quad-core that, average users are hard-pressed to notice the difference in hardware performance. The specs are incredible, yes, but it's the way in which the phone works that will help it stand out. Indeed, we're already seeing a taste of that with louis vuitton sunglasses cheap AT&T's One X. Though some users gripe that the One X lacks the quad-core chip of the global version, that hasn't stopped the speedy, powerful device from taking CNET's Editors' Choice Award. It's the little things Purists and early adopters might prefer a stripped-down, stock Android experience, but the general population will love the stuff that Samsung added here. Whether it's the handset staying awake while you're reading a book or Web site or the way it captures photos, the Galaxy S III has plenty of "wow" factor to go around. I see a number of things that have me wondering why today's phones aren't already handling or doing them. For example, I can't count the number of times that I've been typing a text message only to fumble around quickly when I received a call out. It makes a lot of sense to be able to switch to calling mode by raising the handset to my ear as the Galaxy S III will allow. Granted, the Direct Call feature in the Galaxy S III might sound trivial to some, but this is the sort of thing that people show off in the beauty salon. The same for snoozing the alarm clock, sharing video and content, or the "Pop up Play" multifunction for watching video. While none of these features alone would be enough to go buy a Galaxy S III, I suspect that, combined, they are the reason you would return to Samsung down the road. Similarly, I'm reminded of the little things in Android 4.0 that I miss when using a 2.3 handset. Though Gingerbread isn't enough to completely dissuade me from using lv handbag 2012 a device, I love the total package that Ice Cream Sandwich brings. So chalk up another point for the Galaxy S III. A bit late, but worth the wait So, yes, even after the delay from a Mobile World Congress announcement and months of rumors, I'd have to say that the Galaxy S III was worth the wait. The hardware specifications fell in line with the steady stream of gossip, even somewhat surpassing them. On paper, the handset is as good as anything else on the market, and should be for the foreseeable future. With new rumors that Samsung and Google will once again collaborate on the next Nexus handset, I'm anxious to see what happens this fall. Why? The last two "Pure Google" smartphones closely mirrored the current edition of the Galaxy S series. What's more, coupling this level yellow handbags 2012 of hardware with a new version of Android is fantastic. In the meanwhile, I'll be waiting to hear when U.S. consumers can get their hands on the Galaxy S III. And on that note, it appears that Samsung may have tipped its hand as to who might be offering the new flagship device. With seven carriers already on the horizon, I'd be surprised if your wireless provider does not support the Galaxy S III.

Joe Girardi spoke to Chavez before he left Yankee Stadium for the hospital

If there has been one constant with the Yankees during the recent edition of their dynasty, it has been the unparalleled success and durability of their louis vuitton online closer, Mariano Rivera. But Rivera crumpled to the ground in agony Thursday, and all that may have changed. Suddenly, the Yankees’ fortunes for this season appeared very unclear. Rivera, 42, injured his right knee while chasing a fly ball off the bat of the newly recalled Jayson Nix during batting practice before the Yankees’ game against the Royals. As he ran toward the center-field wall, his knee buckled and he crashed to the ground by the base of the wall. Alex Rodriguez, who was waiting for his turn in the batting cage, twice said, “Oh my God,” and Manager Joe Girardi ran out to Rivera. Girardi helped carry Rivera to a cart, which drove him off the field. The Yankees announced a preliminary diagnosis of a twisted right knee after Rivera was examined by Kansas City Royals’ associate team physician, Dr. Joe Noland, and the Yankees’ training staff. He was taken to Kansas University MedWest hospital for a magnetic resonance imaging test. As grim-faced teammates, coaches and Girardi stood louis vuitton womens sunglasses 2012 by, Rivera writhed on the ground in pain, clutching at his right knee. He was wheeled into the tunnel, where he had to be helped into the clubhouse. An outstanding athlete, Rivera fancies himself a credible center fielder, even pleading with Girardi to allow him to play center in a game before he retires. Girardi said he wanted to accommodate Rivera, but was too worried about an injury to let him go through with it. Rivera has been a fixture in center field during batting practice, along with the other pitchers. But he always chased fly balls with more zeal and effort. Before spring training this year, Rivera hinted that this would be his final season in baseball. He said he knew what his decision was, and nothing could make him change his mind. But at the time, he probably did not consider the possibility of a serious injury. Rivera has not been on the disabled list since 2003, when he missed the first 25 games of the season with a groin injury sustained in spring training. Dave Robertson, the excellent setup man, may take Rivera’s place as closer, though Rafael Soriano has also served in the role. Rivera, however, is considered by most to be the greatest closer of all time. Last year he set the record for career saves with 608, most of which came after he replaced John Wetteland in 1997. He has five this season, the last of which came Monday when he threw a scoreless inning in the Yankees’ 2-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. CHAVEZ SIDELINED The Yankees placed the reserve infielder Eric Chavez on the seven-day disabled list with a concussion and whiplash, and there is no estimate for when he louis vuitton sneakers for men may return. Chavez was injured diving for a ball at third base on Wednesday night on a play when his head never appeared to touch the ground. But Chavez was groggy after the game and spent Wednesday night in a hospital for observation. He was released Thursday morning and was resting at home, the Yankees said. Chavez remained in the game after the play, even though he felt some mild dizziness immediately afterward. But when he came to the plate later in the game, the symptoms increased, and he had to be helped off the field. Joe Girardi spoke to Chavez before he left Yankee Stadium for the hospital, and he said Chavez said he felt as if he had been in an accident. “He was a little foggy,” Girardi said. Concussions from whiplash can be serious and cause lingering complications that seem to exceed the initial visual severity of the injury. Corey Koskie, the third baseman, was forced to retire after sustaining a similar injury in 2006, and Mets outfielder Jason Bay had what doctors concluded was a whiplash concussion after banging into the outfield wall at Dodger Stadium on July 25, 2010. Bay missed the reminder of that season. Often, dizziness, headaches and nausea are symptoms of concussions, but when the neck is also injured, as with a whiplash concussion, the inner ear 2012 white louis vuitton handbags can be affected, sometimes resulting in vertigo and vomiting. To replace Chavez, the Yankees called up Jayson Nix, 29, who was immediately inserted into the lineup batting ninth and playing left field. Nix, who injured his calf during spring training, played only eight games for Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

The 2012 Saints will actually be just fine based on the player suspensions

Two months to the day after this bombshell of a story first exploded across the NFL, the final shoe finally dropped Wednesday in the Saints bounty scandal. And louis vuitton shoes sale predictably, it landed with another loud, reverberating thud. Make no mistake: the New Orleans bounty saga will go down as one of the worst chapters in NFL history, and rather than cover it up, league commissioner Roger Goodell clearly wants to make sure everyone remembers it. That's why he provided such a harsh exclamation point on Wednesday, suspending four defenders a total of 31 games in 2012 for their roles in the team's bounty program, with New Orleans veteran middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma receiving a stiff season-long suspension. The player penalties were significant, but hardly surprising in light of the ground this ugly story has already covered. On March 21, Goodell suspended former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams indefinitely, gave Saints head coach Sean Payton a yearlong suspension and doled out eight- and six-game suspensions, respectively, to New Orleans general manager Mickey Loomis and assistant head coach Joe Vitt. Those in charge of the Saints organization got hit, and were indeed held to a higher standard by the league. KING: TOTAL SAINTS DISCIPLINE IS STAGGERING But the consequences of the Saints' controversial actions didn't end there. In coming down hard on the players the league identified as the leaders of the Saints bounty program -- Vilma, defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove (eight games), defensive end Will Smith (four games) and linebacker Scott Fujita (three games) -- Goodell's message was clear: Everyone in the game of pro football has a responsibility to make player safety paramount. No one can hide behind the claim they were just following a coach's orders, or had no choice but to give into the peer pressure that prevailed in New Orleans' bounty program. Those excuses simply didn't wash in the eyes of the league. Now that the blame has been equally spread around, here's hoping Wednesday provided a step toward full circle on the closure this story needs. True, appeals are forthcoming from the four suspended players, and perhaps even a legal fight in federal court, if the early indications emanating from the NFL Players Association can be believed. But given that the league's newly renegotiated collective bargaining agreement gives the commissioner broad powers to penalize for conduct deemed detrimental to the game -- a deal the players signed off on -- and that Hargrove is said to have given the league a signed declaration establishing the louis vuitton hoodie men existence of the bounty program and his participation in it, I'm not sure where a federal court factors into the picture. BURKE: TEAMS WILL BE FINE WITHOUT SUSPENDED PLAYERS Goodell clearly believes he's on the right side of history when it come to the league's attempts to make the game safer for its players, and that the Saints bounty program flew in the face of those efforts in a way that had to be challenged vigorously. Never forget the backdrop of this story is the 1,200 or so former NFL players who are in the process of suing the league over concussion and head-trauma issues, and that may be one reason Goodell felt he had to come down so hard on the Saints involved in this scandal. Like him or loathe him, agree or disagree with his efforts, Goodell sees himself as a steward of the game, and this was part of the game that was long overdue to be changed. The players are going to argue on appeal that they were just doing what Williams told them to do, but frankly, that's not plausible. Since when do players blindly follow coaches these days, without asking questions, thinking for themselves or if need be, breaking a few rules or blowing a whistle (such as when players turn in their own coaches for in-season or offseason practice violations)? This was a coach and player production in New Orleans, and no one made Vilma offer $10,000 to any defensive teammate who knocked out either Kurt Warner or Brett Favre in the 2009 NFC playoffs. It wasn't just rah-rah motivational words by a hyperbolic coach, with no monetary inducement or clear-cut injury objectives stated. The Saints had veteran team leaders on defense, and at some point when Williams got up and ranted in his over-the-top style about putting some hurt on the other team, someone could have stood up and pushed back, making it clear that the message was heard, but inducing injury would not be part of the game plan. Instead, the NFL says some key Saints defenders took what Williams organized, then they expanded and enhanced it, and made it their own. And at its apex, it looked like the level of physicality and violence that we saw in the 2009 Vikings-Saints NFC Championship, which clearly didn't play out like just another hard-hitting football game. The 2012 Saints will actually be just fine based on the player suspensions. A total of 27 New Orleans players were identified as having taken part in the bounty program, and 23 of those escaped all punishment. Of the four who were suspended, two are no longer with the team (Hargrove, now a Packer, left in 2011; Fujita joined the Browns in 2010). As for the loss of Vilma, the Saints have rebuilt their entire linebacking corps this offseason, and free-agent signee Curtis Lofton was a good bet to take Vilma's starting job anyway this year. All things considered, losing Smith for the first four games of the season isn't a make-or-break type punishment in New Orleans. The penalties could have been felt more widespread, and the hammer could have fallen harder. The potentially messy appeal process aside, the league has finally started to put the Saints bounty story into the rearview mirror. If it indeed does go on to Bestseller louis vuitton shoes for men discount on sale 2012 blue spawn the culture change in the game that Goodell seeks, making football safer, the NFL scandal that dominated our attention in the spring of 2012 will not have been for naught. But as turning points go, almost everything about this one was painful to watch.

How about his decision to switch up his lines

John Tortorella's answers at pregame, postgame, and off-day news conferences are about as short as Alex Ovechkin's spins on the ice during the playoffs. The irritable coach of the New York Rangers clearly louis vuitton sunglasses sale disdains the ongoing news media gatherings he is required to hold as his top-seeded club faces the Washington Capitals in an Eastern Conference semifinal series. Part of it is Tortorella's desire to keep things close to the vest and out of the public view as he tries to guide the Rangers deep into the postseason. The other seems to be his desire to maintain the hard edge that has made him successful as a coach. He has won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL coach of the year for leading the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Stanley Cup title in 2004. Tortorella is also a finalist for the award this season for his work with the Rangers, who finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference and the second best overall in the NHL. Tortorella's answers were brief, pointed, and presented with a bite Monday night after New York's 3-2 loss in Game 2 to Washington evened the best-of-seven series. That tone continued on Tuesday. After New York held an optional practice before hopping a train to Washington for Games 3 and 4 of the series, Tortorella was asked why he takes an adversarial approach with news reporters who continue to prod him for information. He engaged in a bit of volleying as he tried to ascertain if the question was legitimate or of the reporter was trying to be funny. When he was told it was a sincere query, the coach fired back. "I'm not going to give you much information," he said. "Some of you guys sit here and tell me I'm curt or whatever. I'm not going to have a staring contest. If you don't ask me questions, I'll just leave. So that's the way it is. I'm sorry I'm not a guy that wants to converse about everything during the playoffs. I'm not." Tortorella wouldn't answer with any depth about the louis vuitton lady t-shirts Capitals' limited use of Ovechkin, their star who was limited to 13 minutes, 36 seconds in Washington's win Monday. Despite playing his fewest minutes in a game in which he wasn't injured, Ovechkin scored the tiebreaking goal on a third-period power play. "I don't worry or comment about the other team," he said. Nor would he comment on the status of injured Rangers forward Brandon Dubinsky, who has missed two consecutive games. "I'm not going to give you updates on lineups or injuries, so let's just move right by that," Tortorella said. How about his decision to switch up his lines, moving struggling top scorer Marian Gaborik down and elevating rookie Chris Kreider, who has played seven NHL games — all in these playoffs — but has managed to net two game-winning goals? "There was a number of different things I was trying to do," he said. But when asked if he would share those, the answer was a terse, "No." He even cut off a question about being a finalist for coach of the year. Tortorella said the time to ask about that was Monday, when it was announced he was among the top three in votes. So as long as the Rangers stay alive in the Fashion lv women shoes 2012 outlet discount white playoffs, the interaction between Tortorella and the growing number of news media members will likely become more and more strained. But if his club keeps winning, Tortorella won't mind a bit.