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(01/17/08 5:00am)
If anyone has a younger brother, sister, niece or nephew or just baby-sits, then you're familiar with VeggieTales. Each VeggieTales story has a plot meant to teach kids morals and values, usually using a biblical story as a backdrop, although they have used "Rocky" in the past.\n"The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything" is a story about courage, self-discovery and hope. It stars three friends: Larry the Cucumber, Sedgewick, and George the Grape, who work as busboys at a pirate-themed dinner theater. While trying to move up, they get fired after a botched audition for the show. From there, they get sucked into a swashbuckling adventure on the high seas. Even though these three aren't real heroes, the fate of their nation's royalty rests in their hands.\nIf the story sounds familiar, it is. You can see stuff like this in cheesy cartoons from the '80s ("Captain N and the Video Game Masters"), Disney movies ("A Kid in King Arthur's Court") and of course one of the greatest movies ever made "Back to the Future." The difference here is this movie wasn't made to wow Hollywood. Oscars won't be won here; this one is for the kids.\nThe voicework is cheesy, although anyone who is a fan of video games and anime should recognize Cam Clarke (a popular voice actor in the "Metal Gear" video game series) as the villain and the king. \nFurthermore, the animation makes "Chicken Little" look like "Fantasia."\nIf you get roped into taking your nephew or someone you're baby-sitting, the story is amusing enough to make you laugh and keep you entertained, especially the scenes with the Rock Monster (sit during the credits for an amusing parody of "Rock Lobster") and the killer cheese curls.\nIn terms of cliche children's stories about morals, this one is decent. Although, if you're on a date with Mary Jane, it should be amazing.
(05/17/07 12:25am)
ANAHEIM, Calif. – Tomas Holmstrom finished with two goals, an assist and 13 stitches.\nHolmstrom scored in each of the first two periods and the Detroit Red Wings took control early on the way to a 5-0 victory Tuesday night over the Anaheim Ducks in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals.\nDominik Hasek made 29 saves, and the Red Wings scored three times on 13 shots against Anaheim’s Jean-Sebastien Giguere to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series and regain home-ice advantage.\nGame 4 is Thursday night in Anaheim.\n“I think we were successful with all the four lines going,” Holmstrom said. “We started scoring from lots of guys, too. We had lots of speed.\n“We played a really, really solid hockey game. Anaheim will come out and play a better game next game for sure.”\nHolmstrom left the game at 11:40 in the second period after the Ducks’ Rob Niedermayer and Chris Pronger simultaneously slammed him into the glass. The Detroit forward, who lost the puck just before he was hit, spent several moments lying on the ice with the team’s trainers tending to him.\nHolmstrom finally got up and went off to have two cuts on his forehead stitched up. He returned to start the third period and assisted on Detroit’s final goal.\n“I got run into the boards, got hit again,” he said. “I never saw the guy come from behind.”\nThe medical staff made sure he didn’t have a concussion.\n“Get stitched up, yeah, I was ready for the third,” Holmstrom said.\nNiedermayer drew a five-minute major for boarding and was ejected.\n“I was very surprised about the call,” he said. “All I did was take a few strides, finish my check and hit him with my shoulder.\n“You don’t want to see anybody hurt out there, that’s for sure. I’m glad he was back playing.”\nThe Red Wings failed to score on that lengthy man advantage, and had 13 minutes of power-play time on five advantages in the second period but didn’t score. They were 1-for-9 overall.\nThe 42-year-old Hasek logged his second shutout of this year’s playoffs and the 14th of his career. He had eight during this regular season to run his total to 76, giving him a combined 90 in the regular season and playoffs.\nJohan Franzen opened the scoring 11:09 in, Holmstrom got his first goal of the night at 19:17 of the period, and Todd Bertuzzi made it 3-0 at 3:17 of the second. Ilya Bryzgalov replaced Giguere, and Holmstrom greeted him by scoring on a rebound just 17 seconds later.\nValtteri Filppula, who earlier had an assist, capped the scoring midway through the third period.\nNicklas Lidstrom and Henrik Zetterberg each had two assists for the Red Wings.\nThe loss was the most lopsided in the Ducks’ playoff history.\nHolmstrom scored his second goal of the game and fifth of this year’s playoffs when he knocked in a rebound of Filppula’s wraparound. Holmstrom’s first came on a power play when he beat Giguere with a 30-foot slap shot.\nFranzen, skating down just to the left of the crease, took a centering pass from Mikael Samuelsson from the right boards and one-timed the puck past Giguere for his third goal of the playoffs.\nBertuzzi made it 3-0 when the puck deflected off his left skate and into the net. A cross-ice pass from Holmstrom to Filppula resulted in the final goal.\nBryzgalov faced 15 shots.
(03/19/07 4:00am)
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. – By Rafael Nadal’s standards, it was a long dry spell.\nNadal captured his first title since the French Open, beating Novak Djokovic 6-2, 7-5 Sunday in the Pacific Life Open.\n“It was a very great week for me, a very, very important week,” he said. “I have (gone) eight months without any title, but I came back with a big one.”\nWhen Djokovic’s forehand sailed long on the final point, Nadal raised his arms, then flopped on his back and lay there a moment, arms still extended, as the fans laughed and cheered.\nA five-time champion last year and an 11-time winner in 2005, Nadal had gone a stretch of 12 tournaments without winning, dating to his successful defense of the title at Roland Garros last June.\nHe said that, even though he hadn’t won for a while, his game remained essentially the same.\n“Sometimes you’re a little luckier, a little bit more confident,” Nadal said. “But well, I wasn’t a disaster in those eight months.”\nNadal has been ranked No. 2 for a record 86 consecutive weeks, with Roger Federer a distant No. 1. The three-time defending champion at Indian Wells, Federer lost his first match in the event this year, ending his 41-match win string.\nAsked earlier in the week if he was disappointed he wouldn’t get to face Federer in the final, Nadal said, “No, no, no. Seriously, no.”\nAfter his victory over Djokovic, Nadal said he doesn’t really consider himself vying with Federer for the top spot now.\n“Right now, Roger’s not my competition. Roger is the best in history, so my goal is continuing winning tournaments and continuing being (high) in the ranking,” Nadal said.\n“I think if I play like this, I can win another major.”\nHe jumped on Djokovic quickly in the Indian Wells final.\nNadal was up 2-0 before Djokovic got his first point of the match, leading off the third game. By the end of the first set, the 19-year-old Serb had won only 12 points to Nadal’s 26.\nDjokovic acknowledged that he was nervous at the start.\n“It’s my first Masters Series final, first final of the really bigger tournaments,” he said. “The stadium was more or less packed, like 15,000 people. It was a great atmosphere.\n“He started playing really well. I didn’t. I made a lot of mistakes, unforced errors. He played an incredible forehand and he was in control of the match in the first set.”\nDjokovic said Nadal’s experience probably helped him.\n“Even though he’s only 20 years old, he has played many, many finals and grand slams and Masters Series,” he said. “So It’s OK. I’m not satisfied with me game today; I could do better, but I have to be positive.”\nDjokovic got his game going with his serves and powerful forehands in the second set, but Nadal was able to come up with the critical shots late in the set.\nTied 5-5, the Spaniard broke Djokovic’s serve, wrapping up the game by whipping a powerful backhand passing shot by the charging Djokovic. Nadal then held serve to finish the championship match that lasted just 93 minutes.\nDjokovic, who won his third tour title at Adelaide the first week of this year, is ranked No. 13.\nOn Saturday at Indian Wells, 2002 winner Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia took the women’s title again, beating Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 6-4. A two-time champion in the desert tournament, the 23-year-old Hantuchova has not won any other tour events.
(03/23/05 6:10am)
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Coming off knee surgery and caught up in baseball's steroids scandal, Barry Bonds said he might not play at all this season -- despite standing on the doorstep of the sport's most hallowed record.\nThe San Francisco Giants slugger also said he was physically and mentally "done," and blamed the media for at least part of his troubles.\n"I'm tired of my kids crying. You wanted me to jump off a bridge, I finally did," Bonds told reporters Tuesday, shortly after returning to training camp. "You finally brought me and my family down. ... So now go pick a different person."\nBonds, whose 703 career homers are 11 short of Babe Ruth's total and 52 behind Hank Aaron's record, was back in camp following last week's arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.\nSitting at a picnic table outside the Giants' clubhouse with his 15-year-old son, Nikolai, at his side, Bonds said, "My son and I are just going to enjoy our lives. You guys wanted to hurt me bad enough, you finally got me."\nBonds said he was tired and disappointed following a winter in which he was accused of steroid use, his grand jury testimony was leaked and he had two knee operations.\nLeaning his head on a crutch and repeatedly saying he was tired, Bonds spoke after a 1 1/2-hour session with Giants trainer Stan Conte.\n"Right now I'm just going to try to rehab myself to get back to, I don't know, hopefully next season, hopefully the middle of the season," Bonds said. "I don't know. Right now I'm just going to take things slow.\n"I'm 40 years old, not 20, 30."\nBonds, who set the single-season record with 73 home runs in 2001, underwent a similar operation on the same knee on Jan. 31, but had a setback after workouts in camp earlier this month.\nHe returned to the Bay Area on March 16 and had surgery last Thursday to repair cartilage. Conte said last Thursday the second operation put Bonds back at "square one."\nConte said Bonds went through a "normal rehab six days out of surgery" on Tuesday, and that his knee looked as expected.\n"I expect he'll progress as knee patients go," the trainer said, offering no prediction of when the seven-time NL MVP might be able to play again.\nAfter Bonds' first operation this winter, Conte had said Bonds was expected to be sidelined for six weeks. All the trainer would say after the second surgery was that Bonds was unlikely to be ready for the season opener.\nTeammate Moises Alou, who has come back from five surgeries, said Bonds probably was just having a bad day.\n"Maybe today he was not very optimistic. I think it was one of those rehab days where you just caught him on one of the bad days," Alou said. "It's not fun when you come to the ballpark, then have to go to the training room to get taped and get treatment.\n"It's not as fun as when you are young and wild and doing things, especially when you are the man."\nNew York Yankees manager Joe Torre understood Bonds' mind-set.\n"When you don't feel good, there are a lot of things that take on a different perspective. If it's not fun for him, I don't think the record will be as satisfying," Torre said in Tampa, Fla. "Probably when he starts feeling better, I think maybe he'll change his thinking."\nGiants pitcher Jason Christiansen, who had to come back from reconstructive elbow surgery, knows that rehab can be a bit depressing.\n"There have been five or six times I've come in and said, 'I don't need this heartache any more.' It's a series of peaks and valleys," Christiansen said. "A week from now, Barry could turn around and say he'll be ready by April 5."\nChristiansen realizes there's considerably more focus on Bonds.\n"I couldn't imagine what he goes through on a daily basis, reading some of the stuff and hearing what people say about him. It's pretty much a circus," Christiansen said.\nLast September, the Giants dropped a provision that would have allowed them to void Bonds' $18 million salary in 2006 if he failed to reach 500 plate appearances this year or 1,500 combined from 2003 to 2005, including at least 400 this year.
(01/13/04 5:26am)
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Outfielder Vladimir Guerrero passed his physical Monday and finalized his $70 million, five-year contract with the Anaheim Angels.\nThe four-time All-Star received the highest average salary among this offseason's free agents, $14 million per season. In total dollars, Guerrero's deal was behind only the $72 million, six-year agreement between shortstop Miguel Tejada and Baltimore.\nGuerrero spoke in Spanish at a news conference, then uttered a few words in English before owner Arte Moreno stepped in to interpret.\n"He said, `I am very happy to be here,'" Moreno said. "And I am very happy to be here, too."\nGuerrero gets a $5 million signing bonus, $10 million this year, $11.5 million in 2005, $12.5 million in 2006, $13.5 million in 2007 and $14.5 million in 2008, according to contract information obtained by The Associated Press. The Angels have a $15 million option for 2009 with a $3 million buyout.\nThe deal is the latest in an offseason spending spree by Moreno, who purchased the Angels last year from The Walt Disney Co.\n"This is an historic day for the Angels," General Manager Bill Stoneman said. "I'm full of anticipation for the '04 season."\nManager Mike Scioscia obviously was delighted.\n"We got the number one guy out there on top of everyone's list," Scioscia said.\nThe Angels, who struggled last season after winning the 2002 World Series, have loaded up on talent during the offseason and have agreed to deals with four high-profile free agents.\nAnaheim previously agreed to a $51 million, four-year contract with Bartolo Colon, considered the top right-handed free-agent on the market. Reliever Kelvim Escobar got an $18.75 million, three-year deal and outfielder Jose Guillen received a $6 million, two-year contract.\nThe Angels' payroll was $79 million at the start last season and could top $110 million this year if they don't trade away any high-priced players.\nA .323 career hitter, Guerrero averaged 37 homers for the Montreal Expos the past six years. He also possesses speed on the bases and one of the game's strongest arms in right field.\nGuerrero, who turns 28 next month, was on the disabled list from June 6 to July 21 last season, missing 39 games because of a herniated disc in his back. But he played in 62 of Montreal's final 64 games and finished the year with a .330 batting average, 25 homers and 79 RBIs in 112 games.\nA native of the Dominican Republic, Guerrero hadn't played in fewer than 154 games in any full season before last year.\nThe Angels are expected to shift Darin Erstad from the outfield to first base, with Guerrero, Guillen and Garret Anderson providing a trio of power hitters in the outfield.\nGuerrero speaks little English, but will join a team with a Spanish-speaking owner and manager, Mike Scioscia. The Angels have several other Dominicans on the team, including Colon, Guillen, pitcher Ramon Ortiz and coach Alfredo Griffin.\nMoreno, a fourth-generation American, worked in his parent's print shop in Tucson, Ariz., as a youth and went on to make a fortune in outdoor advertising. He's the first major league controlling owner of Hispanic background.\nHe said when he bought the Angels that he obviously wanted to reach out to the Mexican-American community in Southern California, "but also to everybody."\nThe Angels were believed to have entered the bidding for Guerrero only late last week.\nOn Saturday, Guerrero turned down a three-year offer from the New York Mets that could have been worth $71 million over five years.\nThe Baltimore Orioles also pursued him and offered at least $65 million over five years.
(11/19/03 6:28am)
LOS ANGELES -- Southern California coach Pete Carroll has no complaint about his team's BCS ranking, although he would prefer a different system to determine college football's national champion.\nDespite beating Arizona 45-0 last weekend, the Trojans dropped to third in the BCS rankings and, for the moment, out of the national title picture. Ohio State, which defeated Purdue 16-13 in overtime, vaulted over USC and into the second spot behind Oklahoma.\nCarroll said Tuesday his feelings about the BCS rankings haven't changed.\n"This is a system that will come into play at the end of the year. It's really fun and topical for everyone to talk about, and there's some drama with it," he said. "This is the system that we live with. It is what it is. We know all the conversations will come, but we also realize it doesn't have anything to do with what we are doing on the football field.\n"The best thing we can do to give ourselves the best chance is obviously to play real well."\nUSC (9-1) has scored 43 or more points in each of its last five games, all lopsided victories. The Buckeyes (10-1) have won three times without scoring an offensive touchdown, including their victory over Purdue. Five of Ohio State's wins were by a touchdown or less.\nThe Trojans' lone defeat was a 34-31 triple-overtime loss at California on Sept. 27. The Buckeyes lost 17-10 at Wisconsin on Oct. 11.\nUSC is ranked No. 2 in the polls, with Ohio State at No. 4.\nThe Trojans are more concerned with winning the city championship than a national title this week because they play crosstown rival UCLA.\n"We are pumped up about our situation and our chance to do something special this season. It won't happen without a big ball game this Saturday in the Coliseum against UCLA," Carroll said.\nAlthough he was more interested in talking about the upcoming game against the Bruins than the BCS, Carroll did say he would like a different format.\n"No one has ever asked me to change the system, but if they did, I have some viewpoints on that, not the system itself but the format at the end of the season," he said. "If this isn't the right system and there is a better one, then someone should endeavor to figure that out. Right now, this is the system and I'm not complaining about it."\nAsked what he might change, Carroll said he preferred the old setup, like the Rose Bowl's agreement matching the Pac-10 and Big Ten champions each year.\nThen, he said, a championship game could follow.\n"I really love the traditional matchups of the bowl games and I would love to see us playing the Big Ten every year," he explained. "I know I'm old-fashioned, but I love that matchup. I wish that's what happened and then at the end of it, let's play the thing off.\n"The problem with that is that you still have to have some sort of selection process and maybe this is the best process. You can't play forever in a playoff system. You can't have March Madness."\nCarroll said such a plan could be managed in a couple of weeks.\n"I have no idea how to do that, but that's not my job to figure it out," he said. "I would like the best team to win. That's not illogical, but it's not happening right now so I'm not going to worry about it."\nCornerback Will Poole, like his coach, said there's nothing the Trojans can do about the BCS rankings, so they're only worried about beating UCLA.\n"All we can do is to go hard in practice and get ready to play our game," he said. "Anyway, if we had taken care of business against Cal, we wouldn't be in this position"