IUPD

END OF THE ROAD

Portland woman planning 56th straight state tourney finals

PORTLAND, Ind. -- Doris Northam hadn't planned to attend the Indiana high school boys' basketball finals this year. After all, she's 87 years old, climbing stairs is difficult and, frankly, her interest just wasn't there anymore. But when her hometown team Jay County advanced to the Class 3A championship game, Northam decided to make the trek to Indianapolis one more time -- her 56th finals tourney in a row. "When I was a kid, you know, you went to church and you went to ball games. And that was your entertainment. It was just natural to me," said Northam, who has tickets for all four games at Conseco Fieldhouse on Saturday. "I would have been so disappointed if I had given up on going," she told The Commercial Review.

Oden named Naismith award winner

INDIANAPOLIS -- Greg Oden of Lawrence North High School was named Naismith high school player of the year Wednesday by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. The award, given each year to the top male and female high school players in the nation, will be presented March 29 at the McDonald's All-American Game in San Diego.

A problem with color: The only one that matters is green

Without kicker Adam Vinatieri the New England Patriots would just be another one-team, one-year Super Bowl champion. Without Vinatieri, the Patriots would not have beaten the Oakland Raiders in the snow in the AFC Championship game, and the Tuck Rule would still apply to guys who sit in class day-dreaming. Without Vinatieri, the Patriots would have given Kurt Warner his second Super Bowl ring. And now the Patriots are without Vinatieri.

Soriano finally agrees to move to left field for Nationals

JUPITER, Fla. -- Alfonso Soriano's only chance in left field Wednesday was a reminder of the good old days, before the Washington Nationals finally persuaded him to change positions. Soriano jogged in a few steps to catch a routine fly ball by Albert Pujols, then threw to second base to double off David Eckstein. "I never think I'm going to make a double play in the outfield," Soriano said. "But I did it." Soriano agreed to make the move from second base only two days after refusing to take his new spot in the outfield. The Nationals had a day off Tuesday, giving him time to accept the switch.

WEST BANK DISSENT

Troops capture 50 insurgents after deadly 2-hour gunbattle

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Insurgents attacked a police station Wednesday for the second day in a row, but U.S. and Iraqi forces captured 50 of them after a two-hour gunbattle. About 60 gunmen attacked the police station in Madain, south of Baghdad, with rocket-propelled grenades and automatic rifles, said police Lt. Col. Falah al-Mohammadawi. U.S. troops and a special Iraqi police unit responded, catching the insurgents in crossfire, he said.

Security Council conflicted on Iran issue

UNITED NATIONS -- U.N. Security Council members sought to break a deadlock over Iran's suspect nuclear program Wednesday after Britain and France could not get Russia and China to agree on how to pressure Tehran to stop enriching uranium, diplomats said. Nonetheless, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she was confident the council could come to an agreement. "We will come up with a vehicle, I am quite certain of that," Rice said during a trip to the Bahamas. "We have work still to do. This is the natural course of diplomacy. If it takes a little longer, I'm not really concerned about that."

ETA announces end to terrorist campaign

VITORIA, Spain -- The Basque militant group ETA ended a decades-long campaign of terror, announcing a permanent cease-fire Wednesday that closes the door on one of Western Europe's last armed separatist movements. In a videotaped statement, three shrouded ETA (Euskadi Ta Azkatasuna, Basque Homeland and Freedom) members said they were laying down their weapons to promote democracy in the northern Spanish region. The news prompted jubilation across Spain, where ordinary citizens say they could hardly believe the end had come for a group blamed for more than 800 deaths and $15.5 billion in damage since the 1960s. Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who has made granting more rule to Spain's regions a key goal, expressed caution and hope at ETA's statement. He was evasive when asked if he would start negotiating with ETA under an offer he made last year, contingent on the group renouncing violence.

Pfizer to hire more than 450 workers at Terre Haute inhalable insulin plant

TERRE HAUTE -- Pfizer Inc., the world's largest drugmaker, plans to hire more than 450 workers and invest $170 million at a western Indiana plant where it manufactures the nation's first inhalable version of insulin. Pfizer said Wednesday it will hire the workers over the next two to three years, boosting to about 650 the number of employees at its Exubera inhaler production line. It also plans to invest $170 million at the 120,000-square-foot Terre Haute plant by 2009. New York-based Pfizer received federal approval in late January to market the Exubera inhaler for controlling Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes in adults. The device offers the first new way of delivering insulin since the discovery of the hormone in the 1920s.

DANCE

Goshen reinstates curfew

GOSHEN, Ind. -- City officials have reinstated a curfew for teenagers, but unlike a previous law, the new ordinance allows parents to give their children permission to stay out later. Teenagers from 15 to 17 years old must be home between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. during the week and after 1 a.m. on weekends, according to the curfew the City Council approved Tuesday. It will take effect in about 10 days.

Shelter's mission to keep homeless off "backstreets"

Gene Kelley's interest in the homeless began when he was eating in a restaurant in San Diego. "He was at an outdoor restaurant, and a homeless man wandered up to the crowd," Kelley's widow, Linda said. "The people knew he was homeless, but nobody helped him." Kelley said her husband walked over to the man and gave him food. Just minutes later, a dog wandered past the restaurant. The people at the restaurant fed the dog.

Professor discusses Italian director

Several hundred people gathered in the Whittenberger Auditorium Wednesday to hear Peter Bondanella give this year's Distinguished Faculty Research Lecture about his studies and critiques the work of acclaimed Italian director Federico Fellini. Bondanella is a distinguished professor of comparative literature and Italian at IU. Bondanella has drastically changed scholarship on Italian cinema, according to a press release announcing the lecture.

Circle of Life Mini Marathon receives sponsor

The inaugural Circle of Life Mini Marathon received a boost Wednesday when Evansville-based Old National Bank announced it would be the exclusive sponsor of the Sept. 9 race. "It is a privilege for Old National Bank to be a partner in this unique and inspiring initiative," said Old National President and CEO Bob Jones at a press conference. "To have a group of students with the vision and passion to orchestrate such an event to benefit cancer survivors is nothing less than extraordinary.

Korean drama craze reaches United States

HONOLULU - It's become a daily ritual for Gayle Stephens. She often laughs and cries while getting her daily fix. She's even tried to get her family hooked. Stephens loves Korean dramas. She is among a growing number of Americans with no connection to Korean culture who say the shows are a more compelling and wholesome alternative to the usual daytime programming on American TV. And retail giants are also starting to tune in. "I like the fact that they're cleaner, they're not as smutty as the American dramas," said Stephens, a 32-year-old black woman who grew up in Durham, N.C. "I didn't think I would enjoy watching, but I really got caught up in it. It's very engaging," she said.

SOUTH AMERICAN DESSERTS

NBA star's art on display

DURHAM, N.C. - Four-time NFL Pro Bowler Calvin Hill never had any trouble interesting his young son in sports. It took a little longer for basketball star Grant Hill to develop his father's passion for art. "I did grow up in a household with a lot of art," the Orlando Magic's forward says. "I guess at the time, I didn't really appreciate it or realize it did have an effect on me." It was obvious to all who watched Hill lead Duke University to back-to-back NCAA titles in 1991 and 1992 that, like his father, a career as a professional athlete awaited once his college days were over. Calvin Hill, who played for three NFL teams, and wife Janet took young Grant to museums and galleries, but Calvin Hill wasn't sure if his son would buy art that wasn't merely decorative.

CHILLIN'

The Greeks have lost their marbles

Greece had them first, but Britain is screaming, "finders, keepers!" It's like two children bickering over their favorite toys. There are a lot of tears and hurt feelings, but the solution is really quite simple. The ownership of the Elgin Marbles has been debated for almost 200 years. The Elgin Marbles is a collection of statues and pieces of the frieze, the panel that once surrounded the top of the Parthenon in Athens, Greece. Most of the surviving pieces are divided between the museums in Athens and Britain, with others spread throughout eight of Europe's greatest art museums. Athens wants them all for its own museum, which is being constructed with the hope that it will be completed in time for the 2008 Summer Olympics.