KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. (AP) — Penn State
President Rodney Erickson says it "grieves" him
when people refer to "the Penn State scandal"
because he thinks it centers on just one person —
former football assistant coach Jerry Sandusky,
who's accused of molesting boys.
Erickson said at an alumni meeting outside
Philadelphia on Thursday he believes people
should call it "the Sandusky scandal."
About 650 alumni attended the sometimes heated
90-minute session, part of Erickson's effort to
repair the school's image. Another meeting takes
place in New York on Friday.
Most of Thursday's questions involved concerns
over the firing of head coach Joe Paterno.
Erickson says he hasn't had time to sit down with
Paterno but hopes to when the scandal dies
down.
Sandusky acknowledges showering with boys but
denies molesting them.
Thursday, 12 January 2012
Russia hopes Olympics will improve British ties By ROB HARRIS
The London Olympics can help
Russia improve diplomatic relations with Britain
following several disputes, a Russian Olympic
Committee leader said Thursday.
Relations between the two countries soured after
the 2006 death of dissident ex-Russian security
agent Alexander Litvinenko in London, with Russia
refusing repeated British requests for the
extradition of the chief suspect.
Litvinenko made a deathbed statement accusing
Russian leader Vladimir Putin of authorizing his
killing.
And at the British Parliament this week, former
Foreign Office minister Denis MacShane urged the
current government to tell Prime Minister Putin he
is not welcome at the opening ceremony of the
Olympics on July 27.
"We expect him in London," Russian Olympic
Committee Vice President Akhmed Bilalov told
reporters in London on Thursday before adding
with a smile: "If the British members of parliament
don't mind it of course."
"The Moscow Olympics Games and Los Angeles
Olympic Games were a big disappointment for
athletes, for the people because it was politics not
sport," Bilalov, a deputy in the Legislative
Assembly of Krasnodar Region, added at a
reception hosted by the Russia's Ambassador to
Britain.
The frosty relations between London and Moscow
led to more than four years without Putin holding
talks with any British official until Prime Minister
David Cameron visited Moscow in September.
Bilalov said the visit of Putin to Britain for the
Olympics can "can bring together (the) countries."
Putin, who was president from 2000-2008, is
expected to return to that position by the time of
the Olympics with an election on March 4.
But Labour Party legislator MacShane, a critic of
Russia's human rights record, said on Wednesday
that Putin will use the London Olympics and the
Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia two years later
"as events for self-promotion."
"Britain should say that he is not welcome at the
opening ceremonies of the London Olympics,"
MacShane said.
During the July 27-Aug. 12 London Olympics, the
Russian Olympic Committee will be based on a
site adjacent to Kensington Palace, which will be
the London residence of the Duke and Duchess of
Cambridge from 2013.
Perks Field, used by the royal family as a soccer
field and a helicopter landing pad, will become
"Team Russia Park", hosting entertainment, sports
stars and hospitality facilities — but no alcohol.
Russia improve diplomatic relations with Britain
following several disputes, a Russian Olympic
Committee leader said Thursday.
Relations between the two countries soured after
the 2006 death of dissident ex-Russian security
agent Alexander Litvinenko in London, with Russia
refusing repeated British requests for the
extradition of the chief suspect.
Litvinenko made a deathbed statement accusing
Russian leader Vladimir Putin of authorizing his
killing.
And at the British Parliament this week, former
Foreign Office minister Denis MacShane urged the
current government to tell Prime Minister Putin he
is not welcome at the opening ceremony of the
Olympics on July 27.
"We expect him in London," Russian Olympic
Committee Vice President Akhmed Bilalov told
reporters in London on Thursday before adding
with a smile: "If the British members of parliament
don't mind it of course."
"The Moscow Olympics Games and Los Angeles
Olympic Games were a big disappointment for
athletes, for the people because it was politics not
sport," Bilalov, a deputy in the Legislative
Assembly of Krasnodar Region, added at a
reception hosted by the Russia's Ambassador to
Britain.
The frosty relations between London and Moscow
led to more than four years without Putin holding
talks with any British official until Prime Minister
David Cameron visited Moscow in September.
Bilalov said the visit of Putin to Britain for the
Olympics can "can bring together (the) countries."
Putin, who was president from 2000-2008, is
expected to return to that position by the time of
the Olympics with an election on March 4.
But Labour Party legislator MacShane, a critic of
Russia's human rights record, said on Wednesday
that Putin will use the London Olympics and the
Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia two years later
"as events for self-promotion."
"Britain should say that he is not welcome at the
opening ceremonies of the London Olympics,"
MacShane said.
During the July 27-Aug. 12 London Olympics, the
Russian Olympic Committee will be based on a
site adjacent to Kensington Palace, which will be
the London residence of the Duke and Duchess of
Cambridge from 2013.
Perks Field, used by the royal family as a soccer
field and a helicopter landing pad, will become
"Team Russia Park", hosting entertainment, sports
stars and hospitality facilities — but no alcohol.
Not guilty drunken driving plea for Buckeye player
Ohio State cornerback
Dominic Clarke has been charged with drunken
driving, less than three months after he was
arrested on a charge of disorderly conduct.
Court records show Clarke pleaded not guilty
Thursday in Franklin County court. He was
charged Saturday with running a stop sign,
speeding and operating a vehicle while impaired.
In October, Clarke was charged with disorderly
conduct and fined after police said he discharged
a BB gun on campus. No one was hurt.
His lawyer, Christopher Cooper, calls Clarke an
excellent student and says "he's no different than
any 20-year-old and shouldn't be treated any
different than any 20 year old."
The redshirt sophomore from Frederick, Md.,
played in 11 games this season.
New Ohio State coach Urban Meyer was asked
Thursday how he will handle Clarke and other
disciplinary issues.
"What we'll never do is say we're going to make
an example out of a kid. That's not going to
happen," Meyer said in a news conference.
"However, (Clarke) broke a team rule. I'm still
getting the information. I'm very, very
disappointed because some things were covered
in the team meeting. They'll be dealt with very
swiftly and sternly at the appropriate time
Dominic Clarke has been charged with drunken
driving, less than three months after he was
arrested on a charge of disorderly conduct.
Court records show Clarke pleaded not guilty
Thursday in Franklin County court. He was
charged Saturday with running a stop sign,
speeding and operating a vehicle while impaired.
In October, Clarke was charged with disorderly
conduct and fined after police said he discharged
a BB gun on campus. No one was hurt.
His lawyer, Christopher Cooper, calls Clarke an
excellent student and says "he's no different than
any 20-year-old and shouldn't be treated any
different than any 20 year old."
The redshirt sophomore from Frederick, Md.,
played in 11 games this season.
New Ohio State coach Urban Meyer was asked
Thursday how he will handle Clarke and other
disciplinary issues.
"What we'll never do is say we're going to make
an example out of a kid. That's not going to
happen," Meyer said in a news conference.
"However, (Clarke) broke a team rule. I'm still
getting the information. I'm very, very
disappointed because some things were covered
in the team meeting. They'll be dealt with very
swiftly and sternly at the appropriate time
Pacesetting DeLaet roars back into action in Hawaii By Mark Lamport
(Reuters) - A year after back surgery almost
entirely wiped out his 2011 campaign, pain-free
Canadian Graham DeLaet made a near-perfect start
to his 2012 season in Thursday's opening round of
the Sony Open in Hawaii.
DeLaet, 29, took advantage of surprisingly benign
conditions at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu,
firing a seven-under-par 63 to grab an early two-
shot lead.
DeLaet, who competed in only four events last
year, recorded six birdies, an eagle and a lone
bogey to set a sizzling pace in the PGA Tour's first
full-field event of the season.
South Korean KJ Choi, the 2008 Sony Open
champion, opened with a 65 to end the day level
with Swede Carl Pettersson and American Kyle
Reifers.
"When we teed off ... it was cool and not a breath
of wind for probably the first six holes so it was
definitely a day you could take advantage of,"
DeLaet told reporters.
Asked to assess his all-round fitness, he replied:
"I'm feeling great, better and better all the time. I
feel probably as good right now as I have in the
last two or three years."
DeLaet had surgery on his lower back on January
3 last year and returned to competition in June
before lingering pain forced him to abort his
season after playing just two events apiece on the
PGA Tour and its feeder Nationwide Tour.
He is competing on the 2012 PGA Tour in the
major medical extension category and has 26
events to earn a total of $657,694 to secure his
card for 2013.
"That's basically a full year on tour," said DeLaet, a
three-times winner on the Canadian Professional
Golf Tour. "Hopefully I won't have to worry about
that money line later in the season.
"I really think that if I can just go out and play my
game here for the next five or six months, I can
make it happen."
American world number five Steve Stricker, who
clinched the PGA Tour's season-opening
Tournament of Champions at Kapalua on Monday,
was among Thursday's late starters at Waialae.
(Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los
Angeles; Editing by Frank Pingue)
entirely wiped out his 2011 campaign, pain-free
Canadian Graham DeLaet made a near-perfect start
to his 2012 season in Thursday's opening round of
the Sony Open in Hawaii.
DeLaet, 29, took advantage of surprisingly benign
conditions at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu,
firing a seven-under-par 63 to grab an early two-
shot lead.
DeLaet, who competed in only four events last
year, recorded six birdies, an eagle and a lone
bogey to set a sizzling pace in the PGA Tour's first
full-field event of the season.
South Korean KJ Choi, the 2008 Sony Open
champion, opened with a 65 to end the day level
with Swede Carl Pettersson and American Kyle
Reifers.
"When we teed off ... it was cool and not a breath
of wind for probably the first six holes so it was
definitely a day you could take advantage of,"
DeLaet told reporters.
Asked to assess his all-round fitness, he replied:
"I'm feeling great, better and better all the time. I
feel probably as good right now as I have in the
last two or three years."
DeLaet had surgery on his lower back on January
3 last year and returned to competition in June
before lingering pain forced him to abort his
season after playing just two events apiece on the
PGA Tour and its feeder Nationwide Tour.
He is competing on the 2012 PGA Tour in the
major medical extension category and has 26
events to earn a total of $657,694 to secure his
card for 2013.
"That's basically a full year on tour," said DeLaet, a
three-times winner on the Canadian Professional
Golf Tour. "Hopefully I won't have to worry about
that money line later in the season.
"I really think that if I can just go out and play my
game here for the next five or six months, I can
make it happen."
American world number five Steve Stricker, who
clinched the PGA Tour's season-opening
Tournament of Champions at Kapalua on Monday,
was among Thursday's late starters at Waialae.
(Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los
Angeles; Editing by Frank Pingue)
Freestyler Burke remains critical after surgery By LYNN DeBRUIN
Canadian freestyle skier
Sarah Burke remained in critical condition
Thursday after a successful operation to repair a
tear to an artery that caused bleeding in her brain.
Doctors put her into a coma to decrease swelling
and pressure on her brain after her accident
Tuesday, and she had surgery the next day.
"With injuries of this type, we need to observe the
course of her brain function before making
definitive pronouncements about Sarah's
prognosis for recovery," said Dr. William
Couldwell, the neurosurgeon who performed the
operation, in a statement released by Burke's
publicist. "Our neuro critical care team will be
monitoring her condition and response
continuously over the coming hours and days."
Burke, a four-time Winter X Games champion in
halfpipe skiing and one of the leading pioneers of
her sport, injured herself while practicing on the
halfpipe in Park City.
She tore a vertebral artery, which is located in the
neck and supplies blood to the brainstem and the
back part of the brain. Those parts control many
critical functions, including balance and vision.
Tears can cause bleeding that disrupts blood flow
to the brain, which in serious cases can lead to
brain damage or death, said Dr. Andrew Naidech,
medical director of the neuro-spine intensive care
unit at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
He said those tears can be caused by severe
twisting motions or impact causing sudden up-
and-down movement of the head. Outcomes
depend on how badly the damage interrupted
blood flow to the brain or caused extensive
bleeding.
Peter Judge, CEO of the Canadian freestyle team,
said those who were near the superpipe when
Burke fell told him it didn't look like a major
accident at the time.
Burke tried many of the toughest tricks in her
sport and was the first woman to land a 1080 —
three full revolutions — in competition. It was not
known what move she was performing when the
accident happened.
Sarah Burke remained in critical condition
Thursday after a successful operation to repair a
tear to an artery that caused bleeding in her brain.
Doctors put her into a coma to decrease swelling
and pressure on her brain after her accident
Tuesday, and she had surgery the next day.
"With injuries of this type, we need to observe the
course of her brain function before making
definitive pronouncements about Sarah's
prognosis for recovery," said Dr. William
Couldwell, the neurosurgeon who performed the
operation, in a statement released by Burke's
publicist. "Our neuro critical care team will be
monitoring her condition and response
continuously over the coming hours and days."
Burke, a four-time Winter X Games champion in
halfpipe skiing and one of the leading pioneers of
her sport, injured herself while practicing on the
halfpipe in Park City.
She tore a vertebral artery, which is located in the
neck and supplies blood to the brainstem and the
back part of the brain. Those parts control many
critical functions, including balance and vision.
Tears can cause bleeding that disrupts blood flow
to the brain, which in serious cases can lead to
brain damage or death, said Dr. Andrew Naidech,
medical director of the neuro-spine intensive care
unit at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
He said those tears can be caused by severe
twisting motions or impact causing sudden up-
and-down movement of the head. Outcomes
depend on how badly the damage interrupted
blood flow to the brain or caused extensive
bleeding.
Peter Judge, CEO of the Canadian freestyle team,
said those who were near the superpipe when
Burke fell told him it didn't look like a major
accident at the time.
Burke tried many of the toughest tricks in her
sport and was the first woman to land a 1080 —
three full revolutions — in competition. It was not
known what move she was performing when the
accident happened.
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