Your smart phone, laptopand various other wirelessdevices all have one thing incommon — they are vying forfrequencies in an alreadycongested wireless radiospectrum.

While a s lower Internetconnect ion may frustratestudents, a team of NotreDame faculty sees it as anexciting research opportuni-

ty.“Today, people want the

Internet in the palm of theirhand,” said Dr. J. NicolasLaneman, associate profes-sor of electrical engineering.“Mobile wireless devices arekeeping them increasinglyconnected, but they are gen-erating so much traffic thatthey are clogging up today’snetworks. Eventually usersare going to be very frustrat-ed when they can’t access

ObserverThursday, March 4, 2010Volume 44 : Issue 106 ndsmcobserver.com

The Independent Newspaper Serving Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s

the

Notre Dame Security Police(NDSP) is investigating a sexualassault reported Tuesday.

According to an e-mail sent tothe student body Thursday, theassault took place in a campusresidence hall on Feb. 28.

The reported assault was com-mitted by an acquaintance, NDSPsaid in the e-mail.

NDSP is required by federal lawto report sexual assaults occuringon campus.

The most recent prior sexualassault was reported on Jan. 23.A student reported being assault-ed around 2 a.m. on the north-west side of campus. The victimwas approached from behind andthen assaulted.

Information about sexualassault prevention and resourcesfor survivors of sexual assault isavailable from NDSP atndsp.nd.edu and at the Office ofStudent Affairs Web site atosa.nd.edu/health-safety/assault/

see WIRELESS/page 6

Photo courtesy of wireless.nd.edu

Notre Dame’s College of Engineering launched the WirelessInstitute to work on closing the “spectrum gap.”

INSIDE TODAY’S PAPER Spring Break service trip page 3 � Men’s basketball defeats UConn page 24 � Oscars preview page 12 � Viewpoint page 10

Weekend Transpo route ‘popular’New bus schedule transports an average of 150 students per weekend, will continue through May

After a recent review of theTranspo weekend bus system,student government officialssaid the initiative has been a“popular” and much-appreci-ated service for students sinceit began operations Dec. 4.

Student body presidentGrant Schmidt said he ispleased with the ongoing valueTranspo has provided to mem-bers of the Notre Dame com-munity by enabling NotreDame students to travel topopular off-campus establish-ments for free.

“Overall I think that this hasbeen a great collaborationwith Transpo and essentially,the city of South Bend,”Schmidt said. “It’s been a con-venient way for students to gooff campus and a safe meansof them getting home.”

On the first Friday Transpowas available, 496 Notre Damestudents used the service.Since the second weekend ofoperation, the number of rid-ers has consistently totaledroughly 150 students on MEGAN SMITH/The Observer

The Transpo bus route has had “high rider numbers,” student body president Grant Schmidtsaid, since its December launch. Schmidt said he hopes the service is continued next year. see TRANSPO/page 6

By MOLLY MADDENNews Writer

NDSPinvestigatesassault caseon campus

College of Engineeringopens Wireless Institute

RAs selected for 2010-11

By LILY HOUGHNews Writer

While most rising seniorsare finalizing plans to live offcampus or preparing for roompicks, a select few will be ful-fi l l ing the role of residentassistant (RA) in the dorms.

Michael Daly is one of sev-eral juniors who learned lastweek that he had been select-ed as an RA for 2010-11. Dalyacknowledged the value ofbeing an RA his senior year.

“As a senior, you reallyknow about the ups anddowns and the challenges thatyou are going to encounter,”Daly said. “I think it’s reallyimportant to have someonewho has been through thoseexperiences, to be a founda-tion and source of counsel forstudents.”

Christopher Harvan, whowas selected to be a DillonRA, said he was drawn to theposition because of the closerelationship between RAs andresidents.

“I applied because such asignificant part of Notre Dame

is l iving in the dorm. Sospecifically in Dillon, there’s abig emphasis on camaraderiein the dorm and its starts withthe RA staff, and it tricklesdown to all students,” Harvansaid. “I wanted to be able toprovide that camaraderie andlet incoming freshmen have aposit ive experience in thedorm.”

Fr. Paul Doyle, rector ofDillon Hall, received 20 appli-cations for nine RA spots.According to Doyle, the dormtypically receives 15 to 16applications.

Doyle cited a desire todevelop community as a rea-son for the high numbers.

Resident assistants hope to build ‘camaraderie’ within the campus dorms

By KATLYN SMITHNews Writer

see RA/page 8

ANDREA ARCHER | Observer Graphic

Observer Staff Report

With Spring Break nearly uponus, I think it’s time that we all takea good second look and enjoy thesecond half of that glorious phraseBreak. Mmm,drink it in.

As collegestudents, weget caught upin all we havegoing on, stressabout it, then stress about stressedwe are. Thankfully, the Universitygives us a break midway throughthe semester, and we all need totake advantage.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I havegreat respect for everyone per-forming service this break withprograms like Appalachia. That isan admirable way to spend yourfree time. For those choosing tospend this holiday in sunnier loca-tions with an abundance of deli-cious beverages, let me just say toyou that I am jealous.

I’m headed home to take abreak. While I may do the obliga-tory visit to friends at local stateschools, hang out with friendsfrom high school, and maybe takea day to enjoy my hometown theway I once did in high school, Iplan on ridding my body of asmuch stress as possible. Eat, sleep,read, sleep, travel at my conven-ience, and, oh yeah, sleep.

I’m not pretending to be a stressrelief expert, but I definitelybelieve it’s healthy for all of to justsit down and relax. Don’t even letyourself think about school unlessabsolutely necessary.

I realize that many students hereare overachievers by nature, andthere is an element of our over-scheduled, overworked lives thatwe enjoy. But for this week, let’sput all that aside and recognizethat we are in college. We haveonly a few years, or months forsome of us, before we have actualresponsibility: full-time employ-ment, families, houses, cars, thewhole lot. Many of us havedreamed about “starting our lives”for a long time. The truth is, lifehas already begun for all of us, soenjoy it while you can. SpringBreak is the perfect opportunity todo so.

Unless there are pressing issuesthat keep you from doing so, I sug-gest we all take at least one dayduring break to sleep without set-ting an alarm clock, take a walkwithout about rushing to classwhile worrying about if theteacher is going to give a quiz onlast night’s reading, or watch TVwithout trying to pound out apaper at the same time.

Although I’m only a freshmanand have not experienced thestress that comes with higher levelcourses, job interviews, GREs,MCATs and LSATs, I know onething: stress is contagious.

So for your own sake and for thesake of the people you are around,Spring Break is almost here, enjoyit.

In the March 3 Letter to the Editor in the Viewpointsection, the article titled “Be aware of the R-word”was written by Megan Aldrup, junior, Holy Cross

Hall. Additionally, the article titled “Basilica WeddingMadness”was written by Katherine Pierret, alumna,

Class of 2009. The Observer regrets this error.

The views expressed in the InsideColumn are those of the author andnot necessarily those of The Observer.Contact Matthew Robison atmrobison@nd.edu

INSIDE COLUMN

CORRECTIONS

LOCALWEATHER

The Observer � PAGE 2page 2 Thursday, March 4, 2010

Take a break

Today

HIGH LOW

3522

Tonight

HIGH LOW

2717

Friday

HIGH LOW

4227

Saturday

HIGH LOW

4530

Sunday

HIGH LOW

4340

Monday

HIGH LOW

5035

QUESTION OF THE DAY: WHAT ARE YOUR SPRING BREAK PLANS?

IN BRIEFTwo Fire Stat ion Open

Houses will be held at 9 a.m.and 2:30 p.m. today at theNotre Dame Fire Stat ion .The Open House wil l cele-brate the 130th anniversaryof the oldest university firedepartment in the nat ion.Notre Dame faculty and staffare invited to attend.

Daily Mass will be held at11:30 a .m. and 5:15 p .m.today in The Basilica of theSacred Heart.

A lecture t i t led “AStructural Description of theHigh Reynolds NumberTurbulent Boundary Layer:Poss ib le Impl icat ions onFlow Control andEnvironmental Processes”will begin at 3:30 p.m. Thelecture will be held in 126DeBartolo Hall today.

“The White Ribbon” will beshown in the BrowningCinema in the DeBarto loPerforming Arts Center. Thefi lm will be shown at 6:30p.m. and 9:30 p.m. today.Tickets wi l l cos t $6 foradults, $5 for faculty andstaff, $4 for senior citizensand $3 for s tudents . Toorder tickets, call 574-631-2800.

A children’s theatre pro-duction of “Strega Nona” willbe presented at 10 a.m. and7 p.m. tomorrow. The pro-duction will be held in theDecio Mainstage Theatre inthe DeBarto lo PerformingArts Center. To order tickets,please call, 574-631-2800.

To submit information to beincluded in this section ofThe Observer, e-mail detailedinformation about an event toobsnews@nd.edu

OFFBEATWoman pleads ‘not guilty’to tossing coffee on officer

BROOKLINE, Mass. — ARhode Is land womanpleaded not gui l ty inMassachusetts to chargesshe threw a hot cup ofcof fee on a parkingenforcement of f icer.Kryst le Charley wasarraigned Wednesday inBrookline District Courton charges inc ludingassault and battery with adangerous weapon.

Police said the 23-year-old res ident of NorthSmithfield, R.I . , tossedher coffee at 64-year-oldClaire MacPherson inBrookline as MacPherson

was wri t ing out a $25t icket for an expiredmeter on Tuesday.MacPherson was not hurt.

Charley’s friend, VickyCurry, who witnessed thetoss ing, said i t wasMacPherson who wasyelling at Charley.

Man faces charges for threeincidents in three hours

LANCASTER, Pa. — Acentral Pennsylvania manfaces charges for threeseparate incidents involv-ing police in a span ofthree hours. ManheimTownship police said 49-year-old Mark E. Blaylockwas charged with theft of

services after allegedlyrefusing to pay a $69 cabfare around 11 a.m. Aboutan hour later he wascharged with public drunk-enness after police said hewas found lying on a roadnear his house.

Another hour after that,authorities said Blaylockcalled 911 to request policeassistance. Investigatorssaid he was cited forreporting a medical emer-gency without good causebecause he told officers heneeded them to fill a pre-scription.

Information compiledfrom the Associated Press.

VANESSA GEMPIS/The Observer

The Notre Dame basketball team celebrates in the Purcell Pavillion after beatingConnecticut 58-50 Wednesday. With the Senior Day victory, the Irish kept theirNCAA Tournament hopes alive.

Matthew Robison

Sports WireEditor

“I’m going toD.C. to visitfriends from

home.”

Ana Quijano

seniorLyons

“Studying forthe MCAT.”

Blake Choplin

senioroff-campus

“Just goinghome to St.

Louis to hangwith family.”

Daniel Quinlan

juniorSt. Edward’s

“I’m playingwith a babyraccoon inMexico.”

Jackie Mirandola

seniorHoward

“I’m going toplay with apregnant donkey inMexico.”

Kyle Hagelskamp

seniorHoward

“Going to Ft.Lauderdalewith somefriends for a

week.”

Pat Mikes

freshmanFisher

Have an idea for Question of the Day? E-mail observer.questions@gmail.com

Atlanta 50 / 29 Boston 38 / 29 Chicago 38 / 23 Denver 54 / 28 Houston 65 / 44 Los Angeles 61 / 50 Minneapolis 78 / 58 New York 41 / 30 Philadelphia 41 / 39 Phoenix 74 / 52 Seattle 52 / 40 St. Louis 46 / 26 Tampa 59 / 41 Washington 43 / 32

The Observer � CAMPUS NEWSThursday, March 4, 2010 page 3

Spring Break holds differ-ent meanings for differentNotre Dame students. Someview it as an opportunity tojet off to tropical locales,while others use it to partici-pate in service projects —and some simply jump at thechance to return home for aweek of relaxation aftermidterms.

For senior Michel leHackner, Spring Break is achance to spend some qualitytime with her friends beforethe real world sends them allto different places.

Hackner and 10 of herfriends are renting two con-dos in Isla Verde, Puerto Ricofor the week. She said shehas been looking forward tothe trip since they planned itbefore the beginning of win-ter break.

“This is my last chance toreally spend time with myfriends before we’re all sepa-rated next year,” Hacknersaid. “I’m just really excitedto get away from the stress ofour last semester and justrelax.”

Once she arrives in PuertoRico, Hackner said her toppriori t ies are unpacking,finding out where the beachand bars are, and buyingplenty of Pop Tarts to eat forbreakfast.

Senior Michelle Perone willjoin Hackner in Puerto Rico.

She said she is also lookingforward to spending t imewith her friends, as well asfor the chance to spend timeon the beach swimming andtanning.

“I’m really excited to justlay out and tan, but theweather forecast says i t ’ssupposed to rain a lot nextweek,” Perone said. “I hope itdoesn’t rain. If it does, I’ll beoutraged.”

Some students are countingon a more low-key springbreak than Hackner andPerone are sure to have.

Junior George Pinchok isgoing home to Philadelphiaafter classes end tomorrow,but he plans on returning toNotre Dame early so he cantake advantage of the relativequiet on campus to get ahead start on his class work.

“I ’m coming back hereearly to have some time tomyself,” Pinchok said. “I’mexcited to be back earlybecause then I’ll have moti-vation from being home andI’ll use the time wisely.”

Freshman Patty Walsh willalso be returning home forSpring Break.

“I’m going back home toChicago,” Walsh said. “I’mgoing to see some friends andget a lot of sleep. That’s basi-cal ly al l I ’ve got plannedright now.”

Sophomore James Baffa’sSpring Break will likely notbe as low-key as Walsh’s orPinchok’s. He will be travel-ing to Tennessee with the

men’s crew team.“It’s a training trip so we’ll

just go there and practicetwo or three t imes a day,every day,” Baffa said.

Other students plan onimmersing themselves inservice over the weeklongbreak.

Junior Katie Halloran willbe part ic ipat ing in NotreDame’s Appalachia Programand travel ing to WestVirginia to work atCommunity DevelopmentOutreach Ministries (CDOM)in West Virginia.

Halloran said she has want-ed to sign up for Appalachiasince freshman year, but hadnever gotten the chance to doso before.

“I’ve always seen the littlef l iers around campus,”Halloran said. “It’s alwaysattracted me and I’m runningout of semesters so I thoughtI should take advantage ofthe opportunity.”

Although she will not bespending her week relaxingin the tropics or at home,Halloran said she does notregret choosing a more stren-uous spring break activity.

“Service is part of myChristian identity,” Halloransaid. “I ’ l l have plenty ofchances to go to tropicalplaces, but after I graduate,it won’t be as easy to findservice opportunities as it isat Notre Dame.”

Students plan for Spring BreakSaint Mary’s womento take alternative trip

Instead of taking time out torest and relax during SpringBreak, several Saint Mary’s stu-dents will be spending the weekhelping others.

The College offers anAlternative Spring Break experi-ence each year designed to givestudents a chance to learn aboutsocial issues while participatingin service.

Carrie Call, director of theOffice for Civic and SocialEngagement (OCSE), said 12 stu-dents plan on attending this year.Call said 12 is both the ideal andsuggested limit for attendance.

“Students will be involved inlearning about a variety of socialissues, especially those related towomen, while also engaging inhands-on service,” Call said.

Alternative Spring Break is aprogram coordinated by OCSE inconjunction with theIndianapolis Peace Institute (IPI).Saint Mary’s alumna KateWilliams is responsible for theprogram this year.

The trip will provide studentsan opportunity to participate inservice projects while on break.

According to the Saint Mary’sWeb site, participants will have achance to learn about a varietyof issues involving women. TheWeb site said the 2010Alternative Spring Break trip willfocus on domestic and sexual

violence against women, humantrafficking, women’s healthissues and women in the crimi-nal justice field.

Additionally, the Web site said,“Local leaders, representativesfrom agencies withinIndianapolis and clients andthose affected by the issues willprovide information, insight andinspiration.”

The trip will also provide stu-dents an opportunity for spiritualreflection, the Web site said.

“Students are always seekingnew ways to help and to learn.This gives a great opportunityfor both and it’s not too faraway,” Call said. “The OCSE iscommitted to offering as manyoptions as possible for studentsto discover their passions andinterests. Plus, the IndianapolisPeace Institute is a fabulousorganization.”

The Web site said students willreside in a restored home ownedby IPI.

According to the Web site,“this special house allows forbuilding community throughpreparing and eating mealstogether as well as facilitatingdiscussion and reflection.”

The program will run fromMarch 6-12, the Web site said.

“It’s a different way to spendyour break time — one thathelps others while enrichingyour own life,” Call said.

Contact Alicia Smith atasmith01@saintmarys.edu

Contact Irena Zajickova atizajicko@nd.edu

By ALICIA SMITHNews Writer

By IRENA ZAJICKOVANews Writer

The Observer � CAMPUS NEWSpage 4 Thursday, March 4, 2010

The Student Senate discussedand passed four resolutions —including one that requestsDeBartolo classrooms remainopen at night and another chang-ing the scheduling for State of theStudent Union addresses — dur-ing its meeting Wednesday night.

The first resolution, “AResolution Requesting DeBartoloHall Classrooms Be OpenedNightly For Group Study Space,”was proposed by Austin Holler,chairman of the Committee onAcademic Affairs.

Student body president GrantSchmidt was among the manysupporters of the resolution,which was passed unanimously.He said extra study space is anexpressed need of the studentbody.

“[I want] to emphasize the factthat people have been askingabout this and it’s not just ran-dom,” Schmidt said.

In a unanimous vote, theStudent Senatepassed the resolu-tion.

Kevin Kimberly,chairman of theCommittee onOversight, pro-posed an ideaoriginating fromsophomore GraceConcealman, amember of theF i n a n c i a lM a n a g e m e n tBoard.

The proposalcalls for the estab-lishment of The Shirt CharityEndowment, which will enableinterest to be collected on 50 per-cent of funds collected for TheShirt Charity. The current funds

do not allow for interest, howevermaking it into an endowmentwould help to earn more moneyinto the account.

Schmidt said he thought theidea was “genius.”

Senate passed theresolution with anunanimous vote.

The next resolu-tion, “A ResolutionProposing anAmendment to theConstitution of theUnd e r g r a dua t eStudent BodyRevising theSchedule of State ofthe Student UnionAddresses,” was alsoproposed byKimberly.

The resolutioncalls for the State of the StudentUnion to be made by the studentbody president’s election, by thelast Senate meeting of the semes-ter, by the last Senate meeting of

November and by the last Senatemeeting of his or her term.

Kimberly said a changing of thedeadlines is needed.

“The way it is now, there is notmuch to work on,” Kimberly said.

With the exception of oneabstention, the Student Senatevoted unanimously to pass theresolution.

The fourth and final resolution,“A Resolution Calling for theRetention of the Late NightTranspo Service,” was proposedby Jeff Lakusta, chairman of theCommittee on University Affairs.

Lakusta was clear in stating thepurpose of the resolution.

“Hundreds of students are rid-ing it every weekend,” Lakustasaid. “Given that success we wantto encourage student affairs tocontinue supporting this service.”

Senate voted nearly unanimous-ly to pass this resolution as well.

TOM LA/The Observer

Student Senate president Grant Schmidt speaks during aSenate meeting in this file photo.

Senate passes 4 resolutions SGA plans for end ofthis academic year

STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATIONSTUDENT SENATE

Boy Scouts set to hold dinner to mark 100th anniversary

In preparation for theirupcoming term as leaders ofSaint Mary’s StudentGovernment Association (SGA)beginning April 1, juniorsRachael Chesley and LauraSmith attended Wednesday’smeeting.

Chesley and Smith werevoted in as SGA president andvice president, respectively, forthe 2010-11 academic yearduring the election Feb. 26.

SGA has started to preparefor the end of the 2009-10term and will meet only threemore times before the newlyelected officers are sworn inon April 1.

Chesley and Smith wereshadowing the current presi-dent and vice president inpreparation for their terms inoffice. They will continue toobserve until they are sworn into office and, after elections forthe other offices this week, thenew class officers will also beattending the SGA meetings.

“The year is coming to aclose very quickly and ourterm in office is almost over,”current SGA president andsenior Jenny Hoffman said.“It’s time to think of what finalthings you would like toaccomplish for the studentbody.”

Some of the suggestionsmade by the SGA membersincluded vending machines inthe Student Center and newvacuums in the dorms.

Hoffman also said she andthe current SGA vice presidentand junior, Megan Griffin,were attempting to initiate aSaint Mary’ s heritage course.

The course would be one cred-it and would teach studentsabout the origins and foundingvalues of the College.

One of the final things SGAhas done for the students ofSaint Mary’s College is to helpfund one of the bigger eventson campus — DanceMarathon.

Kelly Deranek, Saint Mary’ssenior, presented a proposalasking for funding for DanceMarathon. The event is in itsfifth year at the College andraises money for the RileyHospital for Children inIndianapolis.

“The event’s goal is to cele-brate the hard work DanceMarathon has done all year toraise money for the hospital,”Deranek said. “It promotesawareness of the hospital butthe Marathon night is all aboutfun.”

The board members for theevent have already begunfundraising, but because allthe money has been donated tothe hospital, they still neededfunding for the event, Deraneksaid.

The marathon is 12 hours ofdancing with live entertain-ment and a DJ. It also includesfood, games, last minute dona-tions and a counting of howmuch money was raised.

Dance marathon will be heldin Angela Athletic Facility from8 p.m. March 26 to 8 a.m.March 27. The event is forSaint Mary’s, Notre Dame andHoly Cross students. Deraneksaid they are expecting around550 people, which is thelargest attendance the eventhas ever had.

Contact Meghan Price atmprice02@saintmarys.edu

Contact Scott Englert atsenglert@nd.edu

By SCOTT ENGLERTNews Writer By MEGHAN PRICE

News Writer

Reunion celebrates, recognizes past accomplishments of troops, reunites local Eagle Scouts at Joyce Center

Proposals accepted with nearly unanimous votes Wednesday

“Given that success we want toencourage studentaffairs to continuesupporting this serv-

ice (Transpo).”

Jeff Lakustachairman

Committee on UniversityAffairs

The LaSalle Council, the localchapter of the Boy ScoutsAmerica, will host a special 100thanniversary dinner and EagleScout reunion in the Joyce Centerat 6:30 p.m. tonight.

Aside from recognizing theaccomplishment of Boy Scouts ofAmerica being an active, con-tributing organization to societyfor the last 100 years, tonight’sevent will also serve to reunite andhonor Eagle Scouts in the area.

In boy scouting, the lifetimehonor of Eagle Scout is the highesthonor one can accomplish and is

only achieved by about 3 percentof scouts.

“We’re giving them the opportu-nity to come back and celebrate,”said Patrick Bridges, ScoutExecutive and CEO of LaSalleCouncil Boy Scouts. “We’re thank-ing them for their service to othersin scouting and for what they’vegone on to do. We also want tohelp them reconnect and getinvolved in Boy Scouts againwhether it be financially, as aleader or in any other way thatcan fit into their lifestyle.”

Bridges said the group is strug-gling to find leadership.

“Boy Scouts has changed morein the last few years than it has inthe last 20,” Bridges said. “The

future looks bright but it’s gettingchallenging to find adult leaders.We need to continue to work to getmore adult leaders and need toconnect more with places likeNotre Dame.”

Bridges said Notre Dame waspicked to host the event for tworeasons.

“Notre Dame has a lot of thesame values that scouting has:God, country and serving others,”he said. “Also, the guest speaker isChris Zorich, so we thought thatNotre Dame would be a good fit.”

Zorich, a former Notre Dameand NFL football player and phi-lanthropist, was chosen to speakbased on his experiences, Bridgessaid.

‘“We feel that his life and whathe stands for will resonate withthe Boy Scouts and volunteers andremind them of the Boy Scout val-ues,” he said. “The volunteers andEagle Scouts are excited to hearhim say a few words to us.”

As the founder of theChristopher Zorich Foundation tohelp disadvantaged families,Zorich embodies the importanceand value of service to others,which is a central part of BoyScouts, Bridges said.

Boy Scouts has worked withover 100 million boys in the last100 years and research indicatesthat involvement in Boy Scoutsyields positive results in suchareas as honesty and sportsman-

ship, Bridges said. “People think of Boy Scouts as

an outdoor or recreational pro-gram, when really that’s just thevehicle through which we helpyouth reach their full potentialand instill in them values andmorals according to scouting law,”Bridges said.

Bridges also encourages NotreDame students to get involved bycalling (800) 822-3867 or visitingthe Boy Scouts website atwww.lasallecouncilbsa.org

“Students can even walk over toour headquarters right next door,”Bridges said.

Contact Caitlyn Kalscheur atckalsche@nd.edu

By CAITLYN KALSCHEURNewsWriter

CARACAS — PresidentHugo Chavez lashed out atSpain’s prime ministerWednesday for askingVenezuela to respond to aSpanish judge’s accusationthat his government collab-orated with Basque sepa-ratists and Colombianrebels.

Spanish Prime MinisterJose Luis RodriguezZapatero on Mondaydemanded an explanationfrom Venezuela after JudgeEloy Velasco announcedthat an investigation turnedup evidence Chavez’s gov-ernment facilitated collabo-ration between the Basquegroup ETA and Colombia’sleftist rebels — and the twogroups planned to assassi-nate Colombia’s president.

The following day, Spain’sforeign minister said thathe had spoken with Chavezand Venezuela’s foreignminister and that bothdenied the allegations butpromised an investigation.

But on WednesdayChavez warned that diplo-matic relations between thetwo countries could be hurtif Spanish officials insist onseeking answers fromVenezuela.

“We don’t have anythingto explain,” Chavez saidduring a televised speech.“Relations will depend onthe Spanish government’sattitude.”

Chavez denied his social-ist government maintainsties with ETA or theRevolutionary ArmedForces of Colombia, whichare classified as terroristorganizations by theEuropean Union and theUnited States.

“This is a governmentthat does not, and will not,support terrorist groups,”Chavez said.

ETA has been waging aviolent campaign since thelate 1960s to create anindependent Basque home-land in northern Spain andsouthwestern France. TheFARC has been battlingsince 1964 to topple suc-cessive Colombian govern-

ments and establish aMarxist-style state.

Velasco indicted six mem-bers of ETA, most of themexiled in Latin America,and seven members of theFARC for a variety ofalleged crimes, includingplotting to kill formerColombian PresidentAndres Pastrana andColombia’s current presi-dent, Alvaro Uribe.

Velasco said the investi-gation that began in 2008turned up evidence of“Venezuelan governmentalcooperation” in the collabo-ration between the twogroups. ETA members havereceived training or taughtin FARC rebel camps, andFARC members traveled toSpain to try to kill Pastranaand Uribe, with help fromETA, Velasco wrote.

Velasco identified sus-pected ETA member ArturoCubillas Fontan as a keyfigure in links between ETAand the FARC. The manlives in Venezuela, has helda job in the Chavez govern-ment and may still haveone, the judge wrote.

The probe is based large-ly on e-mails that were in acomputer used by a FARCleader named Raul Reyes,who died in a Colombianmilitary raid on a FARCcamp in Ecuador in March2008.

Chavez noted one of hispredecessors as president,Carlos Andres Perez, andformer Spanish PrimeMinister Felipe Gonzalezsigned agreements in 1989allowing several Basqueseparatists to take up resi-dence in Venezuela after

peace talks between Spain’sgovernment and ETA rep-resentatives broke down.

“These people came hereand they becameVenezuelans,” Chavez said.

Chavez did not addressthe judge’s allegation thatCubillas Fontan has workedfor his administration.

Spanish Attorney DanielPortero, who closely followsETA’s activities, told TheAssociated Press that heexpects Spain’s judiciary torun into difficult obstaclesas it attempts to bringexiled members of theBasque separatist group tojustice.

“It’s very complicated,”Portero said, noting Spain’sgovernment doesn’t want tospoil warm relations withVenezuela’.

AP

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez holds up a vaccine in Caracas Wednesday. Chavez lashedout at Spain’s accusations that his government collaborated with separatist militants.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

JACKSON, Miss. — First ladyMichelle Obama visited Jackson onWednesday and watched children playon swings and a jungle gym at aschool whose programs have beenlauded for fighting obesity by keepingkids active.

It was the first of her two stops inMississippi, which ranks No. 1 inchildhood and adult obesity, accordingto the Centers for Disease Control andPrevention.

The first lady’s visit was part of herrecently announced Let’s Move! cam-paign to promote healthy habits atschools.

Maggie Benson White, who was put-ting up a poster outside Pecan ParkElementary School to welcome Mrs.Obama, said she hoped that the firstlady’s visit would inspire healthy eat-ing habits in her community and atinner-city schools.

“Our children are not eating proper-ly. We have a lot of parents who don’tknow how to serve nutritious meals. Ifwe could teach them to let McDonald’sgo, it would have a big impact,” saidWhite, who is president of the WestPark Neighborhood Association,where Pecan Park Elementary islocated.

The first lady’s campaign on obesityhas four parts: helping parents make

better food choices, serving healthierfood in school vending machines andlunch lines, making healthy food moreavailable and affordable, and encour-aging children to exercise more.

Obama said she realized it’s hard forsome schools across the country tomake such changes immediatelybecause budgets are tight. She saidthe Child Nutrition Act that is up forreauthorization includes $10 billionover 10 years to help with thoseissues.

Later at Brinkley Middle School, shegot a rock star reception as about1,000 people, including hundreds ofstudents cheered loudly when she wasannounced at a rally.

NATIONAL NEWS

Gov. names health commissionerINDIANAPOLIS — A retired Eli Lilly medical

director and former family physician is the state’snew health commissioner.

Gov. Mitch Daniels announced Wednesday thatDr. Gregory N. Larkin will replace current com-missioner Dr. Judy Monroe beginning April 1.

Monroe will leave her state position March 8 tobecome a deputy director of the federal Centersfor Disease Control and Prevention and head anew CDC office.

Larkin was Eli Lilly’s global medical director andhealth care liaison. He managed five domestichealth care clinics and the company’s employeeand retiree health plan during his 22-year career.

LOCAL NEWS

Compiled from The Observer’s wire servicesWorld & Nation

Thursday, March 4, 2010 page 5

Venezuelan President lashes out at Spain’s accusations of link with ETA, FARC

Israel calls off raid over Facebook slipJERUSALEM — Israel’s military has

“unfriended” one of its own — after a com-bat soldier potentially updated Israel's ene-mies on Facebook.

The military said Wednesday that aplanned raid on a West Bank village wascalled off after the soldier disclosed itsdetails online. The military said the soldierposted the time and location of the raid onhis Facebook page, saying that troops wereplanning on “cleaning up” the village.

Fellow soldiers reported the leak to mili-tary authorities, who canceled the raid, fear-ing that the information may have reachedhostile groups and put troops at risk.

The soldier was court-martialed and sen-tenced to 10 days in prison. He was alsoremoved from his battalion and combat post-ings.

Huge wave kills 2 on cruise shipBARCELONA, Spain — A 26-foot wave

smashed into a cruise ship carrying nearly2,000 people in the Mediterranean onWednesday, smashing glass windshields andkilling two passengers, according to officialsand news reports.

Another six people suffered light injuries,the Greek coast guard said in a statement.The victims were identified as a German andan Italian man.

The ship asked for permission to dock inBarcelona and arrived at the Spanish portshortly after 9 p.m. (2200 GMT), the Spanishnews agency Europa Press said.

Associated Press

Associated Press

Chavez denies ties with rebels

First lady tours Miss. schools to tout health

Air traf fic workers suspendedNEW YORK — As planes waited to take off

from Kennedy Airport, the jargon-packedradio chatter between controllers and pilotswas interrupted by a young boy’s voice:“JetBlue 171, cleared for takeoff.”

An air traffic controller who brought hisson to work let the youngster read a fewroutine messages to pilots — and thenbrought in another child the next day — inan incident that amused pilots but not theFederal Aviation Administration.

Authorities suspended the controller and asupervisor Wednesday after a recording ofthe radio calls was posted on the Internet,then reported by a Boston television station.

Scientists pleased with orbiter resultsPASADENA, Calif. — Scientists are

impressed with the flood of data beamedback by NASA’s most advanced Mars orbiter.

The space agency said Wednesday theMars Reconnaissance Orbiter has sent back100 terabits of information since 2006.That’s equal to about 3 million songs in MP3format.

Launched from Florida in 2005, the recon-naissance orbiter reached Mars in March2006. It is the most powerful probe ever sentto the Red Planet.

Project scientist Rich Zurek of NASA’s JetPropulsion Laboratory says he is blown awayby the quality of the images and other tidbitsthat give scientists a deeper understandingof the planet.

Last year, the reconnaissance orbiter suf-fered several computer resets that temporar-ily halted science operations. It has sincereturned to normal.

VENEZUELA

their data and services.”What this explosive demand

requires is innovative technol-ogy and spectrum regulationthat provides more spectrumand allows service providersto squeeze more data intotheir spectrum allocations,Laneman said. But there areno simple solutions.

“We can draw many analo-gies between spectrum grid-lock and rush hour traffic.Providing more spectrum islike adding another lane to amajor highway,” Lanemansaid. “If we add another lane,

traffic will flow more freely.But a lot of people will com-plain i f the wider highwayinfringes on their land or addsaddit ional noise to theirneighborhood.”

Laneman said a balancemust be found.

“Such cooperation can bedifficult to realize when every-one acts in what they perceiveto be their own best interestsrather than working toward acol lect ive goal ,” Lanemansaid.

Viewing such challenges asopportunities, the College ofEngineering recent lyannounced the launch of theWireless Inst i tute at theUniversi ty of Notre Dame,which according to its Web

site is “an internationally pre-eminent center of research,education, technology transferand outreach activities thatdevelops wireless communica-tion and networking technolo-gies, applications and eco-nomic and policy studies ofgreat value to society.”

Laneman will serve as direc-tor of the Institute, along withChristian Poellabauer, assis-tant professor of computerscience and engineering, andBarry Keating and Jesse H.Jones, professors of finance.

“We are proud that NotreDame is able to help us launchthis initiative amid the eco-nomic difficulties experiencedby many universi t ies ,”Laneman said. “The faculty

are really excited, and we’reworking on getting the stu-dents excited, too.”

The first focal point laid outon the institute’s Web site is todevelop technologies thatunlock and make better use ofspectrum. And while techno-logical research and innova-tion are key components ofthe institute’s goals, it putsequal stress on taking a multi-disciplinary approach to theissues so that students fromal l areas of s tudy can getinvolved, Laneman said.

Laneman and Keating areoffering an undergraduateseminar course this semesterto expose a broader set of stu-dents to the relevant issues.

“Students can just read the

newspaper to real ize thatthere’s so much more going onhere than technology researchand development,” Lanemansaid. “There are significanteconomic, legal, security andpublic policy issues. At a morebasic level, there’s the ques-tion of what’s best for societywhen it comes to allocatingspectrum for universal broad-band access, public safety andnational security along withcommercial wireless services.As a values-based communitywith an emphasis on research,Notre Dame is an ideal placefor new ini t iat ives in thisspace.”

The Observer � CAMPUS NEWSpage 6 Thursday, March 4, 2010

the 2nd annual Notre DameUndergraduate Scholars

Conferencehttp://undergradresearch.nd.edu

Have a GREAT Spring Break!

Reminde

r Submissiondeadline Monday, March 16th

2010 UNDERGRADUATE SCHOLARS CONFERENCE

Call for PresentationsDeadline is Friday, March 19

See website for Information and Application

Questions?

Contact Cecilia Lucero, Ph.D., clucero@nd.edu

Let’s see, surfing, submissions,

surfing, submissions...

the 3rd annual Notre Dame

roughly 150 students onFridays and Saturdays, withthe only major decreasesoccurring on the weekends ofmidterms and finals.

The high rider numbers haveled to a certain amount of foottraffic at pick-up locations nearthe local restaurants and barsTranspo serves, Schmidt said.

“All of the establishments onthe Transpo route seem tohave a heavy amount of traffic,especially during late-nighthours when demand is high fora cab,” he said.

Schmidt said the Transposystem came from a studentgovernment concern aboutsafety of students traveling tooff-campus venues. After the

Jan. 17 assault of three NotreDame students who were wait-ing for the Transpo bus,Schmidt said student govern-ment has taken additionalmeasures to ensure the contin-ued safety of students usingTranspo.

“The day after that hap-pened, I talked to Transpoabout how to address futureincidents,” he said. “Studentgovernment also printed mapson cards with the Transporoute and times on it. It wasone initial way to inform stu-dents of where they should beand at what time.”

Schmidt said the incidentwas “extremely unfortunate”but pointed out it was the onlyviolent altercation that hasoccurred in relation toTranspo.

Ryan Brellenthin, studentgovernment chief of staff, said

the incident was regrettablebut overall, Transpo has beena “phenomenal” service overthe past few months.

“From the beginning,Transpo has been all aboutsafety of students when theyare off campus,” Brellenthinsaid. “The incident was isolat-ed and I think people would behard-pressed to say thatTranspo caused the incident.”

As a result, student govern-ment has taken steps to ensureUniversity students are neverwaiting around for the bus andthereby exposing themselves topotentially dangerous activity.

“Overall, the bus has beenextremely efficient,” Schmidtsaid. “The times on the routeare approximate but if the busis ever ahead of schedule, thedriver waits until it gets backon schedule, so that way, thebus is never early.”

Student body vice presidentCynthia Weber said theTranspo system has not onlyachieved the goals student gov-ernment put forth, but has alsobenefited the South Bend com-munity, where relationsbetween the University and thecity have been strained attimes in the past.

“Transpo has proved to be aservice to the student body. It’sboth a convenient measure anda safety measure,” she said.“It’s also created bridges to therest of the community byencouraging students to go outin South Bend.”

Brellenthin said he thinks thesuccess of the weekendTranspo service has alertedstudents to the Transpo systemas a whole, which allows NotreDame students to ride to areaslike the University Park Mallfree of charge.

“It has brought a greaterawareness to the Transpo sys-tem as a whole, which NotreDame has had a relationshipwith for many years,” he said.“This particular route is anextension of the relationship.”

Overall, student governmentis pleased with the success ofTranspo. Schmidt said hethinks the initiative has been“popular” with the studentbody and he hopes it will con-tinue next year.

The bus will stop runningwhen the academic year con-cludes in May. Student bodypresident-elect and vice presi-dent-elect, Catherine Soler andAndrew Bell , wil l decidewhether or not the service willcontinue to be offered for the2010-11 academic year.

Transpocontinued from page 1

Contact Molly Madden atmmadden3@nd.edu

Wirelesscontinued from page 1

Contact Lily Hough atlhough1@nd.edu

MARKET RECAP

BusinessThursday, March 4, 2010 page 7

The Observer

IN BRIEF

DETROIT — At least 15Toyota drivers have com-plained to U.S. safety officialsthat their cars sped up bythemselves even after beingfixed under recalls for stickygas pedals or floor mat prob-lems, according to anAssociated Press analysis.

The development raisesquestions about whetherToyota’s repairs will bring anend to the cases of wild,uncontrolled acceleration orif there may be electroniccauses behind the com-plaints that have dogged theautomaker.

Although the allegationswere unverified by theagency, the NationalHighway Traffic SafetyAdministration saidWednesday it was contactingpeople who have complainedabout acceleration problemseven after repairs were doneunder two large recalls. Theagency wants to hear fromothers who have had similartroubles, it said.

“If Toyota owners are stillexperiencing sudden accel-eration incidents after takingtheir cars to the dealership,we want to know about it,”agency administrator DavidStrickland said in a state-ment.

The new complaints raisedeyebrows in Congress, whichhas held three hearings onthe recalls in the past weekand is investigating Toyota’ssafety problems.

“I am deeply concernedthat NHTSA has receivedthis many reports of possiblesudden unanticipated accel-eration even after thesevehicles have receivedToyota’s recommended fix,”said Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Iowa, who serves on one ofthe committees investigatingToyota.

“It’s critical that we get tothe bottom of this problemas quickly as possible.”

Toyota spokesman BrianLyons said Wednesday thecompany was investigatingthe complaints, though itremains confident in itsrecall fixes. Teams of engi-neers are being mobilized to

check into the complaints, hesaid.

Toyota has recalled morethan 8 million vehiclesworldwide since October tofix floor mats that can snaggas pedals or faulty gaspedal assemblies that canstick.

NHTSA says 52 peoplehave been killed in crasheslinked to Toyota’s accelera-tion problems. Toyota hasblamed mechanical causesor drivers pressing thewrong pedal. However, somequestion whether the elec-tronic throttle system or asoftware glitch may be atfault, rather than a mechani-cal issue involving pedals.Toyota says it is looking intoelectronics as a possiblecause.

In the meantime, com-plaints keep coming in from

drivers who say the fix hasnot solved the problem,including at least 15 filedwith NHTSA in the last twoweeks, according to an APanalysis of the agency data-base.

The owner of a 2009Camry, Stewart Stogel, ofMount Vernon, N.Y., told theAP he narrowly missed driv-ing over an embankmentand hitting a wall when themid-size sedan acceleratedon its own last Saturday —five days after being servicedas part of the recall.

Stogel, who has not filed acomplaint with NHTSA, saidthe incident occurred nearhis home after a dealershiptrimmed the gas pedal andinstalled new brake controlsoftware as part of the floormat recall.

“At first the brakes didn’t

engage at all,” said the 49-year-old freelance journalist.“Just as I approachedTerrace Avenue, the wheelswere able to get some trac-tion, and all of the suddenthe engine did disengage.”

Stogel said the car hadaccelerated two previoustimes before the recall fix,and both times he took it todealerships to be checked. Inone case it was inspected bya Toyota corporate techni-cian who could find nothingwrong, he said.

After the latest incident,Stogel called his dealer, whotold him to return with thecar so Toyota engineerscould inspect it. He did so onWednesday and was given aloaner car. He also left amessage with Toyota MotorSales U.S.A. President JimLentz.

AP

Stewart Stogel of Mt. Vernon, N.Y., speaks about the problems with his 2009 ToyotaCamry while sitting in a parking lot in New Rochelle, N.Y., Wednesday.

DETROIT — Bob Lutz, the long-time auto industry executive who lednearly a complete overhaul ofGeneral Motors’ lineup, will retireMay 1.

“My work here is done,” the 78-year-old executive said in an e-mailto The Associated Press from theGeneva Motor Show on Wednesday.

Lutz, GM’s vice chairman and a for-mer U.S. Marine aviator who oncecrashed his personal helicopter at aMichigan airport, has been responsi-ble for overhauling design at GM andhas held senior positions at threeother automakers during his career.

However, Lutz’s role at GM dimin-ished during his last year with theautomaker. He originally planned to

retire at the end of 2009, butchanged his mind after then-CEOFritz Henderson asked him to leadthe GM’s marketing efforts as thecompany exited bankruptcy protec-tion.

But Henderson was ousted fromthe company in December. His suc-cessor, Ed Whitacre, took away Lutz’smarketing duties and made him a“special adviser” — an ambiguousposition that left him with no onereporting to him. Whitacre said hewanted Lutz to help him learn theropes at GM.

Long a fan of flashy race cars, Lutzhas called the Chevrolet Volt, thegas-electric sedan that can go up to40 miles on battery-power alone, hisproudest achievement.

Lutz is also credited with leading

crosstown rival Chrysler Group LLCto success in the 1990s and spenttime at Ford Motor Co. andGermany’s BMW AG. He rejoined GMin 2001.

At the Detroit auto show inJanuary, Lutz said he supportedopening more factories to producehot-selling products. That was howChrysler gained market share in the1990s, he said. But GM executivesruled that possibility out earlier thisweek.

Still, Lutz said Wednesday hewould be leaving GM happy with theway the company was running.

“The whole organization, top tobottom, now has absolute productsuperiority as the highest objectivewhich enables all others,” he said inan e-mail. “So, I can retire in peace.”

15 customers complain that cars still speeding by themselves following repairs

Associated Press

Associated Press

Drivers say Toyota fixes don’t work

Bob Lutz, GM’s ‘ultimate car guy,’ to retire

Tropicana Casino purchase approvedATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — New Jersey on

Wednesday ended its conservatorship ofTropicana Casino and Resort after 27 monthsand gave final approval of its sale to billionaireCarl Icahn.

The state Casino Control Commission also gaveIcahn interim casino authorization, allowing hiscompany to take over operations. He bought itout of bankruptcy last year for $200 million.

The approval gives Icahn a stronger grip on aquickly expanding empire of casinos he’s boughtrelatively cheap out of bankruptcy.

In January, he received regulatory approval totake control of nine Tropicana Entertainment LLCcasinos in Nevada, Indiana, Louisiana andMississippi as they emerged from a separatebankruptcy.

He’s reorganizing them into a publicly tradedcompany and plans to put them eventually underthe same umbrella as the Atlantic City landmark.

This year, he also bought the unfinishedFontainebleau Las Vegas casino resort on thestrip. On top of all that, last December, he boughtthe first-lien debt in Trump EntertainmentResort’s three Atlantic City casinos. Now, he andbanker Andy Beal are slugging it out against agroup that includes Donald Trump to become theowners when that company emerges from bank-ruptcy.

RealNetworks to end sales of DVD copierSAN FRANCISCO — RealNetworks Inc. has

settled lawsuits with six movie studios thatsought to stop it from selling technology thatlet consumers copy DVDs to their computers.

Under the settlement terms, which wereannounced Wednesday, RealNetworks can’tsell its RealDVD product or other similar tech-nology, the company said.

Walt Disney Co., Sony Corp. and others suedRealNetworks in 2008, arguing RealDVD is anillegal pirating tool that would stop consumersfrom buying movies on DVD that they couldcheaply rent, copy and return.

RealNetworks will also withdraw an appealit filed after a judge barred the company fromselling RealDVD in August.

The company will pay $4.5 million to thestudios for litigation costs and refund purchas-es of about 2,700 customers who bought theproduct.

The Observer � CAMPUS NEWSpage 8 Thursday, March 4, 2010

“I tend to think people whoapply get the picture thatChristian community is worthbuilding and fostering,” Doylesaid.

During the decision-makingprocess, Doyle said he and hiscurrent hall staff cast ninerounds of ballots.

“In between ballots, thereare a lot of conversations,”Doyle said. “We took aboutfour or five hours to get to thenine.”

Sr. Mary Donnelly, rector ofPangborn Hall, notified her

RA candidates of her deci-sions via email lastWednesday.

RAs have a variety of roles,Donnelly said.

“We look at RAs and all ofhall staff as a ministry ofpresence,” she said. “The RAsin particular are role models,they’re discipl inarians,they’re leaders in their sec-t ion, and they have theresponsibility of helping toshepherd and helping thefreshmen find their way.”

Emily Wurtenberger, one offive Pangborn RAs for nextyear, hopes to promoterespect among residents.

“It’s the little things liketalking too loudly out in the

halls when its study days,”Wurtenberger said. “No. 2,we’ve never had a dorm tripto the zoo and I really wouldlike to do that.”

Fr. Peter McCormick, rectorof Keough Hall , strived tobring together a diverse rangeof students for his RA team.

“When you build an RAstaff , you look to build ateam,” McCormick said. “If Iwere to use a basketball anal-ogy, you wouldn’t just have allpoint guards or just all cen-ters, but you have a variety ofdifferent personalities thatwill work together well.”

McCormick said he looksforward to working with stu-dents he met during his first

year as Keough’s rector.“The biggest way that

they’ve changed is certainly inmaturity like all people [that]grow and develop but also intheir love and appreciationfor Notre Dame and KeoughHall ,” McCormick said. “Ithink if you were to ask all ofthem, they would say thattheir greatest desire to be anRA is to give back to a com-munity that has given somuch to them.”

The Office of Residence Lifeand Housing will inform allRA applicants of their statuson March 15.

RAcontinued from page 1

Contact Katlyn Smith atksmith33@nd.edu

Write for Saint Mary’s News. E-mail Ashley at acharn01@saintmarys.edu

A team of MBA students fromthe University of Notre Dametook first place in the NinthAnnual Leeds Net Impact CaseCompetition. The two-day event,held Feb. 19 and 20 at theUniversity of Colorado, broughttogether the top-rated businessschools and future industryleaders. The competition is thepremier case format competi-tion built around businessesfacing sustainability challenges.

The Notre Dame team includ-ed Rachel Reiter, Jeff O’Connor,William O’Brien and JonathanPhillips, all one-year MBA stu-dents graduating in May.

The University of AlabamaManderson Graduate School ofBusiness took second placewhile the University of AlbertaSchool of Business took third.

Sixty-one MBA teams from 39business schools entered theLeeds event. The case involvedanalyzing opportunities inrenewable energy; more specifi-cally, how to address issues ofprofitability for Xcel in theareas of increasing renewableenergy and energy conserva-tion.

Round one of the competitioninvolved submitting aPowerPoint presentation inearly December. Twenty teamsthen advanced to the Februarysemifinal in Boulder, with fiveteams competing in the finalevent. The top three teamsearned cash prizes, with NotreDame taking home $6,000.

Xcel Energy, a Minneapolis-based public utility with morethan $9 billion in annual rev-enues and customers in eightstates, sponsored the competi-tion.

Participants of the competi-tion are affiliated with NetImpact, an international MBAnonprofit association committedto creating a community ofbusiness leaders who advancepractices of corporate socialresponsibility, social entrepre-neurship, nonprofit manage-ment, international develop-ment and environmental sus-tainability.

The Notre Dame MBA at theMendoza College of Businessenrolls approximately 340 stu-dents annually in its one-yearand two-year programs. Theprogram is designed to sharpenstudents’ analytical and prob-lem-solving skills, enhance theirleadership ability and increaseemphasis on ethical decisionmaking. Students have theopportunity to study the com-plexities of global businessthrough international immer-sions in Asia, Latin America andother locations.

ND MBA studentstake first incase contestSpecial to The Observer

The Observer � NATIONAL NEWSThursday, March 4, 2010 page 9

Four social workersface fraudcharges

PHILADELPHIA — Foursocial workers were convictedWednesday of fraud for submit-ting phony paperwork for visitsthey never made to a disabledteenage girl who weighed only42 pounds and was covered inmaggot-infested sores whenshe was found dead in herhome.

A federal jury in Philadelphiaconvicted the employees ofnow-defunct MultiEthnicBehavioral Health Inc. ofdefrauding the city of millionsof dollars by not visiting thefamily of Danieal Kelly, 14, andother needy households, thencreating paperwork thatclaimed they did.

Kelly, who had cerebralpalsy, weighed less than halfher expected weight when shewas found dead in 2006, anexpert witness for the prosecu-tion testified.

Company co-founders MickalKamuvaka, 60, and SolomonManamela, 52, and formercaseworkers Julius JumaMurray, 52, and MiriamCoulebaly, 41, were all convict-ed of conspiracy, lying to feder-al agents and multiple countsof health care fraud and wirefraud.

“Danieal Kelly paid the ulti-mate price for these defen-dants’ fraud, and we hope thatthis is some measure of justicefor her and the other childrenwho were the victims, really, ofthis fraud,” Assistant U.S.Attorney Bea Witzleben said.

Kamuvaka still faces trial ona state charge of involuntarymanslaughter in Kelly’s death.Murray, the caseworkerassigned to the family, alsofaces an involuntarymanslaughter trial and is beingheld pending trial this monthon federal immigrationcharges.

Defense attorneys forKamuvaka and Manamelaargued that they were victimsof “renegade” employees.Kamuvaka’s attorney, WilliamCannon, said his client was“very disappointed” by the ver-dict. Manamela’s attorney, PaulJ. Hetznecker, acknowledged“significant” mismanagementbut said his client was dedicat-ed to social work.

Manamela, whose attorneyargued that it was possible forhis client to have made therequired visits to Kelly’s homebut still to have missed evi-dence of her condition,declined to comment. Coulibaly,who had no direct role in theKelly case, also declined tocomment on the verdict.

Kelly’s mother, Andrea, isserving 20 to 40 years in prisonafter pleading guilty to third-degree murder.

The four are scheduled forsentencing in June. Prosecutorssaid sentencing guidelines indi-cate Kamuvaka could be sen-tenced to about nine to 11years or more in prison, whileManamela could get a term ofeight to 10 years. Coulibalycould face about six or sevenyears and Murray four or fiveyears in prison, prosecutorssaid.

Fired R.I. teachers will back reformsPROVIDENCE, R.I. — A dis-

trict superintendent who firedall the teachers from one of thestate’s most troubled schoolssaid Wednesday she’s willing tonegotiate with its teachers’union after it publicly pledged tosupport reforms.

Central Falls SuperintendentFrances Gallo said an offermade late Tuesday by theCentral Falls Teachers’ Uniongives her hope the issue couldbe resolved without mass fir-ings. The offer includes supportfor a longer school day and pro-viding before- and after-schooltutoring for students.

The Central Falls schoolboard voted last week to fire 93teachers and staff from thecity’s high school after the endof the school year. No more thanhalf the staff could be hiredback under federal rules.

Gallo said she wanted theunion to start participating intalks aimed at improving theschool that also include otherparties, such as parents. Shesaid if the plans conflict withlanguage in the teachers’ con-tracts, the union and school offi-cials could then negotiate.

The teachers’ union president,Jane Sessums, said she wascautiously optimistic both sidescould talk. Her union is appeal-ing the firings to the school dis-trict’s board of trustees and hasfiled a complaint with the stateLabor Relations Board, saying

the firings are unfair.“We have from the very begin-

ning said that as long as we’reback at the table, that’s wherewe want to be,” Sessums said.

State Department ofElementary and SecondaryEducation CommissionerDeborah Gist earlier orderedGallo to choose from one of fourreform options, including massfirings, to improve the highschool. Only 7 percent of 11th-

graders tested this fall wereproficient in math, while 33 per-cent of the high school studentstested proficient this fall in writ-ing and just 55 percent wereproficient in reading. Less thanhalf of students graduate fromCentral Falls in four years, statestatistics show.

Gist earlier said the process isnot a negotiation, but she alsoindicated that Gallo couldapproach her with another

plan.“I’m pleased that the teachers

have reached out and that Dr.Gallo is going to work with themin the planning process,” Gistsaid in a written statement.“Our focus is on how we canensure that the children ofCentral Falls receive an excel-lent education, and that isalways going to be improvedwhen all of the adults are work-ing together.”

Charges dropped against Calif. police officers

SAN JOSE, California — Fourpolice officers who were presentduring the violent videotapedarrest of an unarmedVietnamese college student willnot face criminal charges, prose-cutors said Wednesday.

Santa Clara County DistrictAttorney Dolores Carr said therewas insufficient evidence toprosecute the officers on chargesthey used excessive force whentrying to arrest Phuong Ho, astudent at California State

University, San Jose. Ho is fromHo Chi Minh City.

The Sept. 3 arrest has angeredthe San Jose’s large Vietnamese-American community, whichwas already upset over the fatalpolice shooting of a mentally illVietnamese man in May.

The incident began whenpolice received an emergencycall that a man was out of con-trol and waving a knife at hisroommate. Carr said when offi-cers arrived at the home, Howas uncooperative and unwill-ing to follow orders, and whenofficers tried to restrain Ho, he

twisted away.Carr noted that Ho’s actions

may have been a result of mis-communication with the officersabout whether they had permis-sion to go into his room.

“Nevertheless, at that point,the situation changed from aninvestigation by police of a manwho had threatened violenceagainst his roommates to anincreasingly unsuccessfulattempt by police to gain controlover a physically resistant sub-ject,” Carr said.

She said one officer used a“control hold” to get Ho to the

ground but he repeatedlyrefused to comply with orders toturn over to be handcuffed.

“Force was used intermittentlyfor the purpose of gaining hiscompliance,” Carr said.

Much of the incident wascaught on cell phone video takenby one of Ho’s roommates. Thegrainy recording shows one ofthe officers striking Ho repeated-ly with a baton and another offi-cer using a stun gun to try tosubdue him. Two other officersare at the scene later to try tohelp handcuff Ho, but did notuse weapons.

Associated Press

AP

Central Falls teachers’ union president, Jane Sessums, left, speaks while union official James Parisi lis-tens during a press conference before a committee meeting in Central Falls, R.I., on Feb. 23.

Associated Press

Associated Press

Viewpointpage 10 Thursday, March 4, 2010

The Observer

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“All of us tend to put off living. Weare all dreaming of some magicalrose garden over the horizon —

instead of enjoying the roses thatare blooming outside our windows

today.”

Dale CarnegieAmerican writer & lecturer

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Madeline BuckleyNEWS EDITOR:

AntiheroismNot one word of “The Ballad of Billy the

Kid” is true.He was born not in Wheeling, W. Va.,

but rather in the Irish heart of New YorkCity. He neither started with a bank inColorado norrobbed his wayfrom Utah toOklahoma — forhe was a ranchhand and some-time horse rustler,not a bank robber.And he was never ordered to be strungup by a judge for what he had done, asthe law shot him in the chest in the dark.

He may never have travelled heavy, buthe did not ride alone: he was a memberof the Regulators, a deputized posse whoaimed to avenge the murder of theiremployer, New Mexican rancher JohnTunstall. And while he soon put manyolder guns to shame, he did in fact have asweetheart — Paulita Maxwell, who maywell have served as the unwilling bait forhis ambush by Sheriff Pat Garrett. In theend, the ballad is wrong even about thehome he finally found: his Boot Hill gravebears the name “William H. Bonney” —the alias that would, in time, grow tomean more than “Henry McCarty” everdid.

“Every verse in this song is a lie,”admits Billy Joel. “You have to imagineit’s a Western movie, with the creditsrolling across the screen: ‘Randolph Scott.Lee Van Cleef. Clint Eastwood.’” It is not anovel thing, of course, for a musician toalter — or invent — the details of his pro-tagonist’s life for romantic effect: Rossini’sWilliam Tell and Lennon’s Bungalow Billcome immediately to mind. But the Kid’slife — his real life — was already wildlyromantic by any reasonable standard.What is revealing, therefore, is the formthat Joel’s invention takes: out of nothing,he weaves the story of a colossal anti-hero, a boy driven to rage against thegods of his world and, in his defianceunto death, become at last a man. It is the

story of one who struggles against allodds to become what each of us has itwithin himself to be — if only we could,like him, cast off the chains of law andorder.

There is an element of the ridiculous inall of this, of course: it is only possible toidentify with Billy as we do because thestory that Joel has woven is maximallygeneric — an archetypal bank robberrobbing archetypal banks and fightingarchetypal lawmen. But it is worth askingwhy it is this particular archetype thatinspires us: his fictional Kid is an outlawwho steals from the banks to whom ordi-nary men and women have trusted theirmoney — and when their elected officersof the law do their duty and try to stophim, he shoots them dead. He is a thiefand a murderer, differentiated from otherthieves and murderers only by the magni-tude of his crimes.

And yet, when that posse finally cap-tured Billy, the cowboy and the ranchercame pouring in like the sea to watch himdie — in awe of his contempt for theworld they had built. And their reaction isnot foreign to us: when the judge at lastorders Billy hung by the neck until dead, Ican feel only outrage at the injustice of it— and when he is buried in his Boot Hillgrave, only sorrow.

It is no great insight to suggest thateach of us sees himself in this Kid — thateach of us feels Billy’s death as his own.The same is true, I think, of Billy’s even-tual rebirth in Oyster Bay, Long Island:the boy with a six-pack in his hand isevery one of us, most of all Joel himself —his protests to the contrary irrelevant.“By the way, ‘Billy’ in this case is not me,myself and I,” he insists. “He still tendsbar in Oyster Bay.” Which is, of course,the first real lie in all of this.

It is no mystery that each of us seeshimself in the Kid — and, for that matter,in any of the great American antiheroes:these men are the real heirs to our ideals— to the land of the free and the home ofthe brave. Our nation was born in the

spirit of Billy the Kid — in our revoltagainst King and Country, in our theft ofhis property and our murder of his offi-cers of the law. It is better to die, we pro-claimed, than to live unfree.

And yet, it turned out that to defend ourfreedoms, it was necessary to sacrificethem, one by one. This has been increas-ingly obvious ever since our Civil War,even if it has never been an easy thing toadmit to ourselves: the power of govern-ment, corporation, and union over usgrows without apparent limit. The liber-tarians claim that this loss of freedom is,in fact, due to a vast conspiracy — that itwas done without our knowledge or con-sent. Which is, of course, the second reallie in all of this: we gave up our freedomswillingly, even eagerly, as did the citizensof an earlier Roman Republic. The hardtruth is that men, then and now, are cow-ards — that they will always sacrificetheir freedoms, one after another, forsecurity. That modernity — whether inthe Empire of the Romans or in our own— will always, in the end, collapse underits own weight.

I do not say this with censure: what is aman’s freedom, after all, next to his wifeand children and home? I do not knowthat he is wrong to sacrifice the former toprotect the latter. But I can appreciate thetragedy of it — and so can all of us, Ithink, deep down. This is why we glorifyour antiheroes: they have the courage tobe what we do not — free. And this free-dom is a dream from which we are anx-ious not to wake: it is who we are — or, atany rate, who we desperately want to be.In this sense, “The Ballad of Billy the Kid”is true after all.

Daniel John Sportiello is in his second year of the Ph.D. program inphilosophy. Listen to his radio show onWVFI every Sunday at 4 p.m. He can bereached at dsportie@nd.eduThe views expressed in this columnare those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Dan Sportiello

BoundVariables

EDITORIAL CARTOON

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“In love, one and one are one.”

Jean-Paul SartreFrench author & philosopher

Viewpoint page 11

The Observer

Thursday, March 4, 2010

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

It wasn’t long ago that saying somethingsucks would garner disapproving looks andperhaps a stern talking-to. Despite the factthat “sucks” refers to what many would con-sider a deviant sex act, it has become a com-mon part of our vocabulary. It’s widespreadusage in our vernacular has rendered theword largely inoffensive and powerless.

Etymologically, the word “retarded” is syn-onymous with “hindered,” “delayed” or“underdeveloped.” Thus, when people say,“Parietals are retarded,” they are, in effect,stating that the rationale behind said policyis underdeveloped. This is a perfectly legiti-mate usage of the word (and arguably anaccurate assessment of the situation).

When a word becomes taboo, it only

becomes more powerful. To remove thepower of the word, one must remove its stig-ma. If we embrace the word and use itwhere it is etymologically appropriate, it willcease to offend, and its stigma will disappear.As such, I hereby pledge to step up my effortsto remove the power of the “R” word by usingit as often as I can. Because why would wewant to give a word we don’t like morepower? That just strikes me as an underde-veloped line of reasoning. I’d even call itretarded.

Pete Reimersstaff

Hesburgh LibrariesMar. 3

Power and the ‘R’ word

A visit to ND is always bittersweet foralumni, but this week I experienced areturn to campus both more sorrowful andmore glorious than usual as we laid to restmy former teacher,mentor and friendDr. Gail Walton.

The funeral Masson Tuesday was atestament to Gail’slegacy — thepacked pews resounded with the voices ofhundreds in attendance. I have neverheard the Basilica echo so loudly with suchfervent singing of the psalms, hymns, andchants of the liturgy.

The Observer has recently featured testi-mony from Brian MacMichael and LauraHoffman — and a beautifully-written arti-cle on the funeral by Sarah Mervosh — allof which show Gail’s lasting influence uponthis school and her students.

There is one group of students whodeserve special commendation for theircourage and poise — the members of theLiturgical Choir, under assistant directorAndrew McShane, who led the sorrowfulcongregation in prayer and song as we saidgoodbye to our friend. Their performancewas outstanding and beautiful — not mere-ly in technical proficiency, but in the deepemotions which could be heard and feltbehind every note.

It was one of the bravest things I haveever seen. Imagine the football team sched-uled to play shortly after their coach died— and then going on to play one of thestrongest, most perfect games you’ve ever

seen. That’s what it was like to hear thechoir sing so well amid their evident sor-row.

There has been much talk lately of thestate of the religious identity of NotreDame. Gail was one of its unsung archi-tects; the music she and her choirs madefor so many masses and occasions eachyear were among the many invisible sup-ports helping to hold together the school’sCatholic character.

Speaking with fellow choir alums thisweek, several mentioned they have found ithard to explain what it was like to sing withthe Liturgical Choir under Gail and why ithas had such a lasting influence on ourlives. Perhaps if you’ve ever been on asports team with a great coach who trulydemanded the best of his players but alsoearned their complete trust; or if you’vebeen in one of those classes where theteacher challenged you every day but alsomade you want to do your best; or if you’velived in a dorm at ND where the rector wastough on you but always had your back —then you might know something of thesame feeling.

As Notre Dame’s greatest teachers havealways done, Gail taught her choir studentsto strive for excellence in a humble,Christian spirit. Their task is not to performfor themselves, but to serve God and others— to make the liturgy an experience thathelps people to pray. They work long hoursto make beautiful music, all for the greaterglory of God and in service to their neigh-bors. In her own quiet but strong faith Gailtaught her students to love this work as a

ministry, and to embrace the beauty of theChurch’s liturgy, and learn of its rich tradi-tion of sacred music.

There’s a classic film by the greatSpanish surrealist director Luis Buñuel inwhich the main characters are continuallyattempting to sit down for dinner, but arenever able to eat it, and the meal alwaysremains untouched. A satire of bourgeoismanners and social veneers, the film andthe plight of its characters reminds me ofmy own life as a young Catholic who reallyonly skimmed the surface of his faith formuch of my life. My time with the choiropened up an entire new world — the richbanquet of the Catholic traditions of liturgyand sacred music — and propelled me intoa deeper journey into the devotional andintellectual richness of the faith, which Ihad left untouched for too long.

I end with an entreaty to the entire NotreDame community, and especially to the stu-dents. The richness of the Church’s greattradition of worship and music is allaround you at Notre Dame. Come andexperience it, and support all the greatchoirs and everyone on campus who worksso hard, even in times of mourning, tobring a bit of the beauty and goodness theyhave experienced to others.

Hop out of bed just a bit earlier onSunday to get to the 10 a.m. Mass and hearthe choir sing. Or, in the evening, stop bythe Basilica to encounter God in the still-ness of the meditative evening service ofVespers. There’s no better way to calmdown and prepare for the demands of thecoming week than to pray and sing in a

candlelit chapel on a quiet Sunday evening.Better still: make plans to stay on campus

for Holy Week at least once during yourtime at Notre Dame to experience the greatliturgies of the Easter Triduum: HolyThursday, Good Friday and the gloriousEaster Vigil on Holy Saturday. It is the highpoint of the liturgical year and the culmina-tion of many hours of extra rehearsals.People come from all over to hear the spe-cial music sung only for this occasion. Ionce met a seminarian from Rome at theevening service of Tenebrae on HolyThursday. He told me, “They don’t even doit this well at St. Peter’s.”

Gail Walton was a vessel of God’s grace toall who knew her. Come and experience thefruits of her labor in the fine group ofyoung people singing in the choir — inthem the richness of the Church’s liturgyand the living tradition of transcendentmusic are preserved and celebrated. Itdoesn’t matter if you’re Catholic or non-Catholic, religious or non-religious. Thehuman heart knows beauty.

Come and see — a rich banquet has beenprepared. This courageous group of stu-dents will show you the best of what NotreDame is all about. And they will help you topray, as their director always taught themto do.

Timothy Green is a Notre Dame gradu-ate of the Class of 1998 and the ACE Classof 2000.The views expressed in this column arethose of the author and not necessarilythose of The Observer.

Gail’s legacy

Carry your prayer with you wherever you goListen up, all of you who are packing

your suitcases for wherever you’re goingnext week … or maybe wherever you’regoing later today! Oops, did you forget toput your Bible in there? OK, let’s thinkabout this. You’reheaded out onSpring Break,which probablymeans a) a sweetvacation; b) aninspiring servicetrip; or c) time at home with the family. Nomatter what your week’s agenda holds,here’s a suggestion to make it even better.Treat yourself to a few minutes of prayereach day. Really.

So let’s say that a few weeks ago youdecided to give up a favorite indulgencefor Lent, like chocolate, pizza, beer orwatching “Chuck” on TV. You may haveeven specified to yourself, “No desserts …except on Spring Break,” or “No caramellattes … except during break week.” Ifyou’re cutting yourself a little slack on thesacrifices this week, why not try adding anew luxury? Try even just a few momentsa day of quiet prayer. After all, the season

of Lent did not develop in the Church as“40 Days in Which Christians Give up StuffThey Like to Make ThemselvesMiserable.” We’re supposed to use thistime to grow closer to God; to seek theways in which we can prepare our hearts,growing more open to God’s love, to renewthe promises of our baptism. Is a Lentwithout your favorite snacks doing that foryou? In all likelihood, you’ll have a littlemore time on your hands than usual dur-ing this Spring Break week. Even if youdidn’t even specifically think “prayer”back when you established your Plan forLent 2010, now’s your chance. Add a littleextra prayer every day over break, andwho knows? It might stick.

Bring something, a little something, withyou wherever you go next week. Whetheryou’re headed off on a service project, outto a sunny beach, or home to hang outwith family and friends, we all need a littletime for private prayer. Even if you are onan organized service trip that includesMass or other prayers, have you foundsome way to pray each day, just for youyourself alone?

Back to putting that Bible in your suit-

case. If yours is big and heavy, like mine;or if you have reason to believe that yourBible may face hazardous conditions whiletraveling (those airline luggage guysTHROW your bags, you know); or if you’reheaded someplace with lots of sand andwater, you may want to consider someother options. Do you still have the NotreDame prayer book you received as afreshman? Bring that. Or you can pick upfree “Little Black Books” of daily prayerfor Lent at CoMo. “Living with Christ,”another free option from Campus Ministry,contains all the Scripture readings fordaily and Sunday Mass as well as a varietyof other prayers and articles. Both ofthese, as well as other no-cost Lentresources available at CoMo, have theadvantage of extreme portability, andquite frankly, none of them is of heirloomquality, so you won’t mind so much havingto mash it into your bag.

Are you bringing your laptop,Blackberry or iPhone with you this week?You can even access prayer websites ifyou’ll have an internet connection. Tryndprayercast.org or pray.nd.edu for twooptions that will keep you from feeling

homesick while you’re away from theDome. Other good sites include sacred-space.ie or the “3-minute retreat” at loy-olapress.com. For a quick daily suggestionthat you can even receive via email, checkout bustedhalo.com and click on theirreally cool Lent calendar called Fast PrayGive.

No matter which you choose, pick somekind of prayer you’ll use, make any bookyou bring portable enough that it won’tend up on your bed or desk instead of inyour suitcase when you’re fighting to getthe zipper closed, and then do it. Spend afew minutes listening and conversing withGod, reading and praying with His words;enter those websites into your wirelessdevice; find a quiet spot and enjoy a weekof days that might just help transformyour journey to Easter joy.

This week’s FaithPoint was written byKate Barrett, director of the Emmausprogram in Campus Ministry. She can bereached at kbarrett@nd.eduThe views expressed in this column arethose of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Kate Barrett

FaithPoint

Timothy P.Green

Guest Column

Do Springright this year.

Be green.

Please recycleThe Observer.

Scenepage 12 Thursday, March 4, 2010

The Observer

One of the fall back defenses to beingunpopular is the tale of the misunderstoodgenius. Luminaries such as El Greco, F.Scott Fitzgerald and Alfred Wegener werewidely unappreciated before their respec-tive deaths but are well-respected today.While it’s a great, if fantastical, comfort forthose struggling to make it, the simple fact

remains mostunpopu larart is justplain bad.For everyVan Gogh,there are1,000 artistswilling to

paint a vague-ly familiar

landscape,portrait

o r

still life. With that in mind, after months of specu-

lation, it was announced yesterday thatComedy Central’s “Michael and MichaelHave Issues” was canceled. The short-livedseries was the latest vehicle for the perpet-ually comedic minds of Michael Ian Blackand Michael Showalter. It is also the latestpiece of theirs canceled before its third sea-son.

Both comedians cut their teeth in theirmid-20s on the MTV show “The State.”Back when MTV was still playing musicvideos, “The State” was the best sketchcomedy on the air, bridging the gapbetween Saturday Night Live’s fall fromgrace and HBO’s equally uproarious“Mr. Show.” Never truly appreciated inits time, “The State” found a cult followingand, 15 years later, a long-awaitedDVD release. Rumors of a full-length film have been persistent,but so far unfounded. Many of theshow’s alumni have gone on tosuccessful Hollywood or standupcareers, including Robert BenGarant, Thomas Lennon andKen Marino. None are exactlyhousehold names, but most arerecognizable character actors.Black and Showalter ended upin the same situation as theircostars.

Following “The State,” bothShowalter and Black went on tostar in their most successfulenterprise to date, the 2001movie “Wet Hot AmericanSummer.” The movie again found

a cult audience — noticing a theme? Thesmart meta-commentary on 1980s teencomedies was directed by David Wain, afrequent collaborator with the Michaels.Again, it was a classic example of a filmbeing critically acclaimed but ignored atthe box office.

Four years later, Black, Showalter andWain, with the support of Comedy Central,embarked on a promising partnership.

Comedy Central, still search-ing for success in the vein ofChappelle’s Show, was air-ing pilots from any promis-ing comedians they couldfind. From this caviler dis-semination of money sprung

the creative pinnacle ofBlack, Showalter

and Wain’sc a r e e r :

“Stella.” Itwas a

m a g -nif i -

cent mixture of satire, wit, absurdity anddumb humor, often featuring famous gueststars and fake mustaches. The show lastedone short, 10-episode season but inspired asold-out nationwide tour. Perhaps mostinsultingly, “Mind of Mencia” replaced theshow.

Showalter and Black left television for awhile but returned last year, again onComedy Central. Their show, “Michael andMichael Have Issues,” was a hybrid sketchshow and sitcom about its two title charac-ters, both loosely based on their own per-sonalities, trying to make a sketch show.(They say write what you know.)

The duo lost some of its sensibility withWain’s departure, and the show dragged attimes, but its glimpses of comedic goldshowed promise. Seven episodes in,Comedy Central halted production, finallycanceling the show months later. A DVDrelease with strong sales is expected, butnot strong enough to ultimately bring theshow back.

While consistently funny, Black andShowalter have a remarkable record ofturning out failed products. Make no mis-take, both make excessively comfortablelivings, but it’s hard to not feel bad for twointelligent comedians putting out excellentmaterial only to see it canceled, especiallyin a world where “Two and a Half Men” isthe top-rated comedy on TV. So please,whatever their next efforts, be it on stage,screen, or TV, buy a ticket or tune in andsupport the Michaels.

By NICK ANDERSONAssistant Scene Editor

Contact Nick Anderson at nanders5@nd.edu

For those students not traveling to awarm beach or exotic location forSpring Break — yes, some people actu-ally go, gasp, home — the highlight ofbreak may just be the 82nd AcademyAwards. Airing on ABC at 8 p.m. onMarch 7, this year’s show promisesall the glamour, glitz, and prestigeof before, but also a new sense offun and levity. This is thanks toproducers Adam Shankman(“Hairspray” director, “So YouThink You Can Dance” judge)and Bill Mechanic (chairmanand CEO, PandemoniumFilms), who vow to lighten upthe show that sometimes takesitself too seriously.

Co-hosts Steve Martin and AlexBaldwin should also assure somequality comedy at the Oscars thisyear. Both will bring a comfort-able stage presence: Martin hasprevious experience hosting theAcademy Awards, and Baldwin isalways a hit when he hosts“Saturday Night Live” — which hehas done 14 times. The potentialfor the comedic interactionsbetween the two hosts is one of thebiggest reasons to tune into theawards show.

But let’s get to the mostimportant part of theOscars (well, to some peo-ple): the awards. Most ofthe winners should be quiteobvious, as they have beenpicking up every award insight for the past fewmonths. This is espe-cially apparent in theSupporting Actor and

Supporting Actress categories.Christoph Waltz (“Inglorious

Basterds”) will rightfully win for histurn as a cunning Nazi who spoke animpressive four languages in the film.For Supporting Actress, comedienneMo’Nique is a shoo-in for her portrayal

of an abusive mother in “Precious.”What adds to the impressivenessof her performance is that beforethis role, Mo’Nique was mostlyknown as the host of several

trashy reality shows. The Best Actor award will

l ikely go toJeff Bridges( “ C r a z yHeart”) as theAcademy willwant to honor

a respectedactor who hasnever won,despite being nominated fivetimes.

So, why tune in if all the win-ners have basically already beenchosen?

Well, there is still debate aboutwho wil l take home the BestActress prize. It is a tight racebetween Sandra Bullock (“TheBlind Side”) and Meryl Streep(“Julie and Julia”). Both actresses

have managed to stand outin films that received only

so-so reviews (despite“The Blind Side’s” Oscarnomination for Best

Picture). Bullock stretched her

acting chops by takingon a role much differ-ent than her usualr o m a n t i c - c o m e d yleads, which many

voters will want to reward her for. Onthe other hand, Streep disappearedinto her portrayal of legendary chefJulia Child, and she just so happens tobe the most-nominated actor inAcademy Award history.

Another close call is for Best Pictureand Best Director, between “Avatar”and “The Hurt Locker,” and theirrespective directors, James Cameronand Kathryn Bigelow. One is a little-seen but much-acclaimed film about abomb disposal unit in Iraq, and theother — well, let’s just say basically

everyone has seen it. If Cameron wins Best

Director, it even furtherestablishes his claimthat he is “King of theWorld.” If Bigelow wins,it would be the first BestDirector win for afemale, which is a huge

accomplishment. Adding to the stakesis the fact that Cameron and Bigelowactually used to be married.

If awards and competition aren’treally your thing, then watch for theendless amounts of Hollywood A-listsightings. Steve Carell, Tina Fey, SachaBaron Cohen, Kristen Stewart andMiley Cyrus have all been scheduled topresent, even if some of them do notdeserve to be anywhere near anawards show celebrating acting ability(I’m talking to you, Stewart and Cyrus).Past winners are also sure to walk thered carpet in beautiful couture gowns.

The Academy Awards on Sunday area must-see for any film-lover or pop-culture addict. Unless you are lying onthe beach in Florida, of course, andthen you are totally excused.

By BRANDY CERNEScene Writer

Contact Brandy Cerne atbcerne1@nd.edu

The Academy Awardson Sunday are a must-see for any film-loveror pop-culture addict

ANDREA ARCHER | Observer Graphic

SceneThursday, March 4, 2010 page 13

The Observer

1. “The White Ribbon”Michael Haneke (“Cache,” “The Piano

Teacher”) creates a simple tale chroni-cling the strange atrocities committedin a seemingly quaint, innocentGerman town beforeWorld War I. A trip intothe heart of darkness,“White Ribbon” is aninquiry into a certainkind of evil bred by asociety left stagnant byits own strict moral codeand Protestant teachings— the same society thatno less than two decadeslater would commitatrocities that would killmillions of people. Oneof the most intriguingcharacter and culturalstudies ever made,“White Ribbon” succeeds for its insightinto a society and culture wherefacades bott le up the inescapablehuman capacity for evi l , only tounleash it in the worst of ways. This isthe year’s best film and the first since“There Will Be Blood” deserving of

being called a masterpiece.

2. “Antichrist”Costars Charlotte Gainsbourg and

Willem Dafoe give their entire selvesand then some unto director Lars vonTrier’s bare-as-bones, uncompromis-ingly bleak view of human nature. The

self-proclaimed “bestdirector in the world”admitted to having suf-fered from chronicdepression during thefilming of the movie,and the film undoubt-edly benefits from it, asit crosses into rare ter-ritory of being trulyaffecting art. Art thatat once will horrify hisaudience, abandon it,but ultimately, attest tothe true visceral powerof film and its ability tonot only unnerve but

leave permanent scars.

3. “Inglorious Basterds”The most fun I had at the movies this

year, Quentin Tarantino’s history-bend-ing, tongue-in-cheek World War II flickabout a band of bloodthirsty Jewish

Americans known only as “TheBasterds” is pitch-perfect. It loses someof its gusto towards its harrowing end,and it often borders on offensive, butTarantino and his cast — led by sure-f ire Oscar winnerChristopher Waltz and abri l l iant Brad Pitt —“might just make this hismasterpiece.” Or, sincewe’re speaking aboutTarantino, just anothermasterpiece to put onhis ever-growing mantel.

4. “Up in the Air”What makes “Up in the

Air” a deserving candi-date for Best Picture isnot only GeorgeClooney’s unassumingly great perform-ance or Jason Reitman’s “breath offresh air” directing, but also the factthat the movie turns out to be some-thing that we don’t expect it to be. It’struly a movie for this time. A movingstory made for all of us as we movethrough the recession, and in manyways, life itself.

5. “The Hurt Locker”Director Kathryn Bigelow’s muscle-

flexing, full-throttle portrayal of a spe-cial unit of bomb disarming soldiers inIraq, “The Hurt Locker” stands as aking among men in the small butgrowing group of Iraqi War f i lms.

What’s di f ferenthere is that themovie is neitheraction-driven, noroverly story driven,and i t avoids thethus far unsuccess-ful pitfall of trying topass itself off as apsychological analy-sis of soldiers in theheat of the currentwar. Instead, “TheHurt Locker” is abeautiful marriage

of a bare bones portrayal of humannature when the line between life anddeath is so thin and momentary, and aclassic tension-ridden portrayal of theheat of combat.

Films that just missed the cut: “TheProphet,” “Goodbye Solo,” “A SeriousMan,” “Hunger,” “The Cove”

By SHANE STEINBERGScene Writer

Contact Shane Steinberg atssteinb2@nd.edu

“It’s a story for every guy who hasever tried, for every girl who has everhoped, and anyone who has ever beentaken completely by surprise.”

The “it” is “Ten Things I Hate AboutYou,” the witty comedy that served asthe breakout hit for young stars HeathLedger (“Brokeback Mountain”) andJulia Sti les (“The BourneUlt imatum”) and launchedthem into stardom.

The hilarious movie is amodern day adaptation ofShakespeare’s classicplay, “Twelfth Night.” Itis the story of Kat(Sti les) and BiancaStratford, sisters whocould not be moredifferent and wholive with theirexcessively over-p r o t e c t i v efather. Hishouse rule:Bianca can’tdate until Katdoes. Bianca,the pretty, pop-ular youngersister, hasmultiple guysknocking ather door,while Kat, thefeminist anti-c o n f o r m i s t ,scares them allaway with heracerbic tongue.

What fol lows isundoubtedly a solid90-minute chickflick, but not a for-mulaic, overlycheesy one. Thescript is cleverand quick,s e a m l e s s l y

intertwining lines from Shakespearewith modern jokes and references. Ittakes an old story and proves with itsmodern application that The Bard andhis themes are timeless.

The actors help advance the moviewithout allowing it to sink into themindless stereotypes generally found inteen comedies. Although the cast wasrelatively unknown in 1999 at themovie’s release, they brought their

characters to life and helpedlaunch their own careers.

Such stars includeLedger, Stiles, JosephG o r d o n - L e v i t t(“(500) Days ofSummer”), David

K r u m h o l t z(“Numb3rs”), andLarry Mil ler(“Kiss Kiss BangBang”).

Stiles plays hercharacter flaw-

lessly. She nailsthe feminazi, driv-

en personality ofKat, al l the while

making her escapadesas a drunk girl and her

growing affection forPatrick Verona(Ledger) believable,not just the creation

of a director tryingto use clichés toappeal to ateenage audi-ence. Shining inher role, Stiles isa breath of freshair among theusual teenageheroine whoflip-flops andgenerally endsup abandon-ing her princi-ples for theboy.

Verona isthe resident

bad boy of Padua High School, aroundwhom rumors abound because of hisdark clothing and mysterious accent.Ledger sparkles in his role and is thebest part of the movie, from his superbacting to his brilliant smile. He por-trays his mysterious yet soft personali-ty perfectly.

The character of Patrick is multi-faceted. A senior in high school, he fre-quents a local bar to play pool anddrink beer, but he also hands outadvice on love, tel l ing Cameron(Gordon-Levitt), “don’t let anyone, ever,make you feel like you don’t deservewhat you want.”

The movie allows Ledger to displayhis true acting skills. He illustratesthat he can play a variety of roles andcomplex characters. His bad boy per-sona as Patrick captivates the interestsof his female audience, while his boyishgood looks and adorable smile melttheir hearts. Even as Patrick acceptsmoney to pursue and date Kat, it isimpossible not to fall for him becauseLedger allows every aspect of Patrick’spersonality to shine through. It alsodoes not hurt that movie showcasesLedger wearing leather pants and latersinging in a beautifully romantic scene.

This zippy comedy is one of the bestchick flicks out there, pleasing to bothmales and females. It is appropriatefor any occasion, from a pick-me-upfilm to a quiet Saturday night in, and itnever grows old, especially now that a10th anniversary edition is availablewith extra behind-the-scenes footage.Also, it is a fitting remembrance ofLedger in his youth, just over two yearsand one month after his sudden anduntimely death.

Just be sure not to confuse this moviewith the TV show on ABC Family bear-ing the same name and very looselybased off the movie. It is a poor substi-tute, though Larry Miller still shines inhis hilarious role as the overbearingfather.

By MARY CLAIRE O’DONNELLScene Writer

Contact Mary Claire O’Donnell atmdonne5@nd.edu

One of the mostintriguing characterand cultural studiesever made, “White

Ribbon” succeeds forits insight into a sociey

and culture wherefacades bottle up theinescapable humancapacity for evil.

“The Hurt Locker” is abeautiful marriage of abare bones portrayal ofhuman nature when theline between life anddeath is so thin and

momentary.

ANDREA ARCHER | Observer Graphic

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MLB

Upton signs six-year deal to stay with ArizonaTUCSON, Ariz. — Justin

Upton has lived with highexpectations virtually since theday he picked up a baseball bat.

Now at 22, with two fullmajor league seasons alreadybehind him, he says he wel-comes the challenge of living upto the $51.25 million, six-yearcontract he signed onWednesday with the ArizonaDiamondbacks, the second-largest deal in franchise history.

With his parents Manny andYvonne looking on proudly at anews conference, the outfieldersaid he understands the respon-sibility that comes with this biga contract at such a young age.

“I do kind of put that pressureon myself,” he said. “I want tobe great, that’s the thing. If youwant to be great, then you setyour goals higher.”

Upton earned his first All-Starberth last season, when he hit.300 with 26 homers and 86RBIs.

His statistics are comparedfavorably with those of some ofthe game’s greats at the sameage. His OPS (on-base percent-

age plus slugging percentage) of.836 compares with the earlynumbers of Al Kaline, MickeyMantle, Ted Williams, KenGriffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez.

“There’s a lot to live up to,”he said, “and I think I’m readyfor that.”

He gets a $1.25 million sign-ing bonus, half on April 15 andthe rest on July 15. He receivessalaries of $500,000 this year,$4.25 million in 2011, $6.75million in 2012, $9.75 million in2013, $14.25 million in 2014and $14.5 million in 2015.

“We view him as a core play-er, one of our key pieces,” gen-eral manager Josh Byrnes said,“and as we view the next sixyears the kind of guy we wantto build around.”

The only bigger contract inDiamondbacks’ history was the$52.4 million, four-year dealRandy Johnson signed in 1999.

“This is something you dreamabout. For it to come true, itreally hasn’t sunk in yet,” Uptonsaid. “My parents have definite-ly been a special part of my lifeto get me to this point. It’s defi-nitely a special day. I’m gladthey could be here. I know

they’re as happy as I am.”Upton has had the pressure of

high expectations for years, fol-lowing the path of his olderbrother B.J., who was the No. 2draft pick overall in 2002.Justin was one better, chosenNo. 1 by Arizona in the 2005draft.

He played less than two yearsin the minors before beingcalled up by the Diamondbacksone in 2007 one month shy ofhis 20th birthday.

Manager A.J. Hinch wasnewly hired director of playerpersonnel when Upton first wassigned in January 2006.

“We know him very well. Wehave a great relationship. To beable to have him as a center-piece of our organization is agreat advantage,” Hinch said.“He’s already had productiveseasons and he’s still got a lot ofroom to grow, which is excitingto see and also scary for theNational League.”

While he has a quick, evenpicturesque, swing, his form inthe outfield is a work inprogress. Upton had playedonly eight games in right fieldin the minors before being

installed there at the majorleague level in 2007.

Byrnes compared his outfieldissues with “a young VladGuerrero,” with the speed andtalent to get to balls but notnecessarily the finesse thatcomes from learning the posi-tion well.

Byrnes said that teams inmarkets like Arizona’s have tomake a move to keep theiryoung talent as long as possi-ble.

“We generally need to goearly to deal with free agency,and we’ve done that in a num-ber of cases,” Byrnes said.“Their might be more riskbecause you’re going early andyou’re going longer, but I thinkthe reward justifies those typesof moves.”

The general manager notedthat Brandon Webb would notbe under contract and DanHaren would be entering hisfinal year had the team notsigned them early. Webb is inthe final year of his contract.

However, sometimes contractscan backfire. Outfielder ChrisYoung’s performance at theplate was dismal in the wake of

the $28 million, five-year con-tract he signed in 2008,although he did improve after astint with Triple-A Reno lastseason.

Upton said he consideredgoing year by year in arbitra-tion and eventual free agencybefore choosing security.

“They made a comfortabledeal with the years. That’ssomething that definitely fac-tored in,” he said. “I was com-fortable with their proposal andthe direction that they’regoing.”

Upton’s father said he didn’tsleep to well the past few nightsknowing the agreement wasclose. Plainly proud of bothsons, he said he has to work onJustin not being so hard onhimself during times of adversi-ty.

“Sometimes I have to be thesounding board to make surehe’s not beating himself up,”Manny Upton said.

Justin Upton said he hasn’tbeen sleeping too well lately,either.

“But now that it’s over witheveryone’s happy,” he said.“That’s all that matters.”

Associated Press

NFL

Broncos extend qualifying offers to Dumervil, Marshall

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — TheDenver Broncos are doingeverything they can to keepPro Bowl pass rusher ElvisDumervil in blue and orange.

Brandon Marshall, not somuch.

On Wednesday, the Broncosslapped a f irst- and third-round tender on Dumervil ,who led the league in sackslast season. Other teamswould have to surrender thosetwo levels of p icks in theupcoming draft if they signedthe restricted free agent whostands to make $3.168 millionnext season with the Broncos.

Marshall , who began andended last season in coachJosh McDaniels’ dog housebut in between posted histhird straight 100-catch sea-son, received a first-roundqual i fy ing of fer — whichwould make it easier to facili-tate a trade.

Marshall would get a 14.7percent raise next season to$2.521 million if he’s still inDenver.

The source of his discontentlast summer was twofold: he

was angry with the team’smedical staff for misdiagnos-ing a hip injury that requiredsurgery, and he wasn’t happywith his undervalued contract.

A fourth-round draft pick in2006, Marshal l argued heshould be compensated likeother elite wide receivers.

He set an NFL record bycatching 21 passes for 200yards and two touchdowns ina loss to Indianapolis, but justa few weeks later he showedup 20 minutes late for treat-ment on a pulled hamstringand was benched for the sea-son finale.

Quarterback Kyle Orton($2.261 mill ion) and guardKris Kuper ($2.521 million)also received first-round ten-der offers, and tight end TonyScheffler ($1.759 million) wasgiven a second-round tender.

All five players would havebeen unrestricted free agentsif the owners hadn’t opted outof the collective bargainingagreement with the players in2008. Among the ramifica-tions for the upcoming seasonare no salary cap or floor andplayers have to have six yearsof service instead of four to

reach unrestr icted freeagency.

Late last season, Orton saidit was a shame that players inhis situation would have towait to cash in on the freeagent market because of theuncapped year that’s comingin 2010, the result of a break-down in the collective bar-gaining agreement betweenplayers and owners.

“It’s a bad thing for the 275players that are in that posi-tion with me,” Orton said onDec. 30. “Free agency hasalways been something for theplayers. It ’s always been agreat thing. I f you get onecrack at free agency as a play-er, that’s what you dream of.”

Along with Marshal l ,Scheffler was benched for theseason finale against KansasCity, for his attitude.

After the Broncos lost theirlast game, finishing 8-8 againafter a 6-2 start underMcDaniels, Scheffler soundedas though he’d played his lastgame for the Broncos.

“If they want to go in a dif-ferent direction, you kind ofstart with this game and Iwasn’t involved in it,” he said.

Scheffler was among severalholdover starters who weredrafted by Mike Shanahan butwho saw their roles greatlyreduced under McDaniels.

“That’s something you’ve gotto deal with,” Scheffler said inJanuary. “That’s why there’s

32 teams.”On Wednesday, general

manager Brian Xanders saidthe f ive players “are high-quality football players, andwe look forward to their con-tributions during the 2010season and beyond.”

Associated Press

AP

Broncos receiver Brandon Marshall, right, attempts to break out ofa tackle in the Pro Bowl on Jan. 31.

The Observer � CLASSIFIEDSpage 14 Thursday, March 4, 2010

NBA

AP

Chinese basketball fans are curious about Yao Ming’s plans for his baby. Yao and his wife are currently in theUnited States, and if the baby were to be born here, she would be American, something some fans do not want.

BEIJING — Chinese bas-ketball fans want to know— will Yao Ming’s baby bean American?

The Houston Rocketscenter, who is sidelinedthis season with a brokenleft foot, recently returnedto the United States withwife Ye Li. That promptedspeculation among his fol-lowers that the baby girldue this summer could beborn in America.

Yao’s personal l i fe isclosely followed by hismany fans at home, fromhis 2007 Shanghai wed-ding to the former basket-ball player to reports lastmonth the couple isexpecting a baby girl in

July.Yao said before the

Rockets’ game onWednesday night thatwhere the baby is born is a“private” matter.

“We just need somespace,” he said. “It’s justbetween me and my wife.”

He said he appreciatedthe positive feedbackshown by his fans.

“We’re excited about anew member of the fami-ly,” he said. “We appreci-ate everyone who hasgiven us good wishes. Ireally want to say thanksfor that. It’s a good thingfor us.”

Yao’s baby would be anAmerican citizen if born inthe U.S. She also couldclaim Chinese citizenship

as the child of Chinesenationals. However,Chinese law does not rec-ognize dual citizenship.

A few say it would be abetrayal of China, not tomention the Chinese bas-ketball team could bedenied a future basketballstar. But most say theysupport Yao and don’t carewhich country claims thebaby.

“Yao Ming is an individ-ual, not a political tool,”said one comment on pop-ular basketball Web siteHoop China. “He has theright to choose where hischild is born and whatkinds of medical care andeducation will be availableto her. His child’s citizen-ship has nothing to do with

loyalty.”“Only an idiot would pass

up American citizenship,”said another fan on onlineportal sina.com, under-scoring the common beliefin China that life overseasis preferable.

Yao and his camp havebeen tightlipped on thepregnancy and have notissued any public state-ments on the matter. Itwas not clear if Yao andhis wife were indeed plan-ning to have the baby inthe U.S. or how they wouldhandle any citizenshipissues.

A number of Chinesecelebrities have been criti-cized for becoming natu-ralized citizens of othercountries.

IN BRIEF

Compiled from The Observer’s wire servicesAround the Nation

Thursday, March 4, 2010 page 15

Chinese ask about Yao’s baby plansAssociated Press

LSUVirginiaFlorida StateArizona StateTexasFloridaGeorgia TechTCUClemsonCoastal CarolinaMiami (Fla.)North CarolinaLouisvilleCal. State FullertonOregon StateUC IrvineArkansasUCLAMississippiRiceEast CarolinaOklahomaSouth CarolinaStanfordOhio State

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Bea s l e y un su r e o f h i sWo r l d C up s t a t u s

AMSTERDAM — DaMarcus Beasleysays more than a solid performance inthe American attack Wednesday isneeded for him to earn a spot on theU.S. World Cup roster.

Beasley entered in the 34th minuteof a 2-1 loss to the Netherlands afterStuart Holden injured a shin.Beasley’s long free kick was headed inby U.S. captain Carlos Bocanegra forthe American goal in the 88th minute.

“It feels good to be back,” Beasleysaid after his first match with thenational team since his blunder led toa Brazilian goal in the ConfederationsCup last June 18. “I need moregames, and then I will try make thingsdifficult for the coach.”

After scoring twice in five games inDecember for Glasgow Rangers,Beasley was sidelined for two monthswith a thigh injury. The first matchback for the 27-year-old midfielderwas Feb. 14.

G i an t s ’ T im L i n c e cums t r u g g l e s i n d e bu t

PEORIA, Ariz. — Tim Lincecumhas struggled in his spring debutfor the San Francisco Giants ,allowing three runs in one inningof an 8-7, 10-inning victory overthe Seat t le Mariners onWednesday.

The two-time Cy Young Awardwinner was expected to throw twoinnings. He worked only the 29-pitch first and gave up two run-scoring hits.

The Giants went up 3-0 in the topof the f irst. In the bottom half,Ichiro Suzuki reached on an errorby f i rs t baseman Aubrey Huf f .Lincecum then walked successivehitters before Ken Griffey Jr. hit asacrifice fly to right.

Jose Lopez and Casey Kotchmanfollowed with run-scoring singlesto right to tie it.

Conor Gillaspie hit a base-loadedsingle to left in the 10th.

Pon i k a r o v s k y m i s s e sg ame b e c a u s e o f v i s a

PITTSBURGH — Newly acquiredforward Alex Ponikarovsky won’tplay for the Pittsburgh Penguinsagainst the Rangers in New York onThursday night because he lacks aU.S. work visa.

Because Ponikarovsky became aCanadian citizen while playing for theToronto Maple Leafs, the process forobtaining the work visa should takeonly a couple of days. A native of theUkraine, he could play for Pittsburghduring Saturday’s home game againstDallas.

The visa is required when a citizenof another country accepts employ-ment in the United States.

The Penguins acquiredPonikarovsky from the Maple Leafson Tuesday night for prospect LucaCaputi and defenseman MartinSkoula, who was subsequently tradedto New Jersey for a fifth-round draftpick.

NCAA Men’s BasketballPenn State at Michigan State

7 p.m., ESPN

NHLPenguins at Rangers

7 p.m., Versus

around the dial

NCAA Men’s BasketballUSA Today Coaches’ Poll

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SyracuseKansasKentuckyDukeKansas StatePurdueOhio StateWest VirginiaVillanovaNew MexicoButlerMichigan StateTennesseeGonzagaBYUTempleWisconsinPittsburghVanderbiltGeorgetownUTEPBaylorMarylandTexas A&MTexas

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SyracuseVirginiaNOTRE DAMENorth CarolinaJohns HopkinsPrincetonCornellDukeLoyola (Md.)Hofstra

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The Observer � SPORTSpage 16 Thursday, March 4, 2010

PGA

Nicklaus: Tiger will play Masters

PALM BEACH GARDENS,Fla. — Jack Nicklaus is goingto appear at next month’sMasters. He thinks TigerWoods will as well.

Nicklaus said Wednesdaythat “it would surprise me” ifWoods did not return to com-petitive golf in time for theMasters, a tournament theembattled world No. 1 haswon four times in his career.

“I suspect he’ll play some-thing before Augusta,”Nicklaus said behind the 18thgreen at PGA National, wherethe Honda Classic opens onThursday. “Your guess is asgood as mine. I’d be very sur-prised i f he doesn’t playsomething before Augusta.”

Nicklaus has been reluctantto comment much aboutWoods since the saga involv-ing revelations of infidelitybegan late last year, sayingmore than once that someoneelse’s private life isn’t any ofhis business. He reiteratedthat belief again Wednesdayafter finishing his Pro-Amround at the South Floridacourse he redesigned.

A person with knowledge ofWoods’ schedule told TheAssociated Press on Tuesdaythat Woods returned to hishome near Orlando, Fla. overthe weekend after a week offamily counseling andresumed practicing for thefirst t ime in nearly fourmonths.

Like many, Nicklaus seemedto take that as a sign thatWoods could be back soonerthan later. The Mastersbegins April 8.

“It would surprise me if he

didn’t,” Nicklaus said. “I can’timagine in 100 years he’sgoing to miss this. None ofyou guys do either. But I don’tknow. I don’t know. I’ve beenvery noncommittal about any-thing as it’s not my business.But as it relates to him play-ing golf , my guess is as agolfer he’s going to want totry to playAugusta if he’sgot his otherthings inorder.”

Earl ier thisyear, Nicklaussaid 2010would be “abig year” forWoods i f hewanted to getcloser toN i c k l a u s ’record of 18major champi-onships. Threeof this year’s majors will beon courses where Woods hasbeen dominant before,Augusta National, PebbleBeach and St. Andrews.

Of Woods’ 14 majors, halfhave come on those threecourses. Woods has nevermissed a Masters or a U.S.Open since 1995.

Nicklaus is going back tothe Masters, a tournament hewon six times, as an honorarystarter this year. He agreed totake on the role last year, andwill join Arnold Palmer forthe opening shot of the tour-nament. In time, he expectsGary Player to join them.

The honorary start is some-thing Nicklaus never saw as aplayer, and he spent severalminutes Wednesday talkingabout that after finishing the

round he played with DanMarino, Drew Brees and sax-ophonist Kenny G. (For whatit’s worth, Nicklaus said hebroke 80, after closing birdie-birdie.)

Then the questions turnedto Woods.

“I didn’t think I was goingto have anything else,”

Nicklaus said.Woods was

photographedhitting balls atIsleworth onFeb. 18. Oneday later, heended nearlythree months ofsi lence byspeaking to asmall group ofassociates, astatement thatgot worldwideattention.

“I do plan toreturn to golf one day, I justdon’t know when that day willbe,” Woods said on Feb. 19. “Idon’t rule out that it will bethis year.”

Nicklaus was asked i fWoods’ presence would makethe Champions Dinner, a pre-Masters tradition, differentthan normal.

The only man with moremajor championships thanWoods didn’t hesitate toanswer.

“No. It ’s the ChampionsDinner,” Nicklaus said. “Hispersonal life is his personallife. As a golfer, he’s a sensa-tional golfer. He’s a great ath-lete. He’ll figure out his ownproblems. But as a golfer,he’ll come back and get hisgame in shape and play.That’s what he does.”

Associated Press

“As it relates to himplaying golf, my

guess is as a golferhe’s going to want totry to play Augusta ifhe’s got his otherthings in order.”

Jack Nicklausformer PGA golfer

MLB

New glove designto protect hands

NEW YORK — Omir Santostried on his new batting gloves,said to slow the impact of aharmful fastball down to themere annoyance of a junkball,and voiced excitement.

“I think it’s going to help,” theNew York Mets catcher said. “Itsounds like it’s going to work.”

The latest high-tech protectiveproduct in a sport that’s slow toaccept innovation, the battinggloves are manufactured by thestartup company XProTeX,which hired former All-StarReggie Smith to go aroundspring training trying to per-suade big leaguers to switch.

Bob Watson, Major LeagueBaseball’s vice president of on-field operations, said his depart-ment already has given itsapproval, which is necessary forall on-field gear.

“We looked at the data. No, Ididn’t put it on and take a fast-ball,” said Watson, a former All-Star himself. “Now, is this goingto stop all major injuries? That Ican’t tell you, but according tothe data, it should cut down onbroken bones and severeinjuries coming from pitchedballs.”

XProTeX was formed by XBats president Jack Kasarjian,whose company is known forsupplying maple bats to majorleaguers and — at about $100each — to youth ballplayers.After consulting the formerpresident of the motocrossequipment company SixSixOne,Kasarjian developed an impact-absorbing material calledAdvanced Impact Composite.

The model that was taken tospring training is the 14th gen-eration.

“Essentially it will reduce theimpact by over 60 percent, so a100 mph fastball will be reducedto that of a 39 mph fastball,which is the difference betweenin a cast and being a little bitsore,” he said. “It’s really anarea where players are very vul-nerable. Their hands are theirmost important tool in baseball.If your hands are injured, youcan’t hold the ball, catch a ball,hold a bat, hit a ball.”

Tampa Bay manager JoeMaddon examined the glovesthis week and thought back toSept. 7, when Rays sluggerCarlos Pena was hit by a CCSabathia pitch, breaking two fin-gers and ending his season.Pena had an AL-leading 39homers at the time along with100 RBIs.

“Carlos would have hit 45home runs last year if that gloveactually works,” Maddon said.“Most of the time, changes likethat move at a glacier pace.Guys don’t want to be the firstone to try it. Somebody’s goingto try it and going to get hit andthey’re not going to break theirhand or wrist, and all of a sud-den everybody’s going to want it.Or conversely, if somebody’s notwearing it, and they do get hitand get broken, he’s going towant it.”

Protection does come at aprice.

A quick check online showsbatting glove prices for previousmodels run from about $5-$50.

XProTex’s top-of-the lineRaykr retails for $80. It is madespecifically for right-handed orleft-handed batters, and has AICprotection on the outside of thehand and wrist, and the innerwrist. A step down is the $50Hammr, which has less protec-tion, and then there is the $35Dinger, a symmetric model thatprotects the wrist only. Therealso are pads for catcher’s mittsand baserunners (to preventtheir fingers from being hyper-extended).

Smith says players haveresponded positively when heshows them the equipment.

“It’s exceeded our expecta-tions,” he said. “It’s the differ-ence of being injured or being alittle sore so they get to stay onthe field.”

But even if the gloves fit, thatdoesn’t necessarily mean playerswear them.

Kasarjian says the largeequipment corporations areobstacles.

“The agents have been steer-ing players toward these biggercompanies because the compa-nies are offering the players whoare up and coming in the agents’stables deals in return for deliv-ering the major leaguers,” hesaid. “We’re kind of bucking theculture, but we’re getting peo-ple’s attention really quickly.Everybody is now seeing one ortwo players on their team andthey’re asking for them.”

Rawlings S100 helmet, toutedas being able to withstand pitch-es up to 100 mph, is mandatoryin the minor leaguers startingthis year. The Mets’ DavidWright tried it for two gameswhen he returned from the dis-abled list after getting beaned bya 94 mph Matt Cain fastball,then decided it was too bulkyand went back to his regularhelmet.

Associated Press

AP

A pair of XProTeX batting gloves are displayed before a springtraining game between the Mets and Braves on Wednesday.

The Observer � SPORTSThursday, March 4, 2010 page 17

MLB

Royals face tough choice at 2B

SURPRISE, Ariz. — A dilem-ma as old as baseball is facingthe offensively starved, defen-sively challenged Kansas CityRoyals.

Should offense be sacrificedfor improved defense?

The question mark for theRoyals is at second base,where Albert Callaspo in 155games had a whopping 17errors last season, tying forthe major league lead amongsecond basemen. His fieldingpercentage of .973 was theabsolute worst. Some of hismiscues — such as lettingroutine grounders skip underhis glove into center field —were comical.

But the laughter stoppedwhen Callaspo put down hisglove and picked up his bat.Adding valuable heft to anoffense burdened with one ofthe worst on-base percent-ages in the majors, he hit .300and supplied plenty of pop.His 41 doubles, 11 home runsand 73 RBIs were second onlyto first baseman Billy Butlerfor the team’s best powernumbers.

But, oh, that defense. WithButler sti l l learning thenuances of f irst base andshortstop YunieskyBetancourt also subject toturning a routine play intohigh drama, tightening up theinfield defense has been oneof Kansas City’s top goals.

Enter Chris Getz, picked upby the Royals in a trade afterhitting .261 last year with theChicago White Sox. Withoutdoubt, the slick-fielding Getzbrings hope for betterdefense: In 107 games lastyear, he committed only seven

errors and made some out-standing plays.

Getz has clearly been giventhe inside track at second,though Callaspo is determinedto keep his job. He lost notime reminding everybodywhat he brings to the party,belting a home run in the firstintrasquad game of thespring.

Manager Trey Hil lmaninsists he has several options.Besides second, Callaspomight also see some time atthird. But second is his bestposition. Sorting out what todo with Getz, Callaspo andoutfielder/DH Jose Guillencould be key to Kansas Citymaking any significantimprovement from last year’slast-place tie in the ALCentral.

“Alberto had a great yearlast year offensively,” saidGetz, who also has speed onhis resume. “He’s workinghard. I’ve just got to go outthere and perform. I can’tworry about what he’s doingor approach anything differ-ently. Just play it the way I’vealways played. Just executethe little things, play gooddefense, handle the bat, runthe bases, and hopefully atthe end of the day they’ll wantme at the position.”

Another obvious option ismoving Callaspo to designatedhitter. But that might not beeasy because Guillen, a careeroutfielder, was put there thisspring when the Royalsrevamped their outfield.

Callaspo has no intentions ofgiving up anything without afight, especially his job a sec-ond.

“I’m just going to try to dowhatever they want. I’m going

to be healthy and do every-thing they need from me,” hesaid. “Let’s see where they’regoing to use me.”

What has Hillman told him?“He hasn’t told me nothing,”

Callaspo said.Does he think he’ll get a fair

shot?“We’ll see. We’ll see who’s

going to start,” he said. “I’mgoing to try.”

In the end, it might beGuillen who should worry. Hisstatus as a power hitter whois guaranteed $12 million inthe third year of a $36 millioncontract will no doubt but-tress his argument to be thefull-time DH.

But it may not be the finalargument.

“If we just go on recent his-tory, his bat needs to be in thelineup. He was our second-most productive guy lastyear,” Hillman said. “Albertoreally doesn’t have much pref-erence of what position heplays. We’ve got him priori-tized at second, at third andpossibly at DH. We’ll seewhere it goes. We’ll get hisbat in there.”

While Callaspo’s options arevaried, Getz knows exactlywhat he has to do.

“Be a steady, solid infielder,make the plays that I’m sup-posed to make every singletime, be very consistent onthe double plays,” he said.“You never want as an infield-er to focus on making thespectacular plays. That stuffjust happens. The plays you’resupposed to make, you’ve gotto make.

“That way, pitchers l ikehaving you out there and themanager likes having you outthere.”

Associated Press

NBA

Arenas shrugs offsentencing nerves

WASHINGTON — As he hasdone many times in the monthof March, Gilbert Arenas tookoff his shirt in a building full ofadoring fans.

This time, though, he wassimply changing into a T-shirtwith the PETA logo, notremoving his WashingtonWizards jersey to toss into thecrowd on the way to the lockerroom after a game.

Suspended by the NBA forthe rest of the season forbringing guns to the lockerroom, he was giving awayused fur coats to women inneed on behalf of one of thefew groups still proud to beassociated with him: Peoplefor the Ethical Treatment ofAnimals.

“I have a lot of free time onmy hands,” Arenas said whenone of the organizers thankedhim for coming.

After the coats were handedout, Gilbert spoke to TheAssociated Press, his f irstinterview since pleading guiltyto a felony gun possessioncharge in January.Appearances such as these arehelping pass the time until thenext big date on his calendar:March 26, when he’ll learnwhether he’ll go to jail for hiscrime.

Asked if he was nervous,Arenas shrugged.

“If the judge goes off withthe story the papers write,then, yeah,” Arenas said. “Butif he goes off the actual realstory, then I have no problemswith it.”

Arenas has maintained thathe had four guns in theWizards locker room and tookthem out in a “misguidedeffort to play a joke” on team-mate Javaris Crittenton, whothen displayed a firearm of hisown and has since been sen-tenced to a year of unsuper-vised probation for a misde-meanor gun charge. Arenascould get anything from pro-bation to five years in jail,although the government indi-cated it will not seek morethan six months.

Until the fateful date comesand goes, questions aboutArenas’ future are hard toanswer. Would he be willing toplay again for the Wizards, theteam that gone to greatlengths to disassociate itselffrom him, the team that hasremoved nearly every trace ofhim from the Verizon Center?

“I have no problem,” Arenassaid. “Basketball is basketball.I don’t think people realizethat. No matter what city,overseas, D-league, parkleague — I just want to play.”

Then again, Arenas notedthat his future with theWizards is not up to him. He’sonly in the second season of asix-year, $111 million contract.

“That’s up to the city and theowners,” Arenas said. “It’s outof my hands.”

Arenas’ sentence coulddetermine whether theWizards will attempt to voidthe remainder of his contract,something the players’ unionwould almost certainly oppose.Sti l l , team president ErnieGrunfeld has indicated anArenas appearance in aWizards uniform could happen

again, saying last month: “He’spart of the organization. If hewants to play, he’s going toplay here.”

Arenas is not big into down-time — he’s been known toplay online poker during half-time of NBA games and workout in the Verizon Center gymat 2 a.m. — but knee problemsthat derailed his previous twoseasons have made it easierfor him to cope while awayfrom the arena.

“You’ve got to remember:I’ve been hurt for two yearsbefore this, and so I did all mystir-crazy moments then,” hesaid. “So now it’s like ‘I’m usedto this, I’m used to this timeoff.’ Just play with the kids, bea father.”

Arenas also said he’s “stay-ing in shape and finding caus-es to help, without all this pub-licity behind it.” The athletewho used to make news regu-larly via blog, Twitter and out-landish comments in the lock-er room expressed surprise tofind a reporter at the PETAevent, and his short answersexhibited his preference to laylow.

His million-dollar smile cameto life, however, for the peopleat Rachael’s Women’s Center,where the event was held. Itmight seem unusual for PETAto be giving away furs, butthese were all donated by peo-ple who bought them, thenhad a change of heart andwanted to discard them forethical reasons. Rather thanthrow them away, PETAaccepts the furs and givesthem to homeless people andothers in need of a winter coatto stay warm.

Arenas helped the womentry on the furs, giving adviceon size and looks. Severalasked for autographs, photosor hugs — or a combination ofall three — and he compliedevery time. He was called “myfavorite basketball player” byone woman and told by anoth-er how much the last-placeWizards need him back.

PETA approached Arenasabout becoming a spokesmanfor the organization early inthe season. It was coincidentalthat the organization releaseda photo of his tattooed barechest with the slogan “Ink, NotMink” the very week that hewas init ial ly suspended byNBA commissioner DavidStern.

“Nothing that allegedly hap-pened had anything to do withhow animals are treated onfarms or the issues that weadvocate for as an organiza-t ion,” said Dan Shannon,director of campaigns forPETA. “If he wants to speakout about the cruelty in the furindustry, we want him to dothat.”

Arenas said he’s neverowned a fur. Being welcomedby PETA is a welcome change:The Wizards have kept theirdistance and his shoe compa-ny, Adidas, has dropped himaltogether.

“It’s just like anything. Whensomething happens, everyoneflees away,” Arenas said. “So Ialready knew all that wasgoing to happen. But PETA,they stayed behind me, theystayed with the cause, andthat’s the reason I came.”

Associated Press

The Observer � SPORTSpage 18 Thursday, March 4, 2010

SMC SOFTBALL

Belles look for strongstart in Sunshine State

As Spring Break draws closer,the Belles are preparing for ademanding week of games underthe Florida sunshine. Saint Mary’shopes to follow up a successful2009 performance, in which theywent 22-12 on the year in theirseason opening tournaments.

The team remains optimistic fol-lowing a disappointing conclusionto their last season. The Bellesstarted out very strong, standingat 22-4 at one point before fatigueset in and they struggled unsuc-cessfully to add another win to therecord.

“Our expectations are high. Wehad a great season last year andsort of ran out of gas at the end, sowe have been doing a lot of drillsand exercises focused on finishingand coming back from beingbehind in games. I think our men-tal approach is going to be morefocused on this for the season,”Belles coach Erin Sullivan said.

Sullivan hopes that the team’sperformance in the tournamentwill provide a good chance to eval-uate their abilities in variousaspects of the game.

“Our strengths are always inhitting and solid defense. I amvery confident our aggressive bat-ting will help us score a lot of runs

and keep us in ball games,”Sullivan said. “Our hitters alsobring confidence to our defense asthey give us a cushion to playaround with.”

With a veteran cast of mostlysophomores and upperclassmen,the team has a great deal of depthand experience that will be crucialin leading them on the field.

“Every member of my team is arole player. The starting pitcher isas important as the bench playerwho picks up on a runner stealingor the grip that gives away thepitcher’s change-up,” Sullivansaid.

Seniors Ashley Peterson,Maureen Healy and SaraMontelongo lead the team byexample, always giving a strongshowing at the plate as well as onthe field and can be counted on tomake some clutch plays nextweek.

“My lone junior, HayleyBojorquez, had six outfield assistslast year and not only has contin-ued to look great defensively, shehas made a couple of adjustmentsat the plate that will really makeher a more solid hitter,” Sullivansaid.

“I’m very excited for our teamthis year.”

By KEVIN BALDWINSports Writer

Contact Kevin Baldwin atkbaldwi2@nd.edu

NHL

Olympic hero Miller returns to NHL duties

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Once RyanMiller finally got home to Buffaloearly Wednesday, he tossed hisOlympic silver medal “some-where” on his dresser. And whenhe got to the rink for practice,the goalie was thinking aboutplayoffs, not a podium.

The surroundings were famil-iar and so was Miller’s routine.He stepped on the ice, skated tohis customary place on theSabres logo at center andlaunched his usual stretchingregimen.

Fun time is over for Miller. Asenjoyable as it was becoming anOlympic star at the VancouverGames, Miller’s back to his regu-lar job with the Sabres andfocused on securing a playoffberth during the regular sea-son’s final six weeks.

“There’s no time to really sitand reflect. Certainly, I amhappy with my performance,”Miller said. “I guess it’s sinkingin a little bit. But you come back,and you’ve got to get to work.”

Though Miller was intent onresuming his routine, the defini-tion of normal for him mighthave changed. Miller played aleading role in the U.S.’ better-than-expected silver-medal per-formance, a run that ended witha 3-2 overtime loss to Canada inthe gold medal game Sunday.

Between interviews with RyanSeacrest and shown on NBC cel-ebrating at the closing cere-monies, Miller — his unshavenbeard, gangly body and shrug-of-the-shoulders demeanor —was selected the tournamentMVP by posting a 5-1 recordwhile allowing only eight goals.

“Heh, heh, I don’t know how

it’s changed too much. I’ve beenplaying goalie for a while now,”Miller said, regarding his grow-ing public persona. “It’s justmore people are aware ofthings, I guess. That’s kind ofwhat the Olympics brings out:More people are paying atten-tion.”

The attention people are pay-ing Miller wasevident beforeBuffalo’s game atPittsburgh onTuesday night,when Miller wasintroduced as thebackup andreceived a stand-ing ovation fromthe packed houseof Penguins fans.

“You don’talways step intoa visiting rinkexpecting some-thing positive,”Miller said. “Itwas a little surre-al.”

It was much ofthe same on Wednesday night,when Buffalo hosted theWashington Capitals. Making hisfirst start since the Olympics,Miller received a 45-secondstanding ovation as he was thelast of seven local VancouverGames’ medalists honored bythe Sabres.

Several fans brought U.S. flagsand many more chanted “USA!USA!” as Miller acknowledgedthe cheers with several wavesfrom the goal crease.

Miller-mania was alreadyapparent during the pre-gamepractice, which is open to thepublic. A larger than usualcrowd of about 100 were on

hand to catch a glimpse of Miller.“He took a country by storm

and proved what he could do,”said Matt Bradley, who got aseat directly behind the Sabresbench.

In Buffalo, Miller is regardedas the key to the Sabres’ chancesof making a deep playoff run thisseason. Already mentioned as a

Vezina Trophycandidate, Millerranks second inthe NHL in goals-against average(2.16) and savepercentage (93).

With a 30-15-7record, Millerhas accountedfor all but threeof Buffalo’s victo-ries this season.The Sabres (33-20-9) are fifth inthe EasternConference, buthave beenslumping, going1-6-2 in theirpast nine games

following a 3-1 loss toWashington.

Miller picked up where he leftoff in Vancouver by making 37saves against the Capitals, butultimately it wasn’t enough.

In a bid to shake up the teamand bolster its offense, generalmanager Darcy Regier made twotrades before the NHL tradingdeadline on Wednesday. In themore significant deal, Buffaloacquired forward Raffi Torresfrom Columbus in exchange fora second-round draft pick andsparingly used defensemanNathan Paetsch.

With 19 goals this season,Torres immediately becomes

Buffalo’s leading scorer. Aneight-year NHL veteran who alsoplayed with Edmonton and theIslanders, he has 177 points (98goals, 79 assists) in 418 careergames.

The Sabres also dealt forwardClarke MacArthur to Atlanta inexchange for third- and fourth-round draft picks.

Trades aside, Regier discussedhow key Miller is to Buffalo.

“He’s certainly the backbone,”

he said.Coach Lindy Ruff, who was a

Team Canada assistant, becamean even bigger fan of Miller afterhis performance at Vancouver.

“The Olympics, when you tearit all down, it’s about great per-formances,” Ruff said. “You haveto put up great performanceafter great performance, and Ithought Ryan just kept doing itand gave that team a chance tobe on the podium.”

Associated Press

AP

Sabres goalie Ryan Miller gloves a shot by a teammate duringpractice in Buffalo, N.Y., Wednesday.

“The Olympics ... it’sabout great

performances. Youhave to put up greatperformance aftergreat performance,

and I thought [Miller]just kept doing it andgave that team achance to be on the

podium.”

Lindy RuffTeam Canada coach

The Irish men’s and women’steams will host the Alex WilsonInvitational this weekend, twoweeks removed from the men’svictory at the Big East indoorchampionships — its fourth ineight seasons.

Notre Dame won either theindoor or outdoor title in each ofthose eight seasons.

“The Big East meet was agreat measure of the hard workwe’ve been putting in, but wecan’t rest on our laurels,” seniorDaniel Clark said. “We wentright back to work and are hop-ing to get some guys qualified forNationals this weekend.”

Clark finished third in themen’s mile last weekend with atime of 4:10.71.

Clark and the Irish realize thisweekend provides a new chal-lenge for the team, he said.

“In order to have a successfulweekend we need go out andcompete and take our perform-ances up another notch,” Clarksaid.

The Alex Wilson Invitational isunique in that it is the lastchance to earn a spot at the

NCAAs. “It attracts many of the best

athletes in the country, so thecompetition will be stiff,” Clarksaid. “A lot of our guys are righton the cusp of making thenational meet, so the challenge iswe are not only racing to win arace but also to move up into thetop sixteen on the descendingorder list.”

The event at the Loftus SportsCenter is named in honor of for-mer Irish track athlete andcoach Alex Wilson. He competedin the 1928 and 1932 SummerOlympics and proceeded tocoach the Notre Dame team forseveral successful decades.

The team will not take any-thing they have achieved up tothis point for granted.

“As our last home meet of theyear, we definitely won’t be leav-ing anything left on the track aswe hope to extend our indoorseason for one more week,”Clark said.

Clark and the Irish are familiarwith success, and they expectthat trend to continue this week-end at home.

No. 3 Notre Dame hopes tocont inue both i t s seven-match win streak and i tsupward climb in the rank-ings by beating each of thethree teams it will play overSpring Break.

The I r i sh (10-1) haveimproved ontheir presea-son rankingby 14 spots.

Before theyleave SouthBend, theIr i sh wi l lhost IndianaFr iday inthe ir s ix ths t r a i g h thome match.The Hoosiers(10-2) fell outof the rank-ings las tweek and are unranked forthe first time this season.Despite falling in the rank-ings, the Hoosiers boast athree-match win streak thatincludes a victory over No.11 Tennessee.

“We’re both in the state,and we usual ly have thebest two teams in the state,”Louderback said. “We havealways played good matchesagainst each other.”

Notre Dame will then trav-el to Puerto Rico, where itwill play matches againstWilliam & Mary and No. 8Duke for its f irst outdoormatches of the 2010 season.

“Southern teams aretough to play early becausethey’ve been outside and we

haven’t been,” Louderbacksaid.

This change wi l l be animportant predictor of NotreDame’s abil ity to prepareitself for the hot weatherand outside conditions theywill be facing for the rest ofthe season.

“It’s so different when youhave sun and wind, the balldoesn’t travel as quickly.

The courtstend to be alittle slower,”L o u d e r b a c ksaid. “It givesus a week oft ra in ing in8 0 - d e g r e ew e a t h e rwhich is whatwe’l l experi-ence in theNCAAs.”

The Ir i shwi l l p layWi l l iam &Mary (5-6 )

Tuesday. Though the Tribehave struggled this season,Louderback cites their ageand experience as big fac-tors that make the them alegitimate opponent for theIrish.

“We haven’t played themin a while, but they havesome older kids and they’vegot exper ience ,”Louderback sa id . “The irresults have been up anddown.”

Before returning home,the Irish will play their thirdmatch of the break againstthe B lue Dev i l s . ThoughDuke (10-2) still presents aconsiderable threat to NotreDame’s almost perfect sea-son, the B lue Dev i l s are

coming off of a crucial lossto No. 6 Florida.

“Duke i s the team thatwon the NCAAs last year,and they could win it againthis year,” Louderback said.“They’re one of the teamscapable o f winning thewhole thing. It’s going to bea big match us, and it willbe a good test for us out-doors.”

To prepare for the upcom-ing matches, the Irish took atwo-day break from practic-ing to recuperate from lastweek’s busy schedule. Theplayers were back on thecourts Wednesday, workingon different areas of theirgame to prepare for thecompetition ahead.

“We worked again on ourdoubles, and it’s somethingwe need to get better at tobe ab le to win down theroad,” Louderback sa id .“We’ve done wel l , but Ithink we can do better.”

The status of injured sen-ior Kali Krisik is still up inthe air. Krisik is hoping tobe ab le to p lay by theIndiana game, but will haveto wait and see if her healthwill allow it. Until then, jun-ior Kr is ten Rafae l wi l lassume her position in bothdoubles and singles play.

“Rafael played very well,she did a great job steppingin even when we didn’t havea chance to have her prac-t i ce wi th anyone,”Louderback said.

The Irish welcome IndianaFriday to the Eck TennisPavilion at 3 p.m.

The Observer � SPORTSThursday, March 4, 2010 page 19

ND WOMEN’S TENNIS

Team to play first outdoor matchesBy MOLLY SAMMONSports Writer

“It’s so different whenyou have sun and

wind, the ball doesn’ttravel as quickly.”

Jay LouderbackIrish coach

Contact Molly Sammon atmsammon@nd.edu

ND TRACK & FIELD

Teams host AlexWilson Invitational

By ANDREW OWENSSports Writer

Contact Andrew Owens ataowens2@nd.edu

IAN GAVLICK/The Observer

Irish junior Erica Watson holds off a Butler runner in the 5,000-meter run at the Meyo Invitational on Feb. 6 at the Loftus Center.

The Observer � SPORTSpage 20 Thursday, March 4, 2010

ND SOFTBALL

Irish take win streak to Calif.

Notre Dame’s seven-gamewin streak will be tested on alengthy, nine-game springbreak trip to California.

“Each team we play pres-ents a differ-ent challengefor our team,”Irish coachDeanna Gumpfsaid. “As longas we play ourb e s tsoftball , andplay it consis-tently, we willbe preparedfor eachteam through-out the week.”

The Irish (8-4) went unde-feated in their last two week-end tournaments.

“Our bats are hot and weare coming off of a weekendwhere we played good, con-sistent softball,” Gumpf said.

This weekend, the Irish willparticipate in the UCRiverside Aten ConstructionTournament in Riverside,Calif. They are scheduled toplay Ohio State, EastTennessee State and UCRiverside in the tournament.

The toughest of theseteams looks to be the No. 14Buckeyes, who have alreadyraked in 10 wins this season

and are climbing the NCAArankings.

“[Ohio State] did not losemuch from their squad in2009, and they have contin-ued to pick up this seasonwhere they left off last year,”Irish assistant coach KrisGaneff said. “They have been

hitt ing theball extreme-ly well duringthis f irstthree weeksof the seasonand hitt ingwith power.”

After theUC Riversidetournament,the Irish willplay Cal StateN o r t h r i d g eWednesday inNorthr idge ,Calif., before

traveling to Long Beach forthe Long Beach StateInvitational, where they willplay Buffalo, San Diego,UNLV, Long Beach State andPurdue.

“Although it seemslike many games in a shortspan, i t ’s pretty typical ,”Gumpf said. “As long as weare in a good rhythm,it shouldn’t be a struggle atall.”

To prepare for the competi-tion this weekend, the Irishhave been working on allfacets of their game in live-game situations.

“Our hitters need to see asmuch live pitching as possi-ble, and our pitchers need tosee as many live hitters aspossible,” Ganeff said. “Gamesituations are vital. Our goalis to never have anythinghappen in a game that theteam hasn’t already seen inpractice.”

Both Gumpf and Ganeffcited one big disadvantagegoing into the two tourna-ments. As the recent weatherhas inhibited the Irish fromplaying outside, the defenseis having difficulty dealingwith switching from practic-ing on turf to playing on dirt.

“It is a difficult transition,”Ganeff said. “I think it doesput our defense at a disad-vantage, but thus far wehave done a pretty good joband kept our errors at a min-imum.”

In terms of the rest of theseason, the Irish are usingthese early, non-conferencegames to prepare themselvesfor the conference gamesthat will come later in theseason.

“I do think it is importantthat we go out to Californiaand have a strong showingbecause it is going to showwhere everyone in the con-ference really stands as wehead into the Big EastSeason,” Ganeff said.

By MOLLY SAMMONSports Writer

“Our bats are hot andwe are coming off of aweekend where we

played good, consistent softball.”

Deanna GumpfIrish coach

Contact Molly Sammon atmsammon@nd.edu

ND WOMEN’S LACROSSE

No. 20 Dartmouthcomes to new field

Coming off an impressive scor-ing display in a 15-10 victoryover Duquesne Saturday, the No.8 Irish will look to continue theirwinning ways in a home matchupSunday against No. 20Dartmouth.

The Big Green (0-1) will be thetoughest collegiate opponentNotre Dame (2-0) has faced thisseason.

Irish coach Tracy Coynestressed the importance of thisnon-conference, out-of-regiongame in the grand scheme oftheir season.

“This is a really importantearly season matchup for us,”Coyne said. “In order to get ahigh seed in the NCAATournament, we need to beatteams out of our region, andDartmouth is a nationally rankedopponent.”

Coyne had high praise for theBig Green, but said she felt confi-dent in Notre Dame’s ability toknock off the visitors.

“Dartmouth is a fundamentallysound team,” Coyne said. “Theyhave 11 returning starters andcertain style of play that we haveto prepare for.”

In order to prepare for such aformidable foe, the Irish will

develop their own scheme toattack Dartmouth’s game plan.

Several improvements must bemade, however, to beat astronger opponent.

“I was disappointed we gave up10 goals [against Duquesne],”Coyne said. “We need to work ondefensive shifts, defensive transi-tion and keeping hard pressureon the ball.”

Coyne also said the Irish needto keep pressure on the ball dur-ing high-pressure rides, makingsure the opposing offense doesnot get an easy outlet pass. Theimportance of transition defenseis magnified by the fast-pacedstyle of Notre Dame, especiallyagainst the fundamentally soundBig Green, Coyne said.

The Irish have a medley ofscorers that can put one in theback of the net at any point in theaction. Nine different playersscored goals Saturday, and eightof Notre Dame’s 15 goalsSaturday were assisted by fivedifferent passers.

Junior midfielder Kailene Abthad four goals against Duquesneand sophomore attack MaggieTamasitis had four assists.

The Irish will host DartmouthSaturday at noon in the newArlotta Stadium.

By MATTHEW ROBISONSports Writer

Contact Matthew Robison atmrobison@nd.edu

they met so long ago shouldhelp the Irish.

“You have to [forget aboutthe regular season] ,” hesaid. “That is why I thinkplaying a team we haven’tfaced since the very begin-ning of the season will bene-fit us. It’ll be more a freshmindset.”

Along wi th that f reshmindset , Jackson sa id hehopes the playoffs bring theIrish a new style.

“We’re going to have to bea different team going intothe playoffs,” Jackson said.“We’re going to have to playreally good defensively, getgood goaltending and make

sure we do a good job withthe puck.”

The good goaltending willstart with freshman goal-tender Mike Johnson, whohas anchored the Ir i shdefense with 12 consecutivestarts since January 15, andLawson wi l l lead thedefense, as he has for thepast four years, with a disci-plined approach.

“This time of year, you cansay what you want, but it’sjus t everyone i s go ing toshow up and put their besteffort on the ice,” Lawsonsaid.

“Whoever is going to havethe discipline to come outand best execute their sys-tem, that’ll be huge.”

Lawson has moved up tofourth in Notre Dame historyin games played with 159 in

his career, and whi le heknows any weekend couldhold the last games of hiscollege career, Lawson saidhe wouldn’t put it past thisIrish team to make a run.

“It’s almost a relief in asense with the type of yearthat we’ve had,” he said .“Obviously the year didn’t gocompletely the way we want-ed it to, but it’s not over yet.Now we have a chance tomake a run and make some-thing special happen.”

Lawson and the Irish willt ry to s tart a spec ia l runFriday at Ohio State at 7:05p.m. The Saturday andSunday games — Sundayonly if necessary — will alsobe at 7:05 p.m.

with the team outdoors thisweek to help simulate actualplaying conditions.

“Right now I think our infield-ers in general have been havinga good week of practice,”Schrage said. “Ithink from thatstandpoint weneed to get bet-ter. The biggestthing over theweekend waswe really strug-gled with ballsin the air. That’sbeen our focusthis week.”

Notre Damewill take onHarvard (0-0),Kansas State (6-2) and Stetson(3-5) in the two-day tournamentbefore heading to Edinburg,Texas, for a two-game seriesagainst Texas-Pan American (4-1). The Irish will play five gamesin five days, including a double-header Saturday, but Schragesaid his team can only approachthe road trip one game at atime.

“Right now we’re only worriedabout Harvard,” Schrage said.“We’re staying with ourapproach of just focusing on thegame ahead. Once we start look-ing too far in advance and tryingto figure out wins and losses,that’ll kill you. Right now we’vegot a lot of things to work onbefore we play Harvard thisweek.”

In addition to defense, Notre

Dame will look to improve anoffense that struggled to platerunners last weekend. Unable toscore early, the Irish fell behindand failed to mount a comeback.

Schrage said a lack of platediscipline was the ultimatecause of his team’s offensivestruggles. Irish hitting instructorand assistant coach Scott Lawlerhas been working with the hit-

ters in practicein an effort toguide playersback to thebasics.

“Coach Lawlertalked to themyesterday aboutour approach,”Schrage said.“We hit somehome runs earlyin the seasonand sometimesthe team getsthe tendencythinking theyneed to hit homeruns to score

runs. When that happens, youget a lot of fly outs.”

Based on the results in prac-tice, Schrage said Lawler’sadvice has been met with suc-cess.

“We got back to the process oftaking the pitch up the middle,hitting everything back up themiddle, moving runners, hittingbehind runners, hitting and run-ning,” Schrage said. “When wedo that we’re a very, very goodoffensive club.”

The Irish will face HarvardSaturday at 11 a.m., KansasState Saturday at 3 p.m. andStetson Sunday at 4 p.m.

The Observer � SPORTSThursday, March 4, 2010 page 21

Errorscontinued from page 24

“We hit some homeruns early in the

season and sometimesthe team gets the

tendency thinking theyneed to hit home runsto score runs. Whenthat happens, you get

a lot of fly outs.”

Dave SchrageIrish coach

Contact Chris Masoud at cmasoud@nd.edu

CCHAcontinued from page 24

Contact Douglas Farmer atdfarmer1@nd.edu

VANESSA GEMPIS/The Observer

Irish freshman Kyle Palmieri skates to defend a Michigan player during Notre Dame’s 5-3 win over theWolverines on Feb. 27. The Irish will face Ohio State in the CCHA Tournament this weekend.

and attempting no foul shots.In the second half, however,

Jackson scored 20 points andthe Irish shot 61 percent fromfield goal range.

“I didn’t want to go out thatway,” Jackson said.

The Irish (20-10, 9-8 BigEast) have now won threestraight games, all without thehelp of senior forward LukeHarangody, who has a bonebruise in his knee that is tak-ing some time toheal.

With the loss,Connecticut fellto 17-13 (7-10).Junior forwardCarleton Scotthad a double-double, scoring12 points andgrabbing 14rebounds. Heblocked threeshots, and Breysaid he alteredabout five more.

“I want him toalter shots,” Brey said. “I toldhim I don’t care if you goal-tend two or three.”

Huskies freshman guardKemba Walker scored 15points, but senior forwardStanley Robinson had only sixpoints in 35 minutes and sen-ior guard Jerome Dyson shot2-of-14 from the field.

Notre Dame struggled to findgood shots early in the game.Connecticut’s size made pene-trating the paint difficult. Thescore stayed close early, but a

9-0 Huskies run gaveConnecticut a 13-6 lead andforced Notre Dame to take atimeout with 10:46 left in thehalf.

Notre Dame battled back,and four quick points fromjunior forward TimAbromaitis, a big dunk and atransition layup, cut the leadto 18-14 with 7:28 remaining.

The scoring remained limit-ed in the rest of the half:Connecticut led 20-14 with5:44 remaining in the half andno one scored until Scott hit a3-pointer with 2:44 left to cutthe lead to three. Notre Dame

was 0-for-8from 3-pointrange untilthis point.

T h e nJackson tookover.

N o t r eDame tookthe lead inthe first twominutes on ar e v e r s elayup fromJackson andScott’s sec-ond 3. A

pull-up jumper from Jacksonuncorked the Purcell Pavilionnoise and forced a Connecticuttimeout. Jackson scored 11points in the first 10 minutesof the second half, whileConnecticut scored only sixpoints in that span, and NotreDame led 37-26 with 9:54remaining.

“I love it,” Scott said ofJackson’s explosion. “We seehim in practice, we know he’scapable.”

Jackson said he felt he had

to step up, specifically becauseWalker was guarding him.

“I had a young guy guardingme, so I had to take advantageof it,” he said. “I felt like I hadto use my power drive onhim.”

The Irish held the ball for along time to slow the gamedown in the second half, Breysaid.

“Offensively we were into,‘Burn it to single digits, ballscreen for Tory,’” he said.

Notre Dame led 43-32 with5:58 remaining after seniorguard Ben Hansbrough’s twofree throws, his first points ofthe game. Jackson’s layupwith 2:13 left put Notre Dameahead by 12, but Dyson andWalker cut the lead to six with54 seconds remaining.

That was as close as theywould get.

Brey said the team has madea good push towards NCAATournament consideration,both because of its play andbecause of the strength of theconference.

“We should have the mostteams in the Tournament,” hesaid. “I think we’ve got nine or10. We certainly have a verypowerful resume now.”

Note: u Brey said Harangody will

be re-evaluated in the nextfew days and his status for thegame at Marquette Saturdaycould change. He said thechances were slim, but hewanted to leave the door openbecause there has beenimprovement.

scoring with 11.2 points pergame.

The Ir ish wi l l look torebound quickly from theirloss to Connecticut and buildsome momentum heading intothe NCAA Tournament.

The Ir ish wi l l t ip-of f onSaturday at noon againsteither Pittsburgh or Louisvillein Hartford, Conn.

If the Irish can defeat thePanthers or Cardinals, they’llplay a rematch against St.John’s on Saturday in thequarterfinals at noon.

Loyola (Md.) in the Face-OffClass ic . Notre Dame andLoyola (2-0) join a top-notchfield at the Classic, featuringNo. 6 Maryland against No. 9Duke and No. 7 Pr incetonagainst No. 5 Johns Hopkins.Notre Dame and Loyola arethe last of thethree top-10m a t c h - u p sSaturday.

“[Loyola is] avery ski l ledteam that isplaying verygood lacrosser ight now,”Corrigan said.“They have al i t t le b i t o f achip on theirshoulder —they didn’t getinto the[ N C A A ]To u r n a m e n tlast year and feel like theyare one of the top teams.”

The Irish will then travel toPhiladelphia to face Drexelbefore finishing their trip inHouston against Fairfield.

“It’s a great week for ourteam,” Corrigan said. “It ’sthree very good games, andit’s tough to play three gamesin seven days like that.”

Despite the busy week onthe field, Corrigan said theplayers s t i l l re l ish spr ingbreak.

“They are just l ike anyother students. They can getground down over the first

eight weeks of school, andthen they have midterms todeal with,” he said. “No ques-t ion the break comes at agood time and it will be goodfor the guys.”

Corrigan said he does notexpect the Irish to let theirminds completely vegetate,but instead to take a slightrest.

“It will be nice, for the first10 days our guys can really

focus onl a c r o s s e , ”Corrigan said.“They don’thave work todo. They don’thave classes.”

Without theclasses, seniorg o a l t e n d e rScott Rodgers,named a candi-date for the2010 Lowe’sSenior CLASSAward, seniorattack NealHicks and therest of the Irish

will be expected to properlyprepare for Loyola.

“We’re just worried aboutLoyola on Saturday right now.We’ l l take them as theycome,” Corrigan said. “It’svery boring but i f youapproach it in any other way,that is when you run intotrouble.”

Notre Dame meets LoyolaSaturday at 4 p.m., DrexelTuesday at 4 p .m. andFairfield on March 13 at 1p.m. (CDT).

The Observer � SPORTSpage 22 Thursday, March 4, 2010

Tripcontinued from page 24

Contact Douglas Farmer atdfarmer1@nd.edu

“No question the breakcomes at a good timeand it will be good for

the guys.”

Kevin CorriganIrish coach

Schradercontinued from page 24

Contact Jared Jedick atjjedick@nd.edu

Please recycle The Observer.

Seniorscontinued from page 24

Contact Bill Brink atwbrink@nd.edu

“Offensively we wereinto, ‘Burn it to singledigits, back screen

for Tory.’”

Mike BreyIrish coach

The Observer �TODAYThursday, March 4, 2010 page 23

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When it was over, ToryJackson grabbed a microphoneand verbalized his perform-ance to the Purcell Pavilion theonly way possible — hescreamed at the top of hislungs.

Jackson smiled his waythrough a second half filledwith reverse layups and forcedturnovers and drove the Irishto a 58-50 win overConnecticut Wednesday.

“Isn’t it fitting that ToryJackson would not let us loseon Senior Night?” Irish coachMike Brey said.

Jackson scored 22 points andhad four steals. Points weren’tcheap in this game: The firsthalf ended with Connecticutahead 20-17. Notre Dametrailed by three despite shoot-ing 23.5 percent in the firsthalf, making 1-of-11 3-pointers

While their classmates trav-el hundreds of miles in pur-suit of warm weather, the No.3 Irish will travel thousandsof miles — 3,727 to be exact— in pursuit of stiff competi-tion. If things go according toplan, they’ l l f ind both topcompetition and fun duringtheir Caribbean Spring Break.

“It’s always a good trip interms of team bonding,” Irishcoach Kevin Corrigan said.“We spend a lot o f t imetogether … It’s a busy week.”

No. 3 Notre Dame (2-0) willbegin its spring break slateSaturday with a game inBalt imore against No. 10

SportsThursday, March 4, 2010 page 24

The Observer

ND WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

No. 6 Irish enter Big East tournament as No. 5 seed

The No. 6 Irish will head tothe Big East Championshipthis weekend after earningthe No. 5 seed and a first-round bye. Notre Dame willface the winner of No. 12-seed Pittsburgh and No. 13-seed Louisville on Saturday.

Notre Dame (25-4, 12-4) justmissed earning a second-round bye as well. Its confer-

ence record matched that ofNo. 4-seed St. John’s, but theIrish lost the head-to-headmatchup, 76-7, on Feb. 16.

The Irish are also seededbehind nat ional No. 1Connecticut (30-0, 16-0), No.7 West Virginia (26-4, 13-3)and No. 12 Georgetown (25-5,13-3).

The Irish fell to Connecticutfor the second time Monday ina 76-51 home loss. I f bothwere to advance, Notre Damewould end up fac ing the

Huskies in the semifinals ofthe conference tournament.

But first the Irish will awaitthe winner of the first roundmatch-up between Pittsburgh(16-13, 6-11) and Louisville(13-16, 6-11).

Each team presents aunique set of challenges andopportunities for the Irish.

Freshman guard SkylarDiggins enjoyed one of herbest games of the seasonagainst Pittsburgh on Feb. 6in an 86-76 Irish win. She

posted career highs with 23points and 10 rebounds.

Notre Dame also outscoredthe Panthers in the paint, 46-34, as well as out-reboundingthem, 38-32.

Louisv i l le , on the otherhand, gave the Irish problemsearly in the game when thetwo teams played on Jan 19.The Irish fell behind by asmany as 12 points in the firsthalf against the Cardinals.

The Irish rebounded in thesecond half, though, using an

eight-minute run with 20turnovers and no Louisvillefield goals to secure the 78-60win.

Back in the lineup is seniorforward Lindsay Schrader,whose weeklong absence aftera sprained ankle coincidedwith Notre Dame losses to St.John’s and Georgetown.

Schrader leads the teamwith 6.9 rebounds per gameand is third on the team in

By JARED JEDICKSports Writer

Closing statementMEN’S BASKETBALL

PAT COVENEY/The Observer

Senior guard Tory Jackson reacts after sinking a layup late in Notre Dame’s 58-50 win overConnecticut on Senior Night Wednesday. Jackson scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half.

Jackson stars in hugeSenior Night victoryBy BILL BRINKSports Writer

MEN’S LACROSSE

ND to meet top teams on tripBy DOUGLAS FARMERSports Writer

see TRIP/page 22

IAN GAVLICK/The Observer

Irish senior midfielder Grant Krebs works upfield against aMaryland defender in Notre Dame’s 7-3 loss on May 10, 2009.

HOCKEY

‘Fresh start’ for team atconference tournament

see SENIORS/page 22

Basics willbe focusin Florida

Like much of the student body,the Irish will flee the South Bendcold for warmer temperaturesin Florida. But Irish coach DaveSchrage said he is more inter-ested in seeing his players mas-ter their fundamentals thanwork on their tans in the two-day Stetson Bright HouseInvitational in Deland, Fla.

“The two biggest things areplaying better defense, one, andthe second thing is to get ourstarting pitchers to go deeperinto games,” Schrage said.“We’re into the third week in,and we have to start gettingthem into the seventh inning.”

Defense plagued Notre Dame(4-2) during the Big Ten/BigEast Challenge last weekend, asthe Irish fielders committed 13errors. Schrage said he worked

see ERRORS/page 21

The buzz words havefinally changed.

For the past two monthsthe Irish (13-1-5-8, 9-12-7-2CCHA) have spoken of“momentum” and “talent inthe locker room,” but, nomatter what the week’scatchphrase was, the week-end held a disappointmentof some order — dishearten-ing losses or another injuryto the already depleted line-up.

Heading into the f i rs tround of the CCHA playoffsat Ohio State (12-16-6, 10-12-6-4) this weekend, Irish

coach Jeff Jackson and sen-ior alternate captain KyleLawson both spoke o f a“fresh start” in the “secondseason.”

“Our team is capable ofdoing big things,” Jacksonsaid. “It’s just a matter ofthem believing it right now.I think going into this sec-ond season, it is importantfor us to recognize that it isa fresh start.”

Notre Dame last met theBuckeyes on Hal loweenweekend. The Irish won thefirst game of the two-gameser ies 3-1 , and fe l l in ashootout the second night.Jackson said facing a team

By CHRIS MASOUDSports Writer

BASEBALL

By DOUGLAS FARMERSports Writer

see CCHA/page 21

see SCHRADER/page 22