Scott Barnes allows just two hits in Akron Aeros' win: Minor League Report

The independent Lake Erie Crushers sweep a doubleheader.

AAA Columbus Clippers

Bisons 7, Clippers 5 Lucas Duda hit a walk-off, two-run homer off RHP Vinnie Pestano (1-2, 1.98 ERA) to lift host Buffalo, N.Y., to an International League win over Columbus.

AA Akron Aeros

Aeros 2, Rock Cats 1 LHP Scott Barnes (6-8, 4.83) allowed two hits and one walk in seven scoreless innings, and Akron won an Eastern League game in New Britain, Conn. Barnes struck out eight. RHP Connor Graham (3.27) allowed one unearned run in two innings of relief for the save. 3B Lonnie Chisenhall (.267) and RF John Drennen (.289) each drove in a run for the Aeros.

Advanced A Kinston Indians

Hillcats 2, Indians 1 RHP Austin Adams (1.47) allowed one run in five innings, but host Kinston (N.C.) lost a Carolina League game against Lynchburg (Va.). 3B Karexon Sanchez (.263) had two hits for the K-Tribe.

A Lake County Captains

Dragons 3, Captains 0 RHP Jacob Johnson, RHP Jamie Walczak and RHP Doug Salinas combined for a six-hit shutout for Dayton against host Lake County in Midwest League play. RF Jason Smit (.257) had two hits for the Captains.

A Mahoning Valley Scrappers

ValleyCats 6, Scrappers 2 1B Jesus Aguilar (.333) doubled and singled, and CF Carlos Moncrief (.216) had two hits, but host Mahoning Valley lost a New York-Penn League game against Tri-City (N.Y.).

Notes: Scrappers RHP Alex Kaminsky, RHP Owen Dew and 2B Daniel DeGeorge are All-Stars. The game is Aug. 17 in Staten Island, N.Y.

Independent Lake Erie Crushers Crushers 5-9, Cruisers 4-1 Dom Duggan's walk-off single in the 15th inning knocked in Trae Gore in the completion of a suspended game, and host Lake Erie cruised in the second game to sweep Oakland County (Mich.) in a Frontier League doubleheader.

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Tributes pour in to 'top bloke'

HEARTFELT tributes have been paid to a Neath man who died just days before Christmas.

Jason Clifford's body was found at his home, in Neath Farm Road, at about 1pm on Tuesday, December 21.

Police have launched an investigation into the sudden death of the 40-year- old, but say they are not treating it as suspicious.

A Facebook group has been set up to pay tribute to Mr Clifford, with more than 200 members joining so far.

Shocked friends have left messages in tribute to him, while offering their support to his family.

Legend

Kieran Beaumont said: "What a legend. RIP Jas, the brightest stars always burn the quickest. Miss you mate, rest easy."

Ceri Lansley said: "What a shock, still can't believe it. Really gutted Jas.

"I will never forget you and the fun we all had when we were kids, hope you're at peace now, take care my flower."

Simon Evans said: "You will be missed young man. RIP, thoughts are with your family and friends."

David Barnett added: "RIP Jason mate, always remember you son, top bloke and good friend."

While Charlotte Jefford said: "Rest in peace and know that we will never forget you. You always had a big heart."

And Simon Matthews added: "So gutted man. We used to breakdance together in Victoria Gardens back in the '80s.

"I'll never forget those days and the crowds we drew.

"You were a part of the best times of my life and I'll remember you always."

A South Wales Police spokesman confirmed the sudden death.

"Police in Neath Port Talbot are investigating the sudden death of a 40-year- old man whose body was found in a premises on Neath Farm Road at about 1pm on Tuesday, December 21," he said.

"The death is not being treated as suspicious, and the next of kin and HM Coroner have been informed," he added.

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Your prescription for 2011 is?

? be slightly overweight, don't exercise too much and stop peeling your fruit and veg. Follow these seven simple steps to better health

Have you woken up in 2011 vowing to cut down on your drinking, eat less and exercise more? All good basic principles, but research published in the past year has suggested that living a healthier lifestyle isn't quite so straightforward ? and we needn't be quite so abstemious, either. There are plenty of less obvious, even counterintuitive, ways we can extend our lives and improve our health this year.

Don't diet too much: being slightly overweight is good for you

Until last year, the commonly accepted marker of a healthy weight-for-height was the body mass index, or BMI: your weight in kilograms divided by the square of your height in metres. BMI charts originally identified 20-25 as the target range for the lowest risk of future ill health: below 20 and you were too thin; above 25 and you were overweight; above 30 and you were obese.

But that universally accepted standard changed in 2010. It seems a higher BMI score, of 25-27.5, is at least as healthy in terms of cardiovascular risk as one of 20-22.5. You really don't need to worry if you are a little overweight ? provided you aren't more than around 5kg from the ideal weight for your height. The new emphasis is on waist measurements: men can be content if their waist is less than 38 inches and women should be happy with a waist of 34 inches or less. Keeping our waist measurements lower than those of our hips is a practical aim for everyone.

Exercise only in moderation

The two key terms for energy researchers in 2010 have been BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) and VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor): BDNF stimulates the formation of new connections between brain cells; and VEGF produces new blood vessel-lining cells, potentially keeping the arteries free of flaws that are the potential sites of clots, and therefore preventing heart attacks and strokes.

Regular exercise increases levels of both, so it should be good for you ? but there's a snag: too much exercise lowers BDNF levels. Does that have a damaging effect on brain cells? We don't yet know, but anecdotal evidence of the breakdown in health of athletes and enthusiasts who train to near-exhaustion every day tends to suggest that it does.

The main message, then, is to give your body time to recover after exercise. The current advice is to exercise to breathlessness (it doesn't matter what you do ? anything you continue to enjoy) for around 30 minutes, and avoid exercising more than three or four times a week.

It's not how much fruit and veg you eat, but which type

According to American, Chinese and Finnish studies, eating lots of green, leafy vegetables helps to prevent type-2 diabetes, even if you don't lose weight in the process. Eating plenty of fruit and vegetables as part of a healthy diet also helps you avoid obesity, which has knock-on protection against heart attacks, strokes, diabetes and cancer. However, the big finding for 2010 was that particular foods can lower the rates of specific diseases. For example, alliums such as chives, leeks, shallots, onions and garlic are linked with much reduced rates of stomach and colon cancer, and it is claimed on good evidence (in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute) that tomatoes help to protect against prostate cancer. It seems cooking tomatoes, especially in olive oil, or eating them in ketchup, is even more effective than eating them fresh.

Get more light

One way to pump up your brainpower may be simply to sit in bright light for a few hours each day. Trends in cognitive sciences reported that people performed better in mental tests when under bright light, and other research journals have taken up the theme. The brighter the light, they have found, the more effective it is (pale blue light is even better). It seems that melanopsin, a newly discovered substance in the retina, absorbs the light and improves cognition.

Throw away your peeler

Skin, stalks and cores are all claimed to protect against cancer and boost nutrition. Now we come to something a little more contentious: today's buzzword is biosynergy, the theory that each part of a fruit or vegetable combines with the other parts to reinforce its nutritional benefit. Dr Marilyn Glenville, former president of the Food & Health Forum at the Royal Society of Medicine, says that discarding the skin of fruit isn't the only mistake we make. She recommends eating stalks and cores, too. The list of fruits she would persuade us to eat whole includes bananas ? the peel is high in serotonin, needed in the brain to lighten mood and ease depression ? and kiwi fruits, whose skin is high in antioxidants and is claimed to have anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and anti-allergenic properties (golden kiwis have thinner, sweeter skins, so could be more acceptable eaten whole). She also advises eating the cores of pineapples, which contain twice the levels of bromelain, a digestive enzyme that protects the stomach lining, and orange and tangerine peel, which contain super-flavonoids that can significantly improve your lipid profile, theoretically improving your chances of avoiding a heart attack or stroke. Glenville recommends adding grated citrus peel to your food or putting the whole, unpeeled fruit into a juicer. As for vegetables, she claims that broccoli stalks contain more calcium, vitamin C and fibre than the florets, and that some vegetable skins may have anti-cancer properties, too. Garlic skin, for example, contains six separate antioxidant compounds, according to Japanese researchers. Glenville reccomends roasting garlic whole, along with other Mediterranean vegetables.

Know your alcohol limits

The news about health and alcohol isn't so surprising. Generally, we are drinking far more than any previous generation, and the troubles caused by our new habits are on the increase, from the social harm of drunken behaviour to the physical harm of failing livers and brains. Not only do we drink much more, but what we drink contains much higher levels of alcohol. Beers are stronger, while the alcohol content of wines has risen from around 8% abv to around 13% abv, and we drink them in 250ml rather than 125ml glasses.

So the message remains: women should stick to no more than two units a day and men could manage three, but shouldn't try. And make sure you know what a unit is. You may be surprised.

The idea that red wine has specific health advantages (because it contains the magic flavonoids) doesn't really hold up, either. Alcohol in small amounts does widen small arteries and helps smooth our blood vessel linings, in theory helping to prevent heart attacks and strokes. But to drink enough red wine to gain an advantage from its flavonoids would mean drinking more than is healthy. It is wiser to eat blueberries instead. According to recent research from Reading University, blueberries improve our attention levels and possibly our memories, too.

But there is some good news for pregnant women: one recent study says they can drink, entirely without guilt, up to two units a week.

Learn an instrument, at any age

For a long time, medical thought was that our brains were fully developed by our late teens, and that we started to lose neurones after that point. If we did keep on learning from then on, we were using nerves and pathways that were already established: we couldn't "grow" more neurones or connections. That is now in doubt. According to the European Journal of Neuroscience, we may be able to train our brains to develop even once we are adults. It's more difficult than in childhood, but it does seem to work. Research done with London cabbies more than a decade ago provided evidence of new connections (for the purists, in the corpus callosum) between the two halves of the brain after they learned "the Knowledge".

What we now know is that professional musicians have the same expansion of the corpus callosum as did the taxi drivers. And that children who learn a musical instrument have more highly active brains than other children. The old claim that we use only a small part of our brain when we think or perform actions has been shown not to be true. Brain scans show that many areas of the brain light up when we perform the simplest of tasks, and that musical training improves and widens these connections. So become proficient in any instrument and you should improve your dexterity, intellectual capacity and resistance to age-related dementia. All pretty good aims for the year ahead.

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Blair defends support for Kagame

President under pressure after over Congo allegations, but Blair says Rwanda is still coping with the fallout from 1994 genocide

Tony Blair has defended his close personal and working relationship with one of Africa's most controversial leaders, Rwanda's Paul Kagame, even as foreign governments distance themselves over accusations of war crimes and the suppression of political opposition.

Blair has described Rwanda's president as a "visionary leader" and a friend after making the central African country the focus of the work of his charity, the Africa Governance Initiative (AGI), to turn around the continent's fortunes.

The initiative includes placing officials hired by Blair in Rwanda's institutions such as the president's policy unit, the prime minister's office, the cabinet secretariat and the development board to assist with administration. Blair is leading a similar programme in Sierra Leone and Liberia, and says he intends to expand it to other African countries.

But the relationship has come under increasing scrutiny following a UN report that accused Kagame's forces of war crimes, including possibly genocide, in the east of Democratic Republic of Congo, and charges that the Rwandan government is increasingly authoritarian after the opposition was effectively barred from challenging Kagame in August's presidential election. The White House has criticised Kagame for the suppression of political activity and made clear that it does not regard Rwanda as democratic.

But Blair said allowances have to be made for the consequences of the 1994 genocide of hundreds of thousands of Tutsis and suggested that Kagame's economic record outweighed other concerns.

During a recent visit to Washington to meet the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, and promote his Africa initiative, Blair told the Guardian: "I'm a believer in and a supporter of Paul Kagame. I don't ignore all those criticisms, having said that. But I do think you've got to recognise that Rwanda is an immensely special case because of the genocide. Secondly, you can't argue with the fact that Rwanda has gone on a remarkable path of development. Every time I visit Kigali and the surrounding areas you can just see the changes being made in the country."

Kagame, pictured below, has been a particular favourite of Britain. Blair's former development secretary, Clare Short, directed large amounts of aid to Rwanda and lavished praise on Kagame. Rwanda also recently joined the Commonwealth.

For many years, Kagame, a Tutsi who led the forces that ended the genocide, was praised by other leaders ? Bill Clinton called him "one of the greatest leaders of our time" ? amid continuing guilt over the major powers' failure to stop the murder of the Tutsis and out of a belief that he had brought relative stability to a troubled region.

But the publication of a UN report in October accusing Rwanda of war crimes in eastern Congo, including the wholesale massacres of Hutu civilians and the plunder of minerals, tarnished Kagame's image. He has vigorously denied the accusations but human rights groups have been documenting such crimes for years.

Blair rolled his eyes at mention of the UN report, which he questions, and suggested that Rwanda's occupation of eastern Congo for many years was justified by the continuing threat from Hutu extremists.

"He (Kagame) and I specifically discussed this," Blair said. "They [the Rwandan government] very strongly push back against the allegations that are made.

"You've got to understand that it's a very difficult situation in Congo because you've got the rival forces fighting each other and that's spilling across into his territory."

Kagame has also been forced on the defensive over his re-election in August, with 93% of the vote, after his main rivals were jailed and barred from running after being accused of stirring up ethnic hatred between Hutus and Tutsis after what Human Rights Watch called "persistent harassment and intimidation" of their parties by the government, and the curbing of criticism in the press including the banning of two newspapers. The deputy leader of a third opposition party was murdered in July.

There is a growing perception among human rights groups that Kagame has used accusations of "divisionism" and "genocide ideology" to suppress legitimate political criticism. But Blair said the Rwandan government's sensitivity is justified because of the country's recent history.

"When they get upset about any form of politics that leaches at all into ethnic rallying cries, it's for a reason," he said. "You can't just dismiss that reason. I don't ignore these criticisms at all. Indeed, I've discussed these with the president. He's someone I've got to know well and I'm a believer in him, and I believe I won't be disappointed.

"You've got to make a judgment about this, and my judgment, rightly or wrongly, is that he is somebody who does want to do his best for his country, is doing his best for his country, and is a huge focus of stability in a place that still desperately needs it when we're only 16 years after the genocide."

However, there is also concern that a rising generation of Hutus will increasingly feel shut out of the political process, deepening ethnic divisions once again as extremists revive accusations of Tutsi domination.

Governing principles

Tony Blair's Africa Governance Initiative (AGI) is one of a series of programmes the former prime minister is juggling on the world stage, along with his duties as a Middle East envoy, for his faith foundation, a climate change initiative and a foundation to promote sport.

The AGI, a registered charity, launched its first project in Rwanda in 2008 and provides the model for similar programmes in Liberia and Sierra Leone, both rebuilding after devastating civil wars. It involves placing Blair's staff in high government offices, such as presidential policy units and cabinet secretariats, to build "effective governance" through "a combination of on-the-job coaching and support and formal and informal training".

Blair says a key to its success is a new generation of African leaders not hidebound by history.

"There is a clear sense by this generation of African leaders that the future of Africa is in their hands and they're not interested in a debate about the colonial past," he said. "They're very much eager to get their countries sorted out. They're perfectly willing to listen and learn from the outside. They're also keen on bringing in quality private sector investment and that is the way you build a country."

But the initiative is open to criticism for promoting a model that pressures African states to again surrender political and economic autonomy.

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Chris McGreal

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'Claims' criticism rejected

The Board of Deputies has dismissed complaints about a critical report into the Claims Conference, the international body which distributes compensation to Holocaust survivors.

Julius Berman, the conference's chairman, said the Board had not given them a chance to comment on the report before publishing.

But Jon Benjamin, the Board's chief executive, said the main findings had been sent to the New York-based conference in summer, and a copy of the final document was given a week before publication earlier this month.

The report, written by independent QC Jeffrey Gruder, a former deputy, involves properties and businesses owned by Jews in East Germany which had been seized by the Nazis. After the reunification of Germany, the German government set deadlines for potential heirs to lay claim to properties.

Unclaimed assets then passed into the hands of the Claims Conference, which sold them, distributing the proceeds for the welfare of Holocaust survivors or Holocaust education. Since 1995, it has received around �1,725 billion from the assets.

But the report concluded the Claims Conference had not done enough to help heirs recover their property.

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Review: Life is a Joke

By Rosemary Friedman
Arcadia, �11.99

Nabokov envisaged life as "a great surprise", Lewis Carroll deemed it "but a dream". At 81, Rosemary Friedman suggests in her memoir that it is a joke borrowing W. S. Gilbert's line to infer that amusement and advancing age are by no means mutually exclusive.

Friedman (one of our most deft and durable novelists) sketches pensionable years (as if with a very literary eyebrow raised at their relentless drollery) that are still shared with her lifelong love, eminent-psychiatrist husband Dennis and pass in material comfort.

Nonetheless, there is deal of tsores both professional and domestic: a publisher reneges on her latest novel; a promised play production never makes it to Texas; the BBC demands so many rewrites of her highly topical child-abuse episode of Doctors that the drafts "became like a series of dining options. First they fancied Indian, then Chinese, then Thai? oh what we really want is Indian after all".

Homeward bound from a holiday in Sicily, Rosemary and Dennis learn that the longstanding family joke, "I hope the house hasn't burned down", has come true: their fine Regent's Park apartment has succumbed to the fumes of an arsonist targeting the flat below.

There is a bleak, graphically painful encounter with cancer - first diagnosed as in the lung, then found to be follicular lymphoma, which chemotherapy chases into retreat along with the author's hair.

But to this writer, the serious setbacks, as well as every small, ludicrous, bothersome modern moment like the call-centre's contrary exhortation to "please hold on" (and on and on) "your call is important to us", are grist to the creative mill.

Friedman entertainingly contrasts the quirks of contemporary mores (meals cooked from cardboard boxes? Unsolicited emails promising to spice up your sex life? A grandchild at the Seder table misreading "psalm" as "plasma"!) with those of her young motherhood days when formal dinner parties had to be served while chapters were being penned and daughters' (she has four and 10 grandchildren) nappies washed. "I can't believe how I did it", she says of serving up a supper for seven: 2 chickens, one whole (home-boiled) ox tongue, 2lb of hot dogs, 12 stuffed eggs, 12 stuffed tomatoes, Golden Rice Salad, ratatouille, green salad, orange water-ice, fresh orange salad and the "ubiquitous" chocolate mousse, which along with her chicken soup recipe is the celebratory staple Rosemary has handed down to her girls. That was then.

But she is no kitchen goddess or hands-on matriarch. Even though "family life is the bulwark of our race" she resists being on tap to fetch, carry, feed, house or mind the grandkids. Now is her time and she is writing still, for it at the heart of this book that this is what writers do. They do it even when "writing a novel is like holding the plans for a cathedral in your head. It's not so easy any more."

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Alex White gets hit hard for one of few times this season: Minor league report

The Indians' first-round draft pick in 2009 allows seven runs in four innings of Akron's 11-3 loss to New Britain.

chuck Crow, The Plain Dealer Alex White, here in spring training with the Indians, has been impressive during his first professional season.

FARM REPORT

AAA Columbus Clippers

Bisons 6, Clippers 3: Buffalo's Mike Cervenak and Russ Adams homered off Clippers right-handed starter Paolo Espino (0-1, 4.26) in the International League game in Buffalo, N.Y. Espino yielded four runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings. RF Jerad Head (.283) doubled twice and singled for the Clippers. CF Jose Constanza (.303) and 3B Argenis Reyes -- now 6-of-11 with Columbus -- both had two hits. The Clippers (67-49) have lost eight of their last nine games.

Notes: Espino's start was his second with the Clippers after going 9-4 with a 4.00 ERA in 21 games (15 starts) at Class AA Akron....3B Jared Goedert (.281), in a 4-for-28 slump, got the day off. Goedert has slugged 17 homers and 18 doubles in 221 at bats with the Clippers, after batting .325 with 14 doubles and seven homers in 163 at bats at Akron....Nine of the 13 position players on the Indians' active roster, and catcher Carlos Santana -- on the Tribe's disabled list -- have been regulars at some point this season for the Clippers. The 10 combined for 1,628 at bats with the Clippers, including 56 home runs.

AA Akron Aeros

Rock Cats 11, Aeros 3: Right-handed starter Alex White (6-6, 2.45) took the loss for the Aeros in the Eastern League game in New Britain, Conn. White gave up seven runs on eight hits, including two homers, in five innings. He fanned four and walked two. Aeros RF John Drennen (.293) socked his fifth homer, a solo clout, and singled. Akron DH Tim Fedroff (.275), catcher Miguel Perez (.277) and LF Lucas Montero (.136) had two hits each, including doubles for Fedroff and Perez.

Notes: White, the Indians' first-round pick in the 2009 draft, might be tiring in this, his first professional season. He has lost his last two starts, giving up 11 runs on 15 hits in 10 innings. In his previous seven starts, White was 4-1 with a 1.03 ERA in 43 2/3 innings. White is a combined 8-9 with a 2.58 ERA at Akron and Kinston, striking out 104, walking 41 and holding batters to a .221 average in 132 1/3 innings....RH reliever Omar Aguilar (2-4, five saves, 3.48) has struck out 62 and not given up a home run in 51 2/3 innings this season....2B Jason Kipnis (.330) is 13-for-34 (.382) with two doubles, two triples, one homer and seven RBI in his last seven games.

Advanced A Kinston Indians

Hillcats 8, Indians 3: Kinston right-hander Joseph Mahalic (4-7, 4.43) walked three of the first four Lynchburg (Va.) batters in the top of the first inning, then gave up a grand slam home run to Kyle Day. Mahalic didn't allow any more runs, but was relieved after walking eight in 3 2/3 innings. The Indians had seven hits, with no player getting more than one.

Notes: LF Bo Greenwell (.336) is 14-for-37 (.378) with three doubles and three stolen bases in his last 10 games....3B Jeremie Tice (.301) is 12-for-38 (.316) with four doubles and a homer in his last 10 games....RH reliever Brian Grening has 50 strikeouts in 40 innings, and has held hitters to a .207 batting average.

A Lake County Captains

Silver Hawks 5, Captains 2: South Bend (Ind.) right-hander Scottie Allen, 19, blanked the visiting Captains on two hits and no walks in seven innings in a Midwest League game. Captains left-hander Vidal Nuno (5-5, 5.01) struck out eight, walked none and allowed just four hits in six innings, but gave up three runs (two earned), two of them on solo homers.

Notes: Nuno has struck out 72 and walked just 10 in 70 innings....LHP Giovanni Soto, 19, acquired from the Detroit organization in exchange for Jhonny Peralta, has won his two Captains' starts, allowing two runs on three hits and five walks in 11 innings, with 11 strikeouts. Pitching for Western Michigan, a Tigers Class A team, Soto was 6-6 with a 2.61 ERA. In a combined 93 2/3 innings with the two teams, Soto has struck out 87, walked 30 and allowed 78 hits -- just two of them home runs....RHP Brett Brach (3-6, 2.91) is 3-3 with a 1.99 ERA in his last nine starts, pitching 54 1/3 innings....Catcher Roberto Perez doubled for one of the Captains' four hits. He's batting .228, but is tied for fifth in the Midwest League with 69 walks.

A Mahoning Valley Scrappers

Ironbirds 8, Scrappers 7: Mahoning Valley had a six-run second inning, but couldn't hold the advantage as Aberdeen put together a five-run ninth inning to pull out the comeback victory. Austin Knight's bases-loaded double capped the rally for Aberdeen, which was led by David Anderson's homer and 3 RBI. Mahoning Valley's Diego Seastrunk drove in three runs and Carlos Moncrief had three hits. 

Notes: Going into Sunday's game, 3B Giovanny Urshela (.292) was 14-for-32 (.438) with three home runs, one double, eight RBI and no strikeouts in his last eight games. Urshela, 18 and born in Columbia, as a right-handed hitter who was signed by the Indians as an undrafted free agent. ... OF Carlos Moncrief (.223) was 11-for-29 (.379) with two homers in his last eight games. ... LH reliever Nick Kirk (0-0, six saves, 2.53) had struck out 32, walked six and not given up a home run in 21 1/3 innings. ... RH starter Alex Kaminsky (4-3) was eighth in the New York-Penn League with a 2.15 ERA.

Independent Lake Erie Crushers

Cruisers 6, Crushers 5 RF Arden McWilliams (.202) and CF Dom Duggan (.230) both clouted two-run homers for the Crushers, who lost at their Avon home in a Frontier League game. The homers were McWilliams' eighth and Duggan's third. Crushers reliever Jeff Cinadr (1.41) pitched three hitless innings with three strikeouts.

Notes: Cinadr is 4-1 with three saves and a 1.41 ERA, allowing just 35 hits in 57 1/3 innings....RH starter Josh Roberts (7-3, 2.47) is second in the Frontier League in ERA....SS Jodam Rivera (.289) extended his hitting streak to six games, during which he is 9-for-22 (.409).

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NI water crisis to run into next week

? Hospitals left to rely on fire service for supplies
? Boss defends record after calls for heads to roll

Hospitals in Northern Ireland have had to rely temporarily on the fire service for water and thousands of households remain dry as the utility company warned today that the crisis will last until early next week.

Laurence MacKenzie, the chief executive of Northern Ireland Water faced demands for his resignation after up to 36,000 people were cut off. He said the focus was on getting everyone back on the system rather than his job.

MacKenzie insisted he had been on top of the crisis despite claims that he did not turn up for work until Monday ? several days after the crisis began. He said: "I have been in here since the issue arose. I am doing the best I can to keep the team together."

But Martin McGuinness, Northern Ireland's deputy first minister, said heads should roll. He warned that people needed to be held accountable after pregnant mothers, families with young children and the elderly were left without water for days.

Speaking outside Stormont Castle tonight Northern Ireland's first minister Peter Robinson said NI Water's response was "shambolic" and "ineffective". He said he did not think anyone could suggest that the organisation had "covered themselves in glory".

"People must assess their own position and of course if people don't

assess their own position the (Executive's) review will look at where

responsibility lies and decisions will be taken on the foot of that,"

he added.

That call was also echoed by the small business organisation, the Northern Ireland Independent Retail Trade Association.

Tankers from the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue service had to be brought in today to supply the South Tyrone area hospital. For a short period water also had to be transported to Lagan Valley hospital after its supplies were cut.

Even the Red Cross had to be called in to deliver bottled water to pensioners' homes.

Northern Ireland's power sharing executive held an emergency cabinet meeting to discuss the crisis. It is expected it will order an inspection of schools to ensure there is no flooding when the new term starts next week.

Anger towards NI Water was exacerbated after the company said that all supplies would not be connected until early next week.

Trevor Haslett, the director of engineering, said the situation in urban areas particularly the east of the country should be better by later tomorrow.

NI Water announced tonight that supplies to a further 20,000 households or more would suffer restrictions over the next 24 hours in addition to those who have not had water since Christmas Eve .

A statement said: "Due to higher than expected demand there has been an unexpected loss of water to an important service reservoir which serves south Belfast.

"As a result we have had to increase the number of properties with restricted supplies from 33,000 to 58,300."

Businesses, particularly those in the hospitality trade, have claimed the chaos has added to their economic woes following the recession and the big freeze.

The Bayview hotel at Portballintrae on the North Antrim coast has been taking seawater from the Atlantic to help flush its toilets. The manager, Trevor Kane, said it had similar problems this time last year but that nothing was done to avert any repetition.

One famous pub near Belfast's university district has also made contingency plans in case they are cut off over the next 24 hours. Bernard Lavery, the manager at Lavery's bar, said he was hiring in 20 Portaloos for the New Year's Eve weekend. "The last thing we can't afford to do is take any chances with our toilets," he said.

The Northern Ireland secretary, Owen Paterson, said the British government would consider financial assistance to those worst affected.

However, he warned there "may have to be changes" to the service. He said: "In the past 25 years there has been very significant investment by private water companies in other parts of the UK, and it's very noticeable that those parts appear to have fewer problems than Northern Ireland."

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Henry McDonald

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Rome wasn't built in a day

If you believe today?s papers, Avram Grant, the West Ham manager, has two games left to save his job.

That?s funny, because only last week, David Gold, co-owner at Upton Park, said that the first team boss ?will be at the club for years?.

Another headline this morning is that Grant will be given a �10m pot for new signings should the Hammers still be in the relegation zone in January, when the transfer window reopens.

Now here?s an idea. Why doesn?t everyone just get of his back and let him get on with the job. After all, Rome wasn?t built in a day.

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Campaign urges people to use winter fuel cash to help elderly

An appeal is being made to residents who can afford to forego their Winter Fuel Payment to donate the money to help elderly people in Bath and North East Somerset who are at their most vulnerable as the temperatures plummet.

Anyone over the age of 60 is eligible to receive �250 per property to help pay winter heating bills but charity workers are concerned that even that extra money will not be enough to help some elderly people.

The campaign was launched in Somerset last month with the Bishop of Bath and Wells, the Rt Rev Peter Price and Glastonbury Festival founder Michael Eavis among the first to pledge their support to the Surviving Winter Campaign.

Support for the campaign has grown across England and people in B&NES now have the chance to join in.

Bath and North East Somerset Care and Repair energy efficiency worker Wendy Lovell is hoping that those who are able to will offer the extra money they receive to help people less fortunate than themselves.

She said figures showed that the number of older people dying prematurely during the winter months in B&NES were among the highest in England.

In 2008/09 in B&NES 142 vulnerable people died from causes directly attributable to the cold and poor living conditions and of these 98 per cent were over 70 years of age.

The figures also show that older people in rural areas are more likely to die from the cold than those in cities.

There are more than 30,000 people in B&NES in receipt of the Winter Fuel Payment.

Ms Lovell said: "So many old people suffer considerably over the winter months because of the cost of fuel. We find that they will often live in just one room and often forgo food just to keep warm.

"People who are frail and elderly can die because of the cold. They can become isolated and with such a cold December they are finding their fuel costs are escalating."

The appeal is being backed by High Littleton resident Barbara Green who said it was important for people to think about those who could not afford heating bills.

She said: "I am fortunate and have double glazing and insulation in my home but it is important that those who can forgo the extra money donate to help others.

"So many people don't seem to be able to manage even with the extra fuel payment so for those who can't manage the appeal is a good thing."

Deb Appleby, chief executive of Quartet Community Foundation, said: "If just a small percentage of people feel that they could donate their winter fuel payment we would be able to help local older people literally survive the winter and cope with the very cold weather."

Quartet is working with charities Age Concern and B&NES and Care and Repair to ensure financial and practical assistance is available when and where it is most needed.

To make a donation visit www.localgiving.com/SurvivingWinterCampaign or send a cheque made payable to the Surviving Winter Campaign along with a completed Gift Aid form to Quartet Community Foundation, Royal Oak House, Royal Oak Avenue, Bristol BS1 4GB.

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Clippers' Espino wins a pitching duel over Louisville: Minor league report

Paolo Espino, Bryce Stowell and Vinnie Pestano help slumping Columbus protect International West division lead.

AAA Columbus Clippers

Clippers 1, Bats 0: Columbus scored the only run of the game in the bottom of the fourth, and held on to beat Louisville, Ky. Drew Sutton hit his 18th double, Wes Hodges sacrificed him to third, and Sutton then scored on a sacrifice fly by Matt McBride.

Paolo Espino (1-1), the first of three Columbus pitchers, struck out eight in seven innings. Bryce Stowell pitched the eighth and Vinnie Pestano struck out two of the three hitters he faced in the ninth and picked up his 11th save.

Notes: In the past 19 days, the Clippers have seen their 101/2-game lead in the Western Division of the International League evaporate. They were 11/2 games ahead of Louisville after Saturday's win.

AA Akron Aeros

Aeros 12, Rock Cats 2: Lonnie Chisenhall belted a three-run homer and Alex White allowed three hits and one run over six innings as Akron topped New Britain (Conn.) at Canal Park. The Aeros pounded out 20 hits as eight players had at least two hits -- Chisenhall and Tim Fedroff each had three.

Notes: Jason Kipnis leads the Aeros in hitting, at .333 in 219 at-bats. Other team leaders are Lonnie Chisenhall with 14 home runs and Beau Mills with 58 RBI. Alex White (6-6) and Scott Barnes (6-8) are tied for the most wins.

Advanced A Kinston Indians

Hillcats 3, Indians 1: A double by Donnie Webb and single by Bo Greenwell in the top of the fifth was the only scoring Kinston (N.C.) could muster in a loss to Lynchburg (Va.). Hillcats starting pitcher Justin Walker (2-1) struck out eight in six innings.

A Lake County Captains

Dragons 4, Captains 2: Dayton scored three runs in the top of the third and made them hold up for a victory over Lake County at Classic Park in Eastlake.

Brett Brach (4-7) was the starting and losing pitcher. He lasted seven innings and gave up three runs, two earned, and eight hits. Lake County was just 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

Notes: Shortstop Casey Frawley, hitting .263, had the highest batting average in the Captains' starting lineup. Frawley went 0-for-4 for Lake County, which fell to 22-26.

A Mahoning Valley Scrappers

Spinners 4, Scrappers 3: Lowell (Mass.) put together a pinch-hit single, two walks, and a single to score the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth inning of a New York-Penn League game. James Reichenbach (1-2) came on in relief for Mahoning Valley in the eighth and absorbed the loss.

Notes: First baseman Jonathan Burnette, hitting .288, had the highest average in the Scrappers' starting lineup. The averages of the other eight, updated through the end of Saturday's game: .240, .233, .250, .190, .230, .189, .208 and .260. The Scrappers fell to 23-33.

Independent Lake Erie Crushers

Crushers 6, Miners 4: Lake Erie held Southern Illinois to just three hits and won their game in Marion, Ill.

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Jason's favourite photos of 2010

It has been another action-packed year for our photographer, Jason Bryant, who is always on the look-out for pictures which tell a great story.

Mid-Somerset, of course, serves up spectacular events, such the Glastonbury Festival and the carnivals, which provide a feast of stunning pictures.

However Jason, who is always on the move, is just as keen to capture special every-day moments, sometimes of scenes only he has seen – until they appear in the paper, that is.

As the year draws to a close, he has taken a browse through our papers and selected some of his favourite pictures from the past 12 months – including one which reflects his love of aviation and was taken not by himself but by a pilot.

From a private (or so she thought) moment for a parliamentary candidate, to the massed crowds at Pilton, Jason looks back on another year full of memorable images.

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Greg Folgia slugs 2-run, 2-out walkoff homer to give Captains a 5-4 win: Minor league report

UPDATED: Outfielder Folgia's clout in Eastlake capped Captains three-run ninth inning. Adam Abraham also homered.

Lake County Captains

Updated at 11:18 p.m.

AAA Columbus Clippers

Yankees 9, Clippers 5 Columbus RH reliever Bryce Stowell (1-1, 6.00) allowed Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Pa.) to score four runs in the top of the ninth inning and the Yankees won the International League game Thursday.

Lefty Eric Berger (5.84) started for Columbus and gave up five runs (four earned) on 10 hits in four innings.

DH Matt McBride (.371), who hit 17 homers in 95 games at Class AA Akron, hit his third in 16 games for Columbus.

Notes: Going into Thursday night's game, OF Jose Constanza (.315) led the International League with 33 stolen bases (in 37 tries) and was batting .345 (39-for-113) since the All-Star break....OF Matt McBride (.379) was on a 13-game hitting streak, going 18-for-50 (.360) with two doubles and a home run....2B Cord Phelps (.330) was on an eight-game hitting streak, going 11-for-33 (.333) with two homers, two doubles and nine RBI....RHP Carlos Carrasco (10-5, 3.71) is 2-1 with a 1.64 ERA in his last six games, striking out 30 and allowing just 20 hits and six walks in 33 innings. Carrasco has given up one home run in his last eight starts, spanning 44 innings, after yielding 15 homers in his first 91 2/3 innings this season....RHP Paolo Espino is 1-1 with a 2.75 ERA in three starts spanning 19 innings with Columbus after going 9-4 with a 4.00 ERA in 21 games (15 starts) at Akron.

AA Akron Aeros

Aeros 15, Phillies 10 RF Jerad Head (.323) hit two home runs and drove in four runs and SS Carlos Rivero (.231) hit one home run and also had four RBI to lead Akron to the Eastern League win in Reading, Pa.

Head has hit 15 homers for the Aeros this season, Rivero six.

Lefty Kevin De La Cruz (5.99) started for Akron and allowed seven runs (all earned) on eight hits and two walks.

Notes: Going into Thursday night's game, RH reliever Chen Lee (5-3, 3.58) was 1-0 with an 0.00 ERA in his last 10 games, striking out 12 and allowing just five hits and two walks in 13 innings. Lee had fanned 66 and walked 20 in 60 1/3 innings overall, giving up just four home runs....RH reliever Connor Graham (3-5, two saves, 3.20) was 1-0 with one save and an 0.93 ERA in his last 12 games, striking out 22 and walking four in 19 1/3 innings, while allowing 11 hits....OF Jerad Head (.314) was on a 16-game hitting streak with the Aeros -- 13 of the games before a stint with Columbus -- going 26-for-60 (.433) with seven home runs, five doubles, 17 RBI and 14 runs....CF Jordan Henry (.306) was 11-for-23 (.478) with a double and triple in his last five games. Henry was hitting .394 (37-for-94) with five doubles, two triples and 20 runs in his last 24 games.

Advanced A Kinston Indians

Indians vs. Nationals, ppd. The K-Tribe's Carolina League game against Potomac in Kinston, N.C., was rained out. The game will be made up at Potomac's home field in Woodbridge, Va., next month.

Notes: Going into Thursday night's game, catcher Chun Chen (.313) was 9-for-19 (.474) with two doubles, one homer and six walks in his last seven games....SS Juan Diaz (.258) was 16-for-41 (.390) in his last 11 games, with two doubles, one homer and six RBI....RHP Brian Grening (3-3, 3.60) has struck out 58 in 45 innings and is holding opponents to a .198 batting average in his 24 games -- all in relief....RHP Austin Adams is 4-0 with a 1.40 ERA in 10 games (nine starts) with Kinston, striking out 36, walking 11 and allowing 36 hits in 45 innings. Combined with his 13 games (eight starts) at Lake County, Adams is 6-4 with a 2.56 ERA, striking out 97 in 98 1/3 innings, while giving up 76 hits and 32 walks

A Lake County Captains

Captains 5, Hot Rods 4 RF Greg Folgia (.255) slugged a two-out, two-run walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth inning in Eastlake to give the Captains a Midwest League win over Bowling Green (Ky.).

Folgia's sixth homer of the season capped a three-run rally, following singles by SS Casey Frawley (.264) and DH Chris Kersten (.251) and catcher Roberto Perez's (.227) sacrifice fly. RHP Ramon Cespedes (1-0, 4.05) pitched a perfect ninth inning to get the win, after Cleveland Indians lefty Aaron Laffey pitched one inning, yielding a solo homer, in a rehab appearance (tired arm). 3B Adam Abraham (.263) hit his 11th homer, a solo clout, and singled.

Notes: RHP Brett Brach (4-7, 2.87) got no decision ,but made another solid start, yielding two runs on two hits and a walk in six innings, with four strikeouts. Brach is 3-2 with a 1.67 ERA in his last six starts, striking out 31, walking three and allowing 32 hits....Adam Abraham is batting .379 (44-for-116) with eight doubles, seven home runs and 29 RBI in his last 29 games....Greg Folgia is 9-for-17 (.529) with a homer four RBI and four runs in his last four games....Jason Knapp, 20, a 6-5 right-hander, will start for the Captains on Friday night against the Hot Rods. Knapp was acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies organization last July 29 in the Cliff Lee trade, and is considered among baseball's top pitching prospects. He had arthroscopic surgery to remove bone chips from his right shoulder last September. Knapp joins the Captains after pitching five games for the Indians Arizona League rookie team. He was 0-2 with a 1.46 ERA in 12 1/3 innings, striking out 18, walking four and allowing five hits.

A Mahoning Valley Scrappers

Muckdogs 7, Scrappers 5 Mahoning Valley C Diego Seastrunk (.221) went 4-for-4, but the Scrappers lost the New York-Penn League game to Batavia (N.Y.) in Niles, Ohio.

RH starter Michael Goodnight (0-1, 7.94) allowed six runs (five earned) on six hits and three walks in 2 innings.

Notes: Going into Thursday night's game, OF Jonathan Burnette (.291) was hitting .339 (21-for-62) with six doubles and four homers in 15 games this month....OF Carlos Moncrief (.246) was hitting .378 (14-for-37) with three doubles, one triple, one homer and eight walks in his last 10 games....OF Brian Heere (.238) was batting .375 (12-for-32) with three doubles and six walks in his last 10 games.

Independent Lake Erie Crushers

CornBelters 2, Crushers 0 Lake Erie outhit Normal (Ill.), 3-2, but lost the Frontier League game in Avon.

Notes: Going into Thursday night's game, OF Dom Duggan (.239) was 7-for-14 with two doubles and one home run in his last five games....LH reliever Ronnie Morales (1-2, 3.06) was 1-0 with an 0.83 ERA in his last 15 games, allowing two runs on just five hits in 21 2/3 innings, while striking out 19 and walking 12. In 41 games this season, Morales has given up just 30 hits in 53 innings.

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animal porn charges faced

A NEATH man has appeared in court accused of possessing extreme porn featuring animals and of making indecent photographs of a child.

Mark Timothy Russell, of Darran Park, Neath Abbey, is also alleged to have had in his possession 285 indecent photographs of children.

Russell, aged 47, entered no plea to a total of 17 charges when he appeared at Neath Magistrates Court.

The allegations against Russell include three of possessing an extreme pornographic image.

These allegations relate to April 7, 2008.

On September 26 this year Russell is alleged to have had 247 extreme pornographic images and 285 indecent photographs of children in his possession.

Allegations

In addition, Russell faces 12 charges of making an indecent photograph of a child.

These allegations relate to dates between March and August 2008.

Magistrates declined jurisdiction and the case is now set to be committed to Swansea Crown Court.

Russell will next appear at Neath Magistrates Court on February 23 for this to take place.

In the meantime, Russell was released on unconditional bail.

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Clippers look for first title in 14 years; Captains look for commanding lead: Minor league report

Columbus, leading two wins to none, can clinch first International League championship since 1996 with a win over Durham on Thursday night. Lake County can take a 2-0 lead over Clinton in its best-of-five Midwest League title series.

Chris Russell, Columbus DispatchColumbus second baseman Cord Phelps slugs a home run during the Clippers' 4-0 playoff game win over Durham on Wednesday night.

FARM REPORT

AAA Columbus Clippers

Tonight: Clippers at Durham, 7:05. Clippers lead best-of-five International League Governor's Cup championship series, 2-0. Clippers RHP Yohan Pino (10-9, 5.75 regular season; 1-0, 0.00 playoffs) vs. Bulls RHP Alex Cobb (7-5, 2.71 regular season; 0-1, 2.70 playoffs).

Notes: If necessary, Games 4 and 5 will be played at Durham on Friday and Saturday nights. If there is a fourth game, RHP Paolo Espino will start for the Clippers.... Going into Thursday night's game, the Clippers' playoff leaders in batting average were catcher Luke Carlin, .438 (7-of-16); OF Jerad Head, .429 (9-of-21); CF Ezequiel Carrera, .375 (9-of-24); IF Drew Sutton, .333 (6-of-18; now with the Indians); 1B Wes Hodges, .318 (7-of-22); OF Jose Constanza, .276 (8-of-29); 3B Jared Goedert, .269 (7-of-26); 2B Cord Phelps .261 (6-of-23). Carlin, Head, Hodges and Goedert each had two home runs; Carlin and 2B Josh Rodriguez each had three doubles. Leaders in RBI were Head (nine). Hodges (eight), Carlin (five) and Carrera, Rodriguez and Goedert (four). Leaders in runs were Head (seven), Carrera (six), Carlin and Hodges (five) and Constanza and Goedert (4). Rodriguez was hitting .190 (4-of-21) but had produced seven runs. Phelps led in walks with six. Carlin had five and Constanza four. Constanza had three stolen bases and Carrera two. DH-2B Jason Kipnis, who finished the regular season at Class AA Akron, was 3-of-8 (.375) in two games....Going into Thursday night's game, RH Yohan Pino (1-0, 0.00), RH Zach McAllister (1-0, 0.71), LH David Huff (1-0, 1.93) and RH Paolo Espino (1-0, 2.57) and had made the Clippers' six playoff starts (two each by Huff and McAllister) and were a combined 4-0 with a 1.33 ERA in 40 2/3 innings....Hodges was 17-of-56 (.304) with five home runs, two doubles, 15 RBI and nine runs in his last 14 games, including the regular season and playoffs....Carrera was 22-of-65 (.338) in his last 16 games, with three doubles, two triples, two homers, 11 runs, nine RBI and eight stolen bases in nine attempts. ... Constanza had reached base in his last 30 games, hitting .354 (45-of-127) during the stretch....Carrera had reached base in his last 24 games prior to Wednesday night, when he was 0-of-3 with a sacrifice....RH reliever Zach Putnam had allowed one run (unearned) while going 1-0 in his last 13 games, fanning 20, walking three and giving up six hits in 17 1/3 innings; RH reliever Josh Judy has allowed one run (unearned) in his last 10 games, fanning 14 while yielding five hits and two walks in 11 1/3 innings; RH closer Vinnie Pestano had six saves in his last 13 games, giving up one run on five hits and three walks, while striking out 19 in 13 innings.

A Lake County Captains

Tonight: Captains at Clinton (Iowa), 7:30. Captains lead best-of-five Midwest League championship series, 1-0. Captains RHP Trey Haley (5-11, 5.97 regular season; 0-0, 0.00 playoffs) vs. LumberKings RHP Erasmo Ramirez (10-4, 2.97 regular season; 1-0, 1.29 playoffs).

Notes: Going into Thursday night's game, RH reliever Preston Guilmet had earned a save in all four of his playoff appearances, pitching eight scoreless innings. He had struck out 13, walked one and allowed two hits. Including the regular season and playoffs, Guilmet was 4-1 with a 1.95 ERA and 15 saves in 34 games (all relief), striking out 92 and walking 11 in 60 innings, while giving up just 37 hits -- including just three homers....The Captains' playoff leaders in batting average were SS Casey Frawley, .345 (10-of-29); 1B Jason Smith and LF Jonathan Burnette, .318 (7-of-22); 2B Argenis Martinez, .294 (5-of-17); OF-DH Tyler Holt, .269 (7-of-26)....Smit led in runs with nine and Burnette had five. Smit also led with five RBI. Burnette, Frawley, Holt, RF Greg Folgia and CF Delvi Cid all had four....Burnette and 3B Adam Abraham each had two home runs. Frawley had three doubles and Burnette two....Holt, Abraham and catcher Roberto Perez had each drawn four walks. Cid had five stolen bases and Holt had three....RHP Jason Knapp has struck out 41 in 24 1/3 innings for the Captains in six games, including two playoff starts. Prior to joining the Captains, Knapp, 20, had fanned 18 in 12 1/3 innings over five outings in the Arizona League -- where, beginning in July, he pitched in games for the first time since having off-season shoulder surgery. In 36 2/3 combined innings with the two teams, Knapp is 2-2 with a 2.70 ERA, has struck out 59, walked 13 and given up just 21 hits -- including no homers. Knapp, a 2008 second-round draft pick of the Phillies and considered an elite prospect, came to the Indians in the trade of Cliff Lee to Philadelphia last July.

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Teams go head to head as they find it's good to talk in shul

There was more debating than usual at Mill Hill and Golders Green United synagogues, but it was school children who debated issues of concern.

Hosted by Tribe, the inter-school debating competition allowed pupils of Hasmonean, Moriah, Sinai, Simon Marks and Wolfson Hillel to voice their opinions. The format posed the teams against each other in 15-minute parliamentary style debates. Teams were ranked according to criteria such as content, vocal presentation and response.

In the final debate, the teams were given 10 minutes to prepare the motion: "This house believes mobile phones should be banned for primary school children inside schools and out".

Year 6 pupil, Oliver Gotkine, part of the victorious Wolfson Hillel team at Mill Hill shul said: "I really enjoyed the debate and especially the final question about mobile phones where we successfully managed to defend the importance of owning a mobile phone."

In a hotly contested debate at Golders Green Synagogue, Hasmonean Primary were the winners.

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University School boys swimmers sweep triple dual

University School, the two-time defending Division II state champions, defeated three Division I teams at a triple-dual meet in Toledo.

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Mallett will give Buckeyes' defensive backs fits - Comment of the Day

"I'd love to see Mallett in the brown and orange and I do worry for the Buckeyes in this game. If Tressel has the DBs playing in his typical soft deep zone, Mallet will destroy them. The DBs better have their tackling shoes on rather than showing us their impressions of Eric Wright." - WhatsamatterU

View full sizeKerry Smith | Associated PressRyan Mallett.

In response to the story Ohio State defenders cast a wary eye at Arkansas' Ryan Mallett: 'He's the real deal', cleveland.com reader WhatsamatterU is worried for the Buckeyes' DBs. This reader writes,

"I'd love to see Mallett in the brown and orange and I do worry for the Buckeyes in this game. If Tressel has the DBs playing in his typical soft deep zone, Mallet will destroy them. The DBs better have their tackling shoes on rather than showing us their impressions of Eric Wright."

To respond to WhatsamatterU's comment, go here.

For more comments of the day, go to blog.cleveland.com/comments-of-the-day.

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Cleveland Indians lose Josh Rodriguez and Jose Flores in Rule 5 draft

The Indians supply the first two picks in the major league phase of the Rule 5 draft as Josh Rodriguez goes to Pittsburgh and Jose Flores goes to Seattle.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Indians didn't take a player in the major league portion of the Rule 5 draft, but they lost two Thursday at the winter meetings. In fact, they provided the first two picks in the draft.

Pittsburgh took infielder Josh Rodriguez, 25, from the Class AAA Columbus roster with the first pick in the draft. Seattle took right-hander Jose Flores with the second pick from the Columbus roster.

Rodriguez, a second round pick by the Indians in 2006, had a breakout year. He hit .317 (20-for-63) at Class AA Akron and really emerged at Columbus where he hit .293 (93-for-317) with 12 doubles and 46 RBI. He had a .858 OPS -- .372 on base percentage and .486 slugging percentage.

"Looking at the free agent middle infielders available, he's a good fit for us," said Pirates GM Neal Huntington. "He can play second, short and third and we like the bat. He absolutely has a shot of sticking with us."  

Flores, 21, pitched at Class A Lake County. He went 1-1 with a 2.14 ERA and six saves in seven chances in 28 games. He struck out 51, walked seven and allowed 35 hits in 42 innings. The opposition hit .224 against him.

He was signed as a free agent in 2008 in Venezuela.

"It's unusual to take a guy from (low) A ball," said Seattle GM Jack Zduriencik. "But again, when you look at it, the key to the thing is that he's a strike thrower. He's aggressive and has size and arm. We'll see what happens."

Zdurencik said the Mariners scouted Flores, 6-3, 185 pounds, last season and checked with their Venezuelan scouts to see how he pitched as an amateur. 

The Indians will receive $50,000 each for Rodriguez and Flores. The Pirates and Mariners must keep them in the big leagues all season or offer them back to the Indians along with $25,000.

Ross Atkins, Indians director of minor league operations, said he'd definitely take both players back if they don't make the Pirates and Mariners big-league clubs coming out of spring training.

"It's a great opportunity for them, but selfishly we'd absolutely take them back," said Atkins.

The Indians considered creating space on the 40 roster to take a player in the draft, but decided against it. 

"We feel good about the roster we held," said Atkins.

The Indians have a lot of players at second base including Jason Donald, Luis Valbuena, Jayson Nix and prospects Jason Kipnis and Cord Phelps. Atkins said that was one of the decisions that went into leaving Rodriguez unprotected.

Atkins said it was "unusual' for a player to get pick from low A ball as Flores was, but he understood the attraction.

"He's a good pitcher," said Atkins. 

The Indians left former No.1 pick Adam Miller unprotected and he was not draft. Miller has had a series of operations on the middle finger of his right hand that have threatened his career. But he ended last season healthy and will attempt a comeback in spring training.

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Plea for sense amid celebrity 'science'

Campaigners name and shame stars for dodgy health and diet claims

Have you heard the one about the bracelet with holograms that can improve your strength and flexibility, or help you lose weight? Did you know that sperm was highly nutritious and something to be reabsorbed into the body, particularly before a fight?

For the past 12 months a range of celebrities have endorsed and promoted a whole range of scientifically dubious ideas. Fortunately, for anyone concerned that people might take the celebrity nonsense seriously, scientists and doctors are on hand to dispense some corrective wisdom on the dodgiest of these claims.

The campaign group Sense About Science (SAS) has collated scores of examples of scientific abuse from the past year and today publishes its annual list of celebrity-science shame. "When people in the public eye give opinions about causes of disease, cures, diets, or products we should buy or avoid, that's it, their opinion goes worldwide in seconds," said Lindsay Hogg, assistant director of SAS. "It gets public attention and appears in every related Google search for months. So if it's scientifically wrong, we're stuck with the fallout from that."

This year saw the biggest rise in dubious ideas among celebrities about the way our bodies work, said the campaigners. Olivia Newton-John, for example, told a newspaper in the summer that she took extra digestive enzymes and "plant tonics" to boost her immune system. Pop star Sarah Harding, meanwhile, extolled the virtues of sprinkling charcoal on to her meals to Now magazine, as a way of absorbing the "bad, damaging stuff" in the body.

"All the digestive enzymes you need are produced in a beautifully co-ordinated way by different structures in your gut," said Melita Gordon, consultant gastroenterologist at Royal Liverpool University hospital. "They work best at the exact location where they are produced. Your body makes all the enzymes you need, in the right place, at the right time."

Writer and chemist John Emsley pointed out that, although charcoal was known to absorb toxic molecules when used in gas masks and in sewage treatment, it was unnecessary when it comes to diet because the body is already quite capable of removing any "bad, damaging stuff" it encounters in ordinary consumption. "It might help prevent any smelly farts, though."

Placebo effect

SAS also pointed to several examples of sports stars, actors and even Spanish government ministers endorsing Power Balance, a silicone bracelet that contains a hologram. David Beckham, Kate Middleton, Robert de Niro and Formula One driver Rubens Barrichello have all made positive noises about the device, according to SAS.

Greg Whyte, a sports scientist at Liverpool John Moores University, said Barrichello's claim that he felt and performed better when he exercised wearing the bracelet was not surprising. "Over time physical training enhances oxygen transport and consumption, and increases muscle mass and range of motion," he said. "Any perceived enhancement to his performance from wearing the Power Balance bracelet is likely to be a placebo effect, as he expects to feel a change."

Cage fighter Alex Reid took things much further with his tips for health this year. Giving his fans advice on how to prepare for a match, he told the Sun: "It's actually very good for a man to have unprotected sex as long as he doesn't ejaculate. Because I believe that all that semen has a lot of nutrition. A tablespoon of semen has your equivalent of steak, eggs, lemons and oranges. I am reabsorbing it into my body and it makes me go raaaaahh."

John Aplin, a reproductive research scientist at the University of Manchester, said that sperm cannot be reabsorbed once formed in the testes. "In fact sperm die after a few days, and the nutritional content of the ejaculate is really rather small. And it's worth remembering that unprotected sex might result in pregnancy or the passing on of a sexually transmitted infection."

The favourite of sceptics everywhere, homeopathy, also makes an appearance. Julia Sawalha told the Daily Telegraph earlier this year: "I don't get inoculations or take anti-malaria tablets when I go abroad, I take the homeopathic alternative, called 'nosodes', and I'm the only one who never goes down with anything."

Jayne Lawrence, chief scientific advisor at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, said Sawalha had been fortunate in not getting malaria, as there was no active ingredient in homeopathic treatments that would have protected her against the disease.

Voice of reason

The SAS roundup is not universally critical of celebrities, however, citing Jennifer Aniston as a voice of reason. When reports emerged that she was apparently on a baby-food diet, Aniston told People magazine: "Sorry, but the last time I had baby food, I believe I was one. I've been on solids for about 40 years now."

The campaigners also highlighted the enduring themes of celebrity science. The first is the all-too-common claim that a product is "chemical-free" ? everything is made from chemicals, SAS points out. And the second theme, especially prevalent at this time of year, is that "detox" is good for you. Detox is a marketing myth, said SAS ? human bodies can remove their own toxins without the need for "pricey potions and detox diets".

"We have thousands of scientists who are willing to look at claims about medicine and science," said Hogg. "We'd like to see more celebrities checking out the science before they open their mouths and send the wrong thing viral."

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Festival dates put forward

CARMARTHEN'S 2011 River Festival organisers have announced proposed dates for the festival, members of the Carmarthen Riverside Association heard.

The organisers are favouring July 9-10, with June 11-12 pencilled in as a second option.

Member Ian McCue tabled a tide table for 2011, annotated with the optimum dates and tides for the 2011 river festival.

Members heard the general view was that "warm and wet" weather was preferable to "cold and wet".

Town clerk Selwyn Thomas and town council staff member Jenny Fox reported on a Rising Tide project debriefing meeting, attended by project representatives from all over Wales.

In 2010 the European Union Rising Tide project provided a grant for the river festival.

Members were reminded the project is scheduled for another two years.

Members joined with the chairman in expressing the hope that 2011 and 2012 prove as successful as the 2010 event.

Member Alexander Scott emphasised the need for the festival not to clash with the forthcoming Pembrokeshire Long Boats Festival.

Mr Thomas is to liaise with the Rising Tide Project and establish the date of the 2011 river festival.

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Minn-imum of fuss please

There is long service - and then there is the service notched up by Alex Minn who has recently stepped down after 55 years as the secretary of one of British Jewry's oldest organisations, the Initiation Society, which regulates Orthodox mohelim.

"They didn't want me to go," said the 90-year old communal servant. "But I thought in all fairness it was time to hand over. I am not looking for another job."

In fact, his record of service stretches back even further since he joined the administration of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews' Congregation back in 1953.

He had previously worked since the age of 16 for the Union of Tailors and Garment Workers, fighting for better conditions in the rag trade. "It wasn't the good old days in the East End," he recalled. "The workers got paid by the piece. When the work ran out, there was no question of being given notice. The union first got hourly work, so you got an hour's notice, then daily work, then weekly work - then finally holidays with pay."

He returned to the union after service with the air force during the Second World War. When he started with the Initiation Society, the medical officer at the time was Dr Leonard Snowman, whose father Dr Jacob Snowman had circumcised Prince Charles.

After retiring as senior administrator for the Sephardim in the 1980s, Mr Minn continued with his part-time role in the Initiation Society, fielding calls from parents seeking a mohel or helping to organise training for circumcisions.

One of his key roles was arranging insurance. "After 9/11, insurance premiums went so high that some mohelim couldn't afford it," he said. "The society met the shortfall. "

Generally, mohelim do not charge for their services although they do invite charitable contributions. "I once saw a hat passed around at a brit for people to give money to charity," Mr Minn said. "I was told it was a Manchester custom."

Twice-bereaved, he still plays bridge at Hendon Synagogue and goes to Jacs meetings.

"I remember once a mohel told me he had a call from a mother who wanted the foreskin put back. That doesn't happen," he said.

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�494k boost for cemetery in Mersey

A Liverpool Jewish cemetery will have its important historic features restored by a �494,000 grant.

The money from the Heritage Lottery Fund will restore the Grade II listed archway at Dean Road Jewish Cemetery and repair broken and fallen gravestones.

Public access will be restored to the site, which has been closed to visitors for years. The cemetery had been the target of fly-tipping and vandalism and a campaign to restore it was formally launched three years ago.

The accessibility will be improved by a landscaping scheme and paths will be built around the cemetery. The grant will also pay for a seating area and a new building for visitors and volunteers.

A special ceremony to mark the grant was held with Liverpool Wavertree MP Luciana Berger, and attended by Cllr Louise Baldock, the project co-ordinator and Saul Marks, chairman of the Deane Road cemetery committee.

Mr Marks, who has led the project since March 2005, said: "It's just wonderful and it's a huge achievement. The project has so many ramifications, it's a heritage project, a Jewish project, an environmental project and an urban regeneration project. It's been a long time coming too; some members of the team have been working on it for eight years."

The cemetery in Kensington is the final resting place of some of Liverpool's best-known entrepreneurs. The last burial was in 1929.

Actress Miriam Margolyes, solicitor Rex Makin and MPs Louise Ellman and Jane Kennedy are among those who supported the bid to fund a restoration.

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Faraway French fields aren't always greener

from Ian Moriarty in Paris
IT might feel like a lifetime ago but it’s been just five years since Brian O’Driscoll was very nearly tempted by a life in France.
It was September 2005 and the Leinster centre was pictured on tv sitting in the stand alongside then president Marcel Martin in Biarritz Olympique’s Stade Aguilera.
The tiny world of Irish rugby was about to change once more but no one knew what direction it would go in.
Then aged 26, an injured O’Driscoll (it was a few months after THAT infamous spear tackle) was a guest of honour at Biarritz that day and his presence set off an avalanche of rumours that Ireland’s greatest player was swapping the green pastures of his native land for the equally green (albeit warmer) pastures of the Pays Basque.
No one would have blamed O’Driscoll had he decided to go to France back then, just as no one could blame any other Irish-based player from doing the same now.
The increase in wages aside, lifestyle choice has always been one of the more alluring aspects of France’s Top 14. Most of us have had dreams of that old farmhouse in the Tarn or the apartment in an old Hôtel in Toulouse’s St. Etienne district yet few of us have had the opportunity to turn such hopes into reality.
However life in France is not as straightforward as it might seem.
For all the talk of increased wages, the likes of Paul Warwick or any other Irish-based player will be worked for their money. There can be a maximum of 38 club games in a season which lasts over ten months. Summer holidays can vary from between six to just three weeks for some players — Toulouse were back in training six weeks after their Heineken Cup but just 16 days after their French internationals had returned home from Argentina last summer.
But aside from being flogged to near death by the number and regularity of games, there are other questions to ponder. I’m amazed to regularly meet people who still believe a language as complicated as French can be picked up in a few months. Learning French is tough and arduous, and even with the aid of club-organised lessons, fluency can take a few years. A bigger task still, is becoming acclimatised to the ‘unique’ way of French life. It might sound innocuous enough but there have been quite a few players who have moved only to find life too lonely, too individualistic and too quiet for their own tastes.
Then there’s the question of choosing the right team. Stade Francais are not in the Heineken Cup this year — once an important benchmark for Irish international selection — nor do they look likely to qualify next season.
That’s not a problem at Toulouse but your chances of playing consistently there are limited by the squad turnover per match — again another important aspect to remember for Irish internationals.
The Top 14 has grown to become the richest and most popular club league in the world. But given the immense challenges of moving to and then playing in France, you’re already in trouble if the move is just about money.

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