College Sports Headlines

* Nicholls State beats New Orleans 79-62 AP - Wed Nov 19, 11:31 PM ET

THIBODAUX, La. - Ryan Bathie and Fred Hunter scored 19 points apiece to lead Nicholls State to a 79-62 win against New Orleans on Wednesday night.
* Mercer defeats Auburn 78-74 AP - Wed Nov 19, 11:18 PM ET

AUBURN, Ala. - James Florence had a game-high 25 points as Mercer beat Auburn 78-74 on Wednesday night to take its second straight victory over a Southeastern Conference school in four days.
* Mississippi State beats North Alabama 102-61 AP - Wed Nov 19, 11:13 PM ET

STARKVILLE, Miss. - Barry Stewart and Jarvis Varnado scored 16 points each to lead Mississippi State to a 102-61 victory over North Alabama on Wednesday night.
* Ball St. beats Central Michigan, 31-24 AP - Wed Nov 19, 11:08 PM ET

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - Nate Davis threw four touchdown passes, and No. 14 Ball State survived a scare from Central Michigan on Wednesday night in a 31-24 victory that gave the Cardinals a school-record for wins in a season.
* N. Carolina A&T beats Talladega 83-54 AP - Wed Nov 19, 11:06 PM ET

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Tavarus Alston scored 17 points to lead North Carolina A&T over Talladega 83-54 on Wednesday night.
* Harvard beats New Hampshire AP - Wed Nov 19, 11:03 PM ET

DURHAM, NH - Matt Kenyi had 17 points and Jeremy Lin and Keith Wright each had 15 to lead Harvard to a season-opening 80-69 victory over New Hampshire on Wednesday night.
* Cotton, Gator, Sun bowls still interested in Irish AP - Wed Nov 19, 11:02 PM ET

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Despite some struggles down the stretch, Notre Dame is still drawing interest from the Cotton, Gator and Sun bowls heading into its final two games.
* George Washington defeats Binghamton 71-57 AP - Wed Nov 19, 10:56 PM ET

WASHINGTON - Reserve Noel Wilmore scored 16 points and Damian Hollis added 15 points and five blocks as George Washington defeated Binghamton 71-57 Wednesday night.
* Smalley leads No. 20 Auburn over Georgia Southern AP - Wed Nov 19, 10:48 PM ET

STATESBORO, Ga. - Alli Smalley scored 12 of her 18 points in the second half to help No. 20 Auburn rout Georgia Southern 71-45 on Wednesday night.
* Albany, NY defeats Bryant 76-67 AP - Wed Nov 19, 10:37 PM ET

SMITHFIELD, R.I. - Tim Ambrose scored 24 points and eight rebounds to lead Albany to a 76-67 win over Bryant on Wednesday night.
* Appalachian State beats Charlotte 87-84 in 2OT AP - Wed Nov 19, 10:27 PM ET

BOONE, N.C. - Kellen Brand scored 23 points, Ryann Abraham hit four straight free throws in the final 12 seconds of the second overtime and Appalachian State outlasted Charlotte 87-84 on Wednesday night.
* Virginia Commonwealth beats South Dakota St. 72-56 AP - Wed Nov 19, 10:25 PM ET

RICHMOND, Va. - Eric Maynor scored 16 of his 29 points during a 24-7 second-half spurt, leading Virginia Commonwealth to a 72-56 win over South Dakota State Wednesday night.
* Georgia State defeats Southern Poly St. 82-64 AP - Wed Nov 19, 10:23 PM ET

ATLANTA - Trae Goldston scored 19 points and Leonard Mendez added 12, including his 1,000th career point, to lead Georgia State to an 82-64 victory over Southern Polytechnic State on Wednesday night.
* Maine tops Princeton 58-55 in overtime AP - Wed Nov 19, 10:18 PM ET

PRINCETON, N.J. - Two free throws by Junior Bernal and another by Andrew Rogers in the final 1:31 of overtime provided the winning margin as Maine defeated Princeton 58-55 Wednesday night.
* American edges Howard 65-63 AP - Wed Nov 19, 9:56 PM ET

WASHINGTON - Garrison Carr had 29 points as American escaped with a 65-63 victory over crosstown rival Howard on Wednesday night.
* Clemson downs Wofford 93-40 AP - Wed Nov 19, 9:50 PM ET

CLEMSON, S.C. - Terrence Oglesby scored 15 points and Raymond Sykes added 14 to lead Clemson to a dominating 93-40 victory over Wofford on Wednesday night.
* William & Mary defeats Norfolk State 74-58 AP - Wed Nov 19, 9:41 PM ET

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - Danny Sumner scored 24 points and David Schneider added 20 to pace William & Mary to a 74-58 victory Wednesday night over nearby Norfolk State.
* Virginia beats South Florida 77-75 AP - Wed Nov 19, 9:31 PM ET

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Sylven Landesberg nailed a layup with 13 seconds left and sank a free throw six seconds later to seal Virginia's 77-75 victory over South Florida on Wednesday night.
* East Carolina beats Campbell 86-65 AP - Wed Nov 19, 9:14 PM ET

GREENVILLE, N.C - James Legan scored 24 points to lead East Carolina to an 86-65 win over Campbell on Wednesday night.
* Final 4 awarded to Arlington, Houston AP - Wed Nov 19, 8:41 PM ET

ARLINGTON, Texas - Jerry Jones envisions thousands of college students and fans filling the three-acre plazas at either end of the new Dallas Cowboys stadium, having a good time and creating home-court environments for their respective teams.
*
In this Oct. 25, 2008 file photo, Michigan head football coach Rich Rodriguez looks on from the sidelines during an NCAA college football game against Michigan State in Ann Arbor, Mich. Rodriguez said his debut season at Michigan has been tougher than any year he's had. (AP Photo/Tony Ding, File)
Michigan's Rodriguez has long list of things to do AP - Wed Nov 19, 7:24 PM ET

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez reached into the middle drawer of his desk and pulled out 10 large index cards filled with notes.
* UNC's Zeller likely out for year with broken wrist AP - Wed Nov 19, 6:07 PM ET

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - North Carolina says forward Tyler Zeller will likely miss the rest of the season with a broken wrist.
* Michigan RT Schilling injuries knee in practice AP - Wed Nov 19, 4:46 PM ET

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Michigan tackle Stephen Schilling is questionable for Saturday game against No. 10 Ohio State because of a sprained knee.
* Correction: Pete Newell obituary AP - Wed Nov 19, 12:20 PM ET

BERKELEY, Calif. - In obituaries Nov. 17 and Nov. 18 for basketball coach Pete Newell, The Associated Press misstated the number of grandchildren among his his survivors. There are five grandchildren, rather than four, and a great-grandchild.
* Sooners try to create BCS mess AP - Wed Nov 19, 11:34 AM ET

Those who prefer a jumbled and angst-filled race to the BCS national championship game should be rooting for Oklahoma in Saturday's latest Big 12 game of the year between the Sooners and Texas Tech.
* Robert Morris defeats Delaware 86-75 AP - Wed Nov 19, 5:25 AM ET

MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. - Jeremy Chappell and Jimmy Langhurst each scored 19 points and six players reached double figures for Robert Morris in an 86-75 victory over Delaware on Tuesday night.
* Jacksonville St. tops West Alabama 69-48 AP - Wed Nov 19, 12:20 AM ET

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Jeremy Bynum scored all 17 of his points in the second half to lead Jacksonville State over West Alabama 69-48 Tuesday night.
* Northwestern State beats East Texas Baptist 87-65 AP - Wed Nov 19, 12:10 AM ET

NATCHITOCHES, La. - Northwestern State blocked 12 shots as it defeated East Texas Baptist 87-68 Tuesday night.
* Tennessee Tech knocks off Lipscomb 83-72 AP - Wed Nov 19, 12:09 AM ET

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Darnell Lindsay came off the bench to score 15 points and lift Tennessee Tech to an 83-72 victory over Lipscomb on Tuesday night.


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Basketball: Billups leads in-form Nuggets to win over Spurs

Reuters - 1 hour, 18 minutes ago

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Chauncey Billups scored a game-high 22 points to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 91-81 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday.

Read more here --->

Dallas Cowboys

ARLINGTON, Texas - The NFL is giving Adam "Pacman" Jones another chance. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Wednesday the suspended cornerback has been reinstated by league commissioner Roger Goodell, but he must miss two more games — this Sunday and the following game on Thanksgiving. He'll be back Dec. 7 at Pittsburgh.

Read more here --->

Davis Cup News

Juan Martin del Potro made a meteoric rise in the rankings this season and hopes his success continues during Argentina's Davis Cup final vs. Spain.

Read more here --->

As the Economy Worsens, Is There Money for Play?

The economy was a factor in a recent merger involving Dale Earnhardt’s team, left. General Motors often runs Super Bowl commercials, center, and sponsors events like the baseball All-Star Game.
From the “Buick” emblazoned on Tiger Woods’s golf bag to the Chevrolet Camaro that Cole Hamels drove home last month for being named the most valuable player of the World Series, it is hard to be a sports fan without stumbling across some type of advertisement for General Motors. The company consistently ranks first among advertisers of televised sporting events, outspending other automakers by more than two to one.

Read the full story here --->

Nothing Is Immovable for Unstoppable Giants

Derrick Ward ran the ball through the Baltimore Ravens defense.

Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward and Ahmad Bradshaw powered a Giants rushing attack that piled up 207 yards.

More details here --->

Florida probes gambling allegation

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – An athletic department investigation into alleged gambling by University of Florida men’s basketball standout Nick Calathes found that the player ran up about $600 in on-line poker debt, according to sources familiar with the situation.

The investigation did not find that Calathes or other Florida basketball players bet on sporting events, which would be a violation of NCAA rules, sources said.

University of Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley told Yahoo! Sports on Friday the probe did not find any evidence of wrongdoing that would affect players’ eligibility or impact the school.

According to NCAA rules, athletic department staff and student-athletes shall not knowingly provide information to individuals involved in organized gambling activities, solicit or accept any bets or participate in any gambling activity that involves intercollegiate athletics. Individuals found to be involved in point-shaving or wagering on their own school will be banned from the NCAA for life.

Read the full story --->


Enjoy this Google video about ancient Rome

Wanna some sex with a robot ?

Some people today are shocked by same sex marriages. But how about tomorrow ? A lot more amazing stuff may be behind the corner. One of the most bizarre predictions is about human sex with robots...

Humans could marry robots within the century. And consummate those vows.

"My forecast is that around 2050, the state of Massachusetts will be the first jurisdiction to legalize marriages with robots," says artificial intelligence researcher David Levy at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands. Levy recently completed his Ph.D. work on the subject of human-robot relationships, covering many of the privileges and practices that generally come with marriage as well as outside of it.

At first, sex with robots might be considered geeky, "but once you have a story like 'I had sex with a robot, and it was great!' appear someplace like Cosmo magazine, I'd expect many people to jump on the bandwagon," Levy said.

Pygmalion to Roomba

The idea of romance between humanity and our artistic and/or mechanical creations dates back to ancient times, with the Greek myth of the sculptor Pygmalion falling in love with the ivory statue he made named Galatea, to which the goddess Venus eventually granted life.

This notion persists in modern times. Not only has science fiction explored this idea, but 40 years ago, scientists noticed that students at times became unusually attracted to ELIZA, a computer program designed to ask questions and mimic a psychotherapist.

"There's a trend of robots becoming more human-like in appearance and coming more in contact with humans," Levy said. "At first robots were used impersonally, in factories where they helped build automobiles, for instance. Then they were used in offices to deliver mail, or to show visitors around museums, or in homes as vacuum cleaners, such as with the Roomba. Now you have robot toys, like Sony's Aibo robot dog, or Tickle Me Elmos, or digital pets like Tamagotchis."

In his thesis, "Intimate Relationships with Artificial Partners," Levy conjectures that robots will become so human-like in appearance, function and personality that many people will fall in love with them, have sex with them and even marry them.

"It may sound a little weird, but it isn't," Levy said. "Love and sex with robots are inevitable."

Sex in 5 years

Levy argues that psychologists have identified roughly a dozen basic reasons why people fall in love, "and almost all of them could apply to human-robot relationships. For instance, one thing that prompts people to fall in love are similarities in personality and knowledge, and all of this is programmable. Another reason people are more likely to fall in love is if they know the other person likes them, and that's programmable too."

Back in 2006, Henrik Christensen, founder of the European Robotics Research Network, predicted that people will be having sex with robots within five years, and Levy thinks that's quite likely. There are companies that already sell realistic sex dolls, "and it's just a matter of adding some electronics to them to add some vibration," he said, or endowing the robots with a few audio responses. "That's fairly primitive in terms of robotics, but the technology is already there."

As software becomes more advanced and the relationship between humans and robots becomes more personal, marriage could result. "One hundred years ago, interracial marriage and same-sex marriages were illegal in the United States. Interracial marriage has been legal now for 50 years, and same-sex marriage is legal in some parts of the states," Levy said. "There has been this trend in marriage where each partner gets to make their own choice of who they want to be with."

"The question is not if this will happen, but when," Levy said. "I am convinced the answer is much earlier than you think."

When and where it'll happen

Levy predicts Massachusetts will be the first jurisdiction to legalize human-robot marriage. "Massachusetts is more liberal than most other jurisdictions in the United States and has been at the forefront of same-sex marriage," Levy said. "There's also a lot of high-tech research there at places like MIT."

Although roboticist Ronald Arkin at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta does not think human-robot marriages will be legal anywhere by 2050, "anything's possible. And just because it's not legal doesn't mean people won't try it," he told LiveScience.

"Humans are very unusual creatures," Arkin said. "If you ask me if every human will want to marry a robot, my answer is probably not. But will there be a subset of people? There are people ready right now to marry sex toys."

The main benefit of human-robot marriage could be to make people who otherwise could not get married happier, "people who find it hard to form relationships, because they are extremely shy, or have psychological problems, or are just plain ugly or have unpleasant personalities," Levy said. "Of course, such people who completely give up the idea of forming relationships with other people are going to be few and far between, but they will be out there."

Ethical questions

The possibility of sex with robots could prove a mixed bag for humanity. For instance, robot sex could provide an outlet for criminal sexual urges. "If you have pedophiles and you let them use a robotic child, will that reduce the incidence of them abusing real children, or will it increase it?" Arkin asked. "I don't think anyone has the answers for that yet—that's where future research needs to be done."

Keeping a robot for sex could reduce human prostitution and the problems that come with it. However, "in a marriage or other relationship, one partner could be jealous or consider it infidelity if the other used a robot," Levy said. "But who knows, maybe some other relationships could welcome a robot. Instead of a woman saying, 'Darling, not tonight, I have a headache,' you could get 'Darling, I have a headache, why not use your robot?'"

Arkin noted that "if we allow robots to become a part of everyday life and bond with them, we'll have to ask questions about what's going to happen to our social fabric. How will they change humanity and civilization? I don't have any answers, but I think it's something we need to study. There's a real potential for intimacy here, where humans become psychologically and emotionally attached to these devices in ways we wouldn't to a vibrator."

Levy is currently writing a paper on the ethical treatment of robots. When it comes to sex and love with robots, "the ethical issues on how to treat them are something we'll have to consider very seriously, and they're very complicated issues," Levy said.

 

Technorati Tags: sex or marriage with robot robot bizarre love robotic pet

 

                              

European and Chinese Golf

The HSBC Champions Trophy Tour is on. In Shanghai the world's best golfers are primed for the year-long race to pile into an almost obscene amount of money.

In total there is $20 million up for grabs and, for example, if Robert Karlsson can win the most amount of prize money over the 2009 season, like he did this year with $3.4 million, then come next November he would add another $2 million bonus.

From Shanghai Justin Armsden from the CNN compares USA, European and other similar large scale events.

Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys were springing leaks long before Tony Romo broke his pinkie and their Super Bowl hopes started sinking.

Owens said doubt crept in as early as the first month of the season, when the Cowboys lost their first game against Washington then answered with an unimpressive victory against then-winless Cincinnati.

After beating the Bengals, the Cowboys complained about having to defend a win and reminded everyone they were 4-1. They did at least acknowledge that what they were saying for the cameras might be different from what they were telling each other. Owens said it for the cameras Wednesday, during Dallas' bye week.

"When you go in with a full deck of cards, everybody in their starting positions, you go in with a lot of energy, high expectations, as we did earlier in the year," Owens said. "It seems like one by one, at different positions, guys have been going down. It's very unfortunate, but there are two halves to the season."

Internet gambling, sports betting included, has been under fire for a long, long time. Different viewpoints have been discussed and different policies followed by the US authorities. Recently this debate has sparked again.

For many years the United States argued against the legality of Internet gambling by citing the Interstate Wire Act of 1961, which was created to prohibit sports gambling between states using a telephone. But because the Internet hadn’t been invented when that act was implemented, many legal experts nowadays have questioned whether that law pertains to the Internet or not.
Also, the Wire Act wasn’t specific enough to clarify whether it pertained to all forms of gambling or wagering only on sporting events. In 2002, two Internet gamblers sued credit card companies after running up debts by betting on casino games. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the case, saying that the Wire Act only applied to sporting events.
However, the U.S. Justice Department saw things differently and claimed that the Wire Act relates to all forms of Internet gambling. The operators of Casino City, a website portal to online gambling sites, sued the Justice Department in 2004 and the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana dismissed the case. The court said, "The government's interest is specifically directed towards the advertising of illegal activity, namely Internet gambling."


In 2006, more legislative steps were taken with the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which prohibits Americans from using credit cards, checks, of electronic funds transfers to finance Internet gambling. But the act deals only with how the gaming accounts are funded, not whether the actual betting is legal or not. So Lawrence Walters, an Internet gambling law attorney, stated that the bill has no impact on an individual gambler’s activity. "The bill is centered on restricting certain financial transactions," Walters said, "requiring that banks identify and block transactions going through their servers and their systems, and requiring that the actual sites, the Internet gambling sites, stop and block these transactions."
Rep. Barney Frank sought to legalize Internet gambling in 2007 by introducing the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act. Rep. James McDermott introduced a companion bill, the Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act, which deals with how to regulate online betting sites and how to collect a tax on all wagers made. McDermott said that an independent accounting firm had estimated that if Internet gambling is regulated, the United States could take in $3.1 billion to $15.2 billion in the first five years, and anywhere up to $42.8 billion in the first 10 years.
Foreign influence has come to bear on the issue as well, with Antigua and Barbuda, members of the World Trade Organization, saying that the U.S. ban on Internet gambling violates their rights at W.T.O. members. The organization ruled in favor of the two countries, the U.S. appealed the ruling, and the W.T.O. has continued to uphold the ruling. Last December the W.T.O. awarded Antigua and Barbuda $21 million in trade sanctions, which will allow the country the right to penalize U.S. trademark and copyright laws.
The U.S. has made some minor trade concessions to some other countries to exclude gambling services from an agreement signed in 1994 by revising the original agreement.
Because of these legislative battles, the issue of the legality of Internet gambling isn’t quite clear to most people, although it is currently illegal. But no arrests have ever been made in the United States for simply placing bets online. And with the W.T.O. ruling last December, that will probably not change anytime soon.

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Raiders players would put salaries up as collateral to sign Vick

Raiders players would put salaries up as collateral to sign Vick - The Huddle - USATODAY.com

Michael Vick in the silver and the black?

It's premature for the Raiders to be measuring the former Falcons starting QB for a uniform, but some Oakland players are openly lobbying for the team to sign Vick after he's released from jail.

"You can just imagine what it would be like," Raiders fullback Justin Griffith, a former teammate in Atlanta, told the Contra Costa Times. "But until he gets out, and we actually get him up in here, and we see how he is as a player, it's all up to Mike, and it's all up to (Raiders owner Al Davis).

"Would we like to see it? Yes. Would it add a whole lot to your offense? Yes, it would, man, but until it happens, you just imagine how it (would be)."

Said former teammate Ashley Lelie, "You have to sign him, if you're the Raiders. Trust me, I've played against him before. You don't want him on the other team. I've seen what he can do."

Vick, in jail after pleading guilty to federal charges for his role in a dogfighting operation, is scheduled to be released in July 2009. He is currently suspended from the NFL and would have to apply for reinstatement.

Another former Falcons teammate now with the Raiders, CB DeAngelo Hall, joined Griffith and Lelie saying they'd put some of their salaries up as collateral if the Raiders would take a chance on Vick.

"Oh, yeah, definitely," Hall said. "I wouldn't have any second thought about doing it. I'll put in my contract the same stipulations or whatever, man. I know anytime something like that happens, you wake up and you smell the roses.

"After talking to Mike, he definitely knows what's happening. He has a family, kids, fiancée. He definitely wised up and got those riff-raffs away from him. He knows who his true friends are. He'll move on and go from there."

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Schilling backs McCain, smacks Obama

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