Longtime Needham High baseball coach John Freitas will be inducted into the Massachusetts Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame on Saturday, Jan. 28.
Freitas has been teaching and coaching in Needham since 1969, as an assistant football coach since then and as the JV baseball coach from 1970-1975 and the varsity coach since 1976. He was a physical education teacher from 1969 until retiring in 2005, mostly at the high school.
During his tenure as the baseball coach, he has won 315 games and qualified for the state tournament 14 times. He was Bay State Conference Coach of the Year in 2001 and 2007. Needham won the Carey Division championship in 1997 and 2001. The best teams he has had were the 1993 team, which went 16-4 in the regular season and won a tournament game before losing to eventual state champion New Bedford, and the 2001 team, which went 17-3 and won a pair of tourney games before losing in the sectional semifinals to eventual state champion B.C. High. He has had five players play professional baseball and more than 50 move on to play baseball in college.
Other coaches in the Bay State Conference have high praise for the way his teams conduct themselves both on and off the field, feeling that Freitas is a first-class coach who teaches young men how to act and perform while competing at a very high level on the field.
The Hall of Fame Banquet and induction ceremony will be at the Doubletree Hotel in Westborough on Saturday, Jan. 28, at 6 p.m. There is a reception in the ballroom foyer at 5 p.m. The Doubletree is at 5400 Computer Drive in Westborough, at the junction of routes 9 and 495. Tickets are $40 in advance, $50 at the door, and $20 for children 12 and under. Tickets can be obtained by calling Mike Taggart at 781-444-6716 or visit www.massbca.com for more information.
PASADENA, Calif. ? PBS is giving the genteel "Antiques Roadshow" a fierce partner with "Market Wars," an antiques-hunt reality competition show.
PBS announced Wednesday that the 20-episode series from the producers of "Antiques Roadshow" will send professional antiques dealers in a nationwide hunt for the best vintage bargain. The dealer whose item snares the biggest profit at auction wins.
The producers of "Market Wars" promise the show will expose the "real, rough and tumble competition" in the antiques marketplace. The series will begin next summer, teaming on Monday nights with "Antiques Roadshow." The debut date was not announced for "Market Wars," produced by public TV station WGBH Boston.
The two series make a good match but viewers need not worry that PBS will be overtaken by reality shows, PBS chief Paula Kerger told the Television Critics Association.
Kim Kardashian is threatening to take over the 2012 political campaign season.
First, Mitt Romney referenced the reality star's failed marriage in a recent diss of President Obama. Now, an organization of California citizens who are pushing for an initiative in their home state that would raise taxes on millionaire by three to five percent are using Kardashian in an ad.
“Not everyone was born a Kardashian, but we all need to pay our fair share,” the spot says, noting that Kim banked $12 million in 2010... but paid just one percent more in taxes than a worker who made $47,000.
The Courage Campaign and the California Federation of Teachers are teaming up to raise around $6 billion for public schools and local services through this income tax hike. They hope to get it on the November ballot.
“Don’t you think she could pay a little more?” the ad asks of Kim, as images of children, firefighters and an elderly woman flash on screen. “Especially to fund education and critical services?”
Do you think Kim Kardashian should pay more taxes?
Milos Raonic won his second round match at the Chennai Open in India on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2012. (REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen/Files)
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CHENNAI, INDIA?-?
Reigning champion Stanislas Wawrinka and promising Canadian slugger Milos Raonic were among Wednesday's second-round winners at the 2012 season-opening Chennai Open tennis event.
The third-seeded Swiss Wawrinka continued his fine play at this Australian Open tune-up by coming from behind to beat French lucky-loser Edouard Roger-Vasselin 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 on the hardcourts at SDAT Tennis Stadium.
Wawrinka topped 2007 champion Xavier Malisse in last year's finale here and was the runner-up in 2010.
Meanwhile, the fourth-seeded Raonic rolled past Romanian Victor Hanescu 6-1, 6-4 and Japanese qualifier Go Soeda upset fifth-seeded Croat Ivan Dodig 7-6 (8-6), 6-3. The rising Raonic was the 2011 ATP's Newcomer of the Year. Soeda will meet Wawrinka in Friday's quarterfinals.
One other second-rounder on Day 3 saw Israeli Dudi Sela outlast France's Benoit Paire 4-6, 6-2, 6-4. Sela should have his hands full with Raonic in the quarters.
Nadal, Federer land in Doha quarters
DOHA, Qatar - Top-seeded Rafael Nadal and reigning champion Roger Federer were easy second-round winners Wednesday at the season-opening $1.024 million Qatar Open.
The former world No. 1 Nadal blew past German qualifier Denis Gremelmayr 6-2, 6-2 in an hour-and-a-half on the hardcourts at Khalifa International Tennis Complex.
Up next for the reigning French Open champion and 2010 Doha runner-up Nadal will be seventh-seeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny, who beat 6-foot-10 Croat Ivo Karlovic 6-2, 6-7 (3-7), 6-3 on Day 3 here.
The second-seeded former No. 1 Federer, meanwhile, handled Slovenian qualifier Grega Zemlja 6-2, 6-3 amid windy conditions in one hour. The iconic Federer has now won his last 19 matches, dating back to the latter stages of last season.
The 16-time Grand Slam champion and three-time Doha titlist Federer closed out 2011 as the hottest player in the world, as he won his last 17 matches on his way to three straight titles, including the prestigious ATP World Tour Finals.
Third-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga moved into the quarterfinals with a 7-6 (10-8), 6-3 victory over Italian Flavio Cipolla. The French Tsonga will face Spaniard Albert Ramos in the round of eight after Ramos received a walkover into the quarters when his scheduled opponent, sixth-seeded Russian Alex Bogomolov Jr., pulled out of the draw.
In other second-round action involving seeds, No. 5 Viktor Troicki of Serbia stopped German qualifier Matthias Bachinger 7-6 (8-6), 6-1 and a No. 8 Seppi dismissed Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 7-5, 6-3.
Serena wins, then withdraws
BRISBANE, Australia - Serena Williams' preparations for the upcoming Australian Open took a hit on Wednesday when the former world No. 1 star won a second-round match, but then withdrew from the Brisbane International tennis event because of an ankle injury.
A fourth-seeded Williams got past Serbian Bojana Jovanovski in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4, but injured her left ankle in the process at Queensland Tennis Centre.
The 13-time Grand Slam champion Williams, playing in her first tournament since losing to Samantha Stosur in September's U.S. Open final, was serving for the match at 6-2, 5-3 against Jovanovski on Wednesday when she twisted the ankle and fell hard to the court.
The five-time Aussie Open champ laid near the baseline for several minutes while receiving medical attention.
After having her ankle wrapped, Williams returned to action, only to have her serve broken, but would then prevail in the following game.
She then withdrew from Brisbane later Wednesday, saying "I have a left ankle sprain (and) that I probably shouldn't play on."
"I'm going to take a couple of days off -- not too many -- and see how I feel," Williams said in a statement. "I'm still hopeful of playing the Australian Open."
The Aussie Open will commence January 16 in Melbourne.
Williams' scheduled quarterfinal opponent in Brisbane, Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova, received a walkover into the semis.
Meanwhile, Czech left-hander Iveta Benesova took down the local favourite and top seed here, the U.S. Open champion Stosur, 6-4, 6-2.
In other second-round action, sixth-seeded former world No. 1 Serb Jelena Jankovic cruised to a 6-3, 6-2 win over Russian qualifier Nina Bratchikova and Estonia's Kaia Kanepi upset seventh-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia 6-0, 6-3.
Murray reaches Brisbane quarters
BRISBANE, Australia - Top seed Andy Murray was tested before reaching the quarterfinals at the 2012 season-opening Brisbane International tennis event.
The world No. 4 and 2011 Australian Open runner-up Murray dropped the first set against left-hander Gilles Muller of Luxembourg on Wednesday before prevailing for a 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-0 victory in just over two hours on the hardcourts at Queensland Tennis Centre.
Murray will face former Aussie Open runner-up Marcos Baghdatis in a quarterfinal here on Friday. The Cypriot Baghdatis took out fifth-seeded Japanese Kei Nishikori 6-3, 6-4 on Day 4.
Second-seeded Gilles Simon avoided an upset with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Aussie wild card James Duckworth. Simon will meet Colombian Santiago Giraldo in a quarter here on Thursday. Santiago stopped German Philipp Petzschner 6-4, 6-4.
Three other seeds reached the round of eight, as No. 3 Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine outlasted Russian qualifier Igor Andreev 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 (11-9), 6-2, No. 6 Czech Radek Stepanek beat Finn Jarkko Nieminen 7-6 (7-3), 6-2, and No. 8 Aussie favourite Bernard Tomic trounced Japanese qualifier Tatsuma Ito 6-1, 6-2. The tour veteran Stepanek titled here in 2009.
Dolgopolov and Stepanek will square off here on Thursday.
Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin received a walkover into the quarterfinals when his scheduled second-round opponent, oft-injured German Tommy Haas, withdrew from the tournament.
Lisicki survives test from Barthel
AUCKLAND, New Zealand - Top-seeded Sabine Lisicki survived for a three-set win Wednesday over fellow German Mona Barthel in the second round at the season-opening ASB Classic.
Lisicki needed almost 2 1/2 hours to hold off Barthel in 7-6 (7-3), 3-6, 6-3 fashion on the hardcourts at ASB Tennis Centre.
Barthel saved 16-of-23 break points in the rain-delayed match, but Lisicki moved on to face another fellow German, Angelique Kerber, who upended No. 5 seed and compatriot Julia Goerges in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3.
Second-seeded Chinese Shuai Peng was also ousted in two sets, dropping a 6-4, 6-3 decision to Czech Lucie Hradecka.
Third-seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, meanwhile, cruised past American teenager Christina McHale 6-1, 6-1 and No. 4 seed Flavia Pennetta of Italy bested Brit Elena Baltacha 6-4, 6-2. Pennetta was a finalist here two years ago.
In other action involving seeds, Russian Elena Vesnina upset No. 6 Italian Roberta Vinci 6-3, 6-4, unseeded Italian Sara Errani erased No. 7 Belgian Yanina Wickmayer 4-6, 6-1, 6-1, and No. 8 Monica Niculescu of Romania was ousted by Chinese Zheng Jie 6-0, 6-2. Wickmayer was last year's Auckland runner-up to Hungarian Greta Arn and titled here in 2010 by beating Pennetta in the finale.
Mariah Careyand hubbyNick Cannonare "straaaaaanded in Aspen" after Cannon suffered what Carey is describing as "mild kidney failure." On Wednesday, the 41-year-old pop singer uploaded a photo to her Twitter account showing herself and Cannon, 31, lying in a hospital bed together, and asking fans to "please pray for Nick."
New Arrivals at Milanoo.com: The Latest Mermaid Style Wedding Dress
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CHENGDU, China, Jan. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- To kick off year 2012, Milanoo.com, a China based global wedding dress online retailer, brings the latest mermaid style wedding dresses to brides-to-be this January. By adding only $1.99 for the over $100 mermaid style wedding dresses, you will gain a number of wedding accessories as gifts, which will be applied at check-out automatically.
"Each wedding gown in this mermaid style is the perfect mix of romance and high fashion so that you may inspire on your big day with its unique body hugging style, outlines and details. We really want our customers to be the most beautiful on her once-in-a-lifetime big day," said Gu, the manager of the procurement center of Milanoo. "You can find elegant ivory and white lace designs in this collection of mermaid style wedding dresses. Also, we offer you special designs of one shoulder, off shoulder, long sleeve and so forth," he added.
The mermaid silhouette contours to the body from the chest to the knee, then flares out to the hem. This is a very sexy look that highlights the curves of a woman's body, giving women the confidence to pull off this dramatic style. Add glamour to your look with a corset bodice wedding dress that comes with a unique neckline, or choose from the sexy slits or vote for feather details for the playful bride. Get all these amazingly crafted wedding dresses at astonishing discount rates and also free gifts from Milanoo. To know more about the latest wedding dress styles and information on Milanoo.com, please log in to http://www.milanoo.com/Wedding-Dresses-c392.
About Milanoo
Milanoo, based in China, comes up with a plethora of new and trendy fashion apparel, cosplay costumes, wigs, lingerie, formal wear, wedding attire, shoes and spandex Zentai suits which are included in their scope of online retail business to meet the expectations of women customers by offering great comfort level along with unique style. Milanoo has been a very popular website for its ultimate fashion and also value for money while fulfilling your fashion needs.
KABUL, Afghanistan ? As the drawdown of U.S. troops from Afghanistan steps up in 2012, NATO military planners are trying to figure out the logistics of how to ship out the massive quantities of alliance vehicles, weapons and other equipment from the mountainous landlocked country.
The operation requires the removal of $30 billion worth of state-of-the-art military gear by the end of 2014, when U.S. and other coalition troops are to end their combat role, a senior NATO official said Tuesday.
Most of the American equipment will be shipped to military depots in the United States for refurbishment and then redistributed to bases around the country, but some assets will go to bases in Europe, primarily Germany, or in Asian nations such as South Korea.
"The stuff we have here is the very best the U.S. has ever produced," the NATO official said. "It's better than anything available (to military units) in the United States."
He spoke on condition of anonymity because the planning for the equipment pullout is still in its initial stages.
Aside from the armored vehicles and trucks, other gear that will be shipped out includes large quantities of armor, communications and optical equipment, and large crew-served artillery systems.
In 2011, the U.S.-led coalition began the withdrawal of nearly 140,000 foreign troops serving in Afghanistan, and 10,000 U.S. service members have already pulled out. By the end of this year, another 23,000 Americans are due to depart, along with thousands more allied soldiers, which will reduce the coalition force in Afghanistan to about 90,000.
The quantity of military equipment that was accumulated here by the United States and its allies in 10 years of war is formidable. Although small quantities have already been removed, the planning is complex due to inherent complications of moving so much heavy gear out of a landlocked nation with problematic relations with some of its neighbors, said the official.
Only a relatively small amount of the tens of thousands of vehicles can be flown out by air, due to the massive weight of some, such as the as the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles, or MRAPs, and its all-terrain variety, the M-ATV.
Afghanistan's neighbor Pakistan has shut down NATO's main transit routes from the port of Karachi in November in response to a NATO aerial attack on a Pakistani border post that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.
The alliance has been able to ship equipment and supplies in from the north, through Russia and the Central Asian nations. But there is no current agreement allowing the two-way traffic needed to transport it back to Europe via the northern route.
During the recent pullout from Iraq, the U.S. military was able to simply drive its vehicles in large convoys to neighboring Kuwait where a deep sea port was available. In contrast, the main routes out of Afghanistan require vehicles and containers to be loaded on trucks or trains for the onward journey.
"The challenges of geography are enormous," the official said. "I wish Afghanistan was a coastal country with a great port, but it's not."
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Slobodan Lekic can be reached on Twitter at http://twitter.com/slekich
Monday, Jan 02, 2012 06:00 am | The Canadian Press
LONDON, Ont. - Locomotive maker Electro-Motive began the new year by locking out CAW members at its plant in London, Ont.
Contract talks collapsed last week after the company issued a final offer that would cut the wages of union members in half, eliminate pensions and gut other benefits.
The previous contract for the more than 420 CAW members expired at the start of 2012, and the union set up picket lines at the plant Sunday evening.
Electro-Motive is owned by heavy equipment giant Caterpillar through its Progress Rail subsidiary. Caterpillar has a long history of playing hard ball with unions.
CAW president Ken Lewenza issued a statement blaming corporate greed for the lockout, calling it a serious attack on working people, their families and the greater London area.
"Caterpillar may be one of the richest corporations to ask for the deepest of cuts," he said.
Progress Rail, which also produces diesel-electric locomotives, opened a plant in Muncie, Ind., in October, leading to speculation it intends to relocate the London operation there to benefit from Washington's Buy American policies.
The CAW is asking the federal government to disclose the terms and commitments made during the 2010 purchase of Electro-Motive by Caterpillar, under the Investment Canada Act.
Ontario Federation of Labour president Sid Ryan says Ontario's labour movement is ready to mobilize to help the CAW stop scabs from crossing picket lines at the London plant.
"Workers across the province are angry and feel betrayed by their government and they are ready to fight together to defend good jobs," he said.
Ryan warned that corporations and all levels of government are being put on notice that 2012 will be marred by labour unrest if they continue to destroy the livelihoods of the middle class.
The OFL leader said the situation in London underscores the need for provincial legislation to ban the use of replacement workers during strikes and lockouts.
Ryan also had a message for Ottawa, saying Prime Minister Stephen Harper's corporate tax cuts are continuing to fuel record profits that companies are keeping instead of investing in new technologies and equipment that lead to job creation.
The OFL represents 54 unions and one million workers in Ontario.
