Friday, July 29, 2005
SI: ump bans spanish on little league field
"Methuen, Mass(AP)-Coaches on a Little League team filed a protest with the league after an umpire ordered the players to stop speaking Spanish during a state tournament game this week.
Coaches said the order demoralized the Methuen players and cost the team the game.
'This never should have happened,' coach Chris Mosher told the Eagle Tribune newspaper. 'These are 14-year-old kids who should not have to deal with any of this, especially in Little League baseball.'
National Little League spokesman Lance Van Auken said there's no rule against players speaking Spanish or any other language on the field. But he said it's too late to reverse the decision or the outcome of the game.
'It appears the umpire was concerned that the coach or manager may have been using a language other than English...to communicate potentially "illegal" instructions to his players, ' Van Auken said in an e-mail to the Associated Press Friday. 'The umpire simply overstepped his authority, and there was no malicious intent.'
Mosher said the incident happened Tuesday night during a Junior Little League game against Seekonk in Lakeville.
Methuen was winning 3-1 when assistant coach Domingo Infante instructed the pitcher in Spanish to try to pick off a runner at second base. Afther the unsuccessful attempt, the umpire called time-out and spoke with a Little League official who was at the game. The unidentified umpire then decreed that only English could be spoken."
You want to explain that to the 37 million Hispanics in the US some of whom have enlisted in the Armed Forces and are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan?
The ump should learn how to speak Spanish, just as we, as Americans, need to learn to speak Spanish, Arabic, Pashto, Urdu, Mandarin, Cantonese, and every other language out there because we are at a serious disadvantage not knowing them.
Coaches said the order demoralized the Methuen players and cost the team the game.
'This never should have happened,' coach Chris Mosher told the Eagle Tribune newspaper. 'These are 14-year-old kids who should not have to deal with any of this, especially in Little League baseball.'
National Little League spokesman Lance Van Auken said there's no rule against players speaking Spanish or any other language on the field. But he said it's too late to reverse the decision or the outcome of the game.
'It appears the umpire was concerned that the coach or manager may have been using a language other than English...to communicate potentially "illegal" instructions to his players, ' Van Auken said in an e-mail to the Associated Press Friday. 'The umpire simply overstepped his authority, and there was no malicious intent.'
Mosher said the incident happened Tuesday night during a Junior Little League game against Seekonk in Lakeville.
Methuen was winning 3-1 when assistant coach Domingo Infante instructed the pitcher in Spanish to try to pick off a runner at second base. Afther the unsuccessful attempt, the umpire called time-out and spoke with a Little League official who was at the game. The unidentified umpire then decreed that only English could be spoken."
You want to explain that to the 37 million Hispanics in the US some of whom have enlisted in the Armed Forces and are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan?
The ump should learn how to speak Spanish, just as we, as Americans, need to learn to speak Spanish, Arabic, Pashto, Urdu, Mandarin, Cantonese, and every other language out there because we are at a serious disadvantage not knowing them.
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
CNNMoney: Hotels change sheets less often
New York- "In a continuing effort to save money, hotel chains are changing sheets for their customers less frequently, sometimes only weekly, according to a published report Tuesday"
Great. Just great.
Great. Just great.
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
CNN: Woman charged with felony child abuse for making children ride in the trunk
McLean, Virginia (AP)-"A mother has been charged with felony child abuse and child cruelty after she allegedly forced two of her children to take turns riding in the trunk of a car on an eight hour drive from Alabama to Virginia.
Cheryl Ann Schoonmaker, 38, forced the two girls, ages 8 and 10 to take turns in the trunk July 1 because there wasn't enough room in the car, according to Curtis Schoonmaker, her ex-husband.
The woman was driving five children, including an infant, to her ex-husband's home outside Washington, D.C. None of the children was injured during the trip. The girls told their father what happened the next day and he called the police.
'They asked to be let out...It was a hot day,' Curtis Schoonmaker said.
...
Cheryl Schoonmaker is scheduled for arraignment July 22. The charges each carry a maximum of five years in prison."
Cheryl Ann Schoonmaker, 38, forced the two girls, ages 8 and 10 to take turns in the trunk July 1 because there wasn't enough room in the car, according to Curtis Schoonmaker, her ex-husband.
The woman was driving five children, including an infant, to her ex-husband's home outside Washington, D.C. None of the children was injured during the trip. The girls told their father what happened the next day and he called the police.
'They asked to be let out...It was a hot day,' Curtis Schoonmaker said.
...
Cheryl Schoonmaker is scheduled for arraignment July 22. The charges each carry a maximum of five years in prison."
Saturday, July 09, 2005
ABCnews: Strippers arrested for spanking
Jacksonville, Arkansas- "Three strippers and two nightclub managers have been arrested for allegedly spanking a Bald Knob trucker at his 31st birthday bash and severely bruising his backside.
After his friends paid $25, Keith Lowery was handcuffed and spanked with a 3-foot-long paddle and a belt while one of the strippers restrained his head with her legs, investigators with the Pulaski Count Sheriff's Office said.
Kelly Eslick, 21, a stripper at Sensations nightclub in Jacksonville, northeast of Little Rock, admitted to police that she used a paddle drilled with holes for less air resistance while the two other dancers, Lisa Nolen, 23, and Charlene Smith, 23, used the belt.
The three women were charged with misdemeanor battery, and they and two other club employees James Daugherty, 31, and Dena Mitchell, 30 were charged with participating in an obscene performance at a live public show, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Daugherty had planned to have patrons sign a waiver releasing the club from liability, but investigators said the club has agreed to discontinue all spankings...."
After his friends paid $25, Keith Lowery was handcuffed and spanked with a 3-foot-long paddle and a belt while one of the strippers restrained his head with her legs, investigators with the Pulaski Count Sheriff's Office said.
Kelly Eslick, 21, a stripper at Sensations nightclub in Jacksonville, northeast of Little Rock, admitted to police that she used a paddle drilled with holes for less air resistance while the two other dancers, Lisa Nolen, 23, and Charlene Smith, 23, used the belt.
The three women were charged with misdemeanor battery, and they and two other club employees James Daugherty, 31, and Dena Mitchell, 30 were charged with participating in an obscene performance at a live public show, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Daugherty had planned to have patrons sign a waiver releasing the club from liability, but investigators said the club has agreed to discontinue all spankings...."
