Longtime youth sports contributor battling cancer By Mike O’Neil April 22, 2012 2:00 AM

PORTSMOUTH — there was no question Portsmouth Little League was going to honor longtime volunteer Chris Anderson Sr. during Opening Day ceremonies. the only question was where the ceremony was going to take place.

“Chris really isn’t a guy that looks to be in the spotlight,” said Portsmouth Little League president Kathie Lynch. “For all of his contributions, he prefers to be in the background. so when we told him we were going to honor him this year, we knew it might be a challenge to get him here. we told him if he wasn’t going to join us, we were going to bring Opening Day to his front yard.”

Anderson did make it out, and so did countless friends and supporters who came out to not only honor the longtime city volunteer, but to open the 62nd season of Little League Baseball in the city of Portsmouth Saturday morning at Leary Field.

“Oh, I believe Kathie would have gotten me here one way or another,” said Anderson. “I didn’t realize there would be so many people, a proclamation from the mayor, this is over the top.”

For Anderson, who has been diagnosed with cancer, it was an emotional showing of support.

“It’s a very humbling thing,” said Anderson. “It’s not something that someone solicits, but it’s humbling to have that many people. I’ve always been blessed to have that kind of friends and family. but until I got cancer, I didn’t realize how many I really had. It’s sad to get this kind of disease, but a lot of good comes out of it.”

Along with countless hours of time donated to the city, Anderson — along with Mike Doran — saw the need to consolidate the city’s three Little League organizations following the closure of Pease Air Force Base. Knowing that a combined league would strengthen baseball in the city, Anderson championed the combination that resulted in the creation of Portsmouth East Little League, and ultimately the unified league in 2002.

Today 261 players are involved in the league, including those in the newly restructured 7- and 8-year-old division.

“It’s something I would have never, never imagined,” said Anderson. “It’s so much more. we went from four teams in four leagues to what they have today, and they run the gamut with the Challenger Division.”

After becoming fully merged in 2002, Portsmouth Little League won six state titles and a new England championship over the next 10 seasons.

“So much of what happened to the league was because of Chris,” said Lynch. “It didn’t matter what your skill level was or where you lived, all he wanted is for kids to get out and have the chance to play baseball. so much of what you see here today is because of him.”

From donations, to advice, to equipment, Anderson always made sure that the teams representing Portsmouth were always able to savor the experience of being a champion. for each of their runs, you could find the silent benefactor along the outfield fence, taking in the experience just like the players on the field.

“There are so many great memories,” said Anderson. “The best times were coming down here and sitting up there in the corner of the bleachers after a Little League game and just talking baseball during the Babe Ruth game.”

In a proclamation, Assistant Mayor Bob Lister challenged the Little Leaguers to emulate the dedication of Anderson. Among those honored were a pair of Little Leaguers that have already started to demonstrate the same qualities.

Catching ceremonial first pitches from Anderson and Lister were Cooper Roy and Nathan McKee. Roy was responsible for the hundreds of yellow ribbons given to the Opening Day crowd in memory of Greenland Police Chief Michael Maloney, while McKee sought support for his mother’s run in the Boston Marathon in memory of those who have lost loved ones to cancer.

“It shows the initiative to help others is so strong in our community,” said Lynch. “It’s almost like the circle closes. When we as adults give time and effort, kids pick up on that. they know that’s how things get done. It instills that value of working. It’s what I said about Chris, he didn’t do these kind of things to get something. He just wanted to make sure the kids had every opportunity, and that message isn’t lost on the kids.”

After tossing a strike to McKee, Anderson asked him to sign the baseball, in essence handing the next generation of volunteers the same sense of selflessness.

“The reason I did these kind of things is because someone did it for me,” said Anderson. “Back when I was in high school, there was that sense of community that meant something to the players. We’re getting back to that, that’s why I had him sign my baseball.”

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Portsmouth Little League honors Chris Anderson Sr.

By Mike Fiammetta – Contributor

As widely expected, the New York Jets selected a defensive end in Thursday night’s opening round of the 2012 NFL Draft.

Apr 26, 2012 – as widely expected, the New York Jets selected a defensive end in Thursday night’s opening round of the 2012 NFL Draft.

But with South Carolina’s Melvin Ingram still on the board, many Jets fans were surprised to hear the name of Quinton Coples called instead at no. 16. The 6-foot-6, 284-pound defensive end was commonly projected as a defensive end with rare skill but a questionable work effort. Ingram, a 6-foot-1, 264-pound defensive end, was also perceived as skilled enough to play as an outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme. He could’ve played that in New York, but was drafted two picks later at no. 18 by the San Diego Chargers.

The instant reaction was generally mixed toward Coples, whose work ethic questions seemed to come front and center relatively quickly.

Jets head coach Rex Ryan:

“I think with this addition,” Ryan said, “we’ll push the quarterback back.”

Coples prepared for Jets: Quinton Coples knows just how much the Jets needed a pass rusher, in fact he watc… es.pn/ItSnGa #nyj

— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) April 27, 2012

Simmons: If anyone can get Quinton Coples to try, and then, not to try, it’s Rex Ryan.

— Grantland Live (@GrantlandLive) April 27, 2012 0 comments Add comment Do you like this story?

Quinton Coples Selection: Quick Reaction

By Pete Wilmoth – Contributor

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ 35-7 win over the Cincinnati Bengals was a total team effort, but two men stood out.

Dec 4, 2011 – the Pittsburgh Steelers‘ dominant, well-rounded 35-7 victory over the division rival Cincinnati Bengals featured a number of impressive performances, but second-year wide receiver Antonio Brown and outside linebacker James Harrison were the two best players on the field on Sunday afternoon, plain and simple. Football is a team game, of course, but these two stood out in a big way, and if I was head coach Mike Tomlin, they’d be sharing the game ball.

Let’s start with Brown, one of the league’s most exciting young talents. Much has been written about how Brown is an up-and-comer, a superstar in the making. Forget all that; Brown is already a superstar. He’s made game-changing plays in nearly every contest this season, averaging a healthy 15.5 yards per catch. On Sunday, he added two more long-gainers, including  a dynamic 45-yard catch-and-run (video). On the play, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who had a pretty nifty day himself, eluded pass rushers, stepped up in the “pocket”—I use that term loosely—and found Brown on a drag route over the middle of the field. Brown absolutely roasted the Bengals’ man coverage, hauled it in, and was off to the races. the speedy receiver added nine yards on the ground on a double reverse, too. He’s currently on pace to record his first 1,000-yard receiving season in his second year as a pro.

And when Brown’s not embarrassing your coverage guys or rushing the football on the edge, he’s doing damage in the return game. he returned a punt 60 yards for a touchdown (video)—the first of his career—in a ridiculously good second quarter in which Pittsburgh scored 28 of its 35 points. There was nothing in the way of running lanes up the middle of the field, but Brown has such excellent vision and such fluid lateral movement that he was able to bounce it outside. Cornerback Bryant McFadden sealed the edge nicely, and from there it was a footrace down the sideline with only Cincinnati’s punter left to beat.

It’s difficult to imagine a future where Brown and third-year receiver Mike Wallace, who scored twice on Sunday, aren’t notching 1,000-yard seasons for many, many years to come. Brown is young, but forget this talk of him being an “emerging” superstar. Like I said, he’s already there.

On the other side of the ball, Pittsburgh’s entire defense played splendidly. despite a nice day by rookie receiver A.J. Green (6-87), the Steelers’ defensive backs held the Bengals to a measly five yards per passing attempt, and stuffed halfback Cedric Benson at the line of scrimmage more often than not. (Pittsburgh’s front three was particularly dominant.)

Despite the total team effort, though, Harrison leapt off the screen, notching three sacks on the day, which gives him eight for the year, despite missing multiple games to injury. Pittsburgh’s pass rush was merely a rumor for much of the first half, as rookie quarterback Andy Dalton had five-plus seconds in the pocket on a number of his dropbacks, particularly on play action. However, Harrison turned it on late, flashing tremendous burst and power. he overwhelmed Andrew Whitworth—one of the finest left tackles in the game—at the point of attack and eventually knocked Dalton out of the game with an injury.

When you have a reciever like Brown, who can make a game-changing play through the air or in the return game, and a pass rusher like Harrison, who, when healthy, is capable of completely taking over on passing situations, you’ve got a shot against anyone. Hopefully these two individual performances translate to similar outcomes over the remaining month of the regular season schedule—and beyond.

Besides a date with the rough-and-tumble San Francisco 49ers, the Steelers have three cupcake matchups left on the slate—one against the St. Louis Rams, two against the Cleveland Browns—so they’re in excellent position to make a playoff push, regardless of whether or not the Baltimore Ravens maintain their firm grasp on the AFC North divison crown.

Read More: James Harrison (LB – PIT), Bryant McFadden (CB – PIT), Ben Roethlisberger (QB – PIT), Andrew Whitworth (OT – CIN), Cedric Benson (RB – CIN), Mike Wallace (WR – PIT), Antonio Brown (WR – PIT), Andy Dalton (QB – CIN), A.J. Green (WR – CIN), Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers, St. Louis Rams

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Bengals Vs. Steelers: Antonio Brown And James Harrison Shine In Pittsburgh’s Impressive Win

Yahoo’s vast library of patents could become quite lucrative for the company if it decides to put pressure on Facebook, which is set to make an initial public offering in the near future.

Yahoo currently owns 1,100 patents and has 2,661 applications pending. Of those, the most valuable is certainly a patent for pay-per-click advertising, which was originally filed by Overture-owned GoTo.com. Overture brought several patent infringement cases against Google, which Yahoo then took over in 2003 when it purchased the company. Unlike Overture, Yahoo wasn’t as keen on using its newly purchased patents offensively.

Yahoo decided to settle the patent dispute out of court for some Google preferred stock, which the company ended up selling after Google went public in 2004. as Forbes contributor Eric Jackson points out, this was a phenomenally stupid move and Yahoo could have ended up getting much more money out of Google.

With Facebook, it seems that history could very well repeat itself. The giant social network is poised to make an IPO some time over the next calendar year. If Yahoo were to pull the same patent infringement card that it did with Google, it’s likely that the company wouldn’t be so hasty in making a deal to absolve the dispute out of court.

One reason Yahoo might be holding back from using its patents offensively could be its search partnership with Microsoft — a Facebook shareholder. However, if Yahoo were to sell those patents there wouldn’t be anything from keeping the new owners from pursuing legal action against other major players in the online advertising space.

Some, however, think it’s unlikely that Yahoo will sell off its patents. The company is in the middle of replacing its management after board members fired former CEO Carol Bartz. It also is in the middle of a possible hostile take over, as board members hint at trying to buy out Yahoo to take it private.

“Generally speaking, the quality of Yahoo’s patents have diminished over time,” said Ocean Tomo Managing Director Michael Friedman, whose company advises on patent and IP purchases. “It would just surprise me if they were focusing on a patent sale, especially given all of the other noise the company is dealing with.”

Without close examination, Friedman said it’s difficult to know if Facebook is in violation of patents owned by Yahoo.

Next story: Nvidia launches its Tegra 3 mobile graphics processor Previous story: Yelp brings on big bankers and solidifies plans for IPO

Companies: Facebook, Yahoo

Yahoo patents could throw a monkey wrench into Facebook’s IPO hopes

It seems that Apple’s Find My iPhone app can actually do more than find your iOS device. In a recent report from LA Times, the app assisted the LAPD in the arrest of an armed robbery suspect last Thursday. Apparently, the robber entered a female’s home at gun point, took her purse, and left. However, there was a shiny iPhone in the bag waiting to have its apps updated. it wasn’t leaving that easy.

The distraught victim quickly called police and informed them about the robbery and Find My iPhone (which was luckily setup). a random bystander, who you can call a good Samaritan, let police use his laptop to track the suspect’s whereabouts via Apple’s website. The officers eventually found the crook and arrested him on robbery charges.

Of course, stories like these don’t happen frequently, but they should. In fact, the LAPD stressed to the LA Times how important such programs, apps, and the rest are:

LAPD officials say computer and phone theft is a major contributor to crime in Los Angeles, and the theft — and its outcome — illustrate the value and benefit of using tracking applications and software for computers, cellphones and portable tablets.

What about the crook? Well he’s being held in lieu of $1 million bail. what can you say? you do the crime, you have an enormous price tag put on your release.

Find My iPhone helped Los Angeles Police catch a robber