The Daily Campus: February 22, 2012

Volume CXVIII No. 95

» INSIDE

Pepsi, GE show diversity of job market

By Deepti Boddapati Campus Correspondent

RELIVING A HISTORICAL “TRAGEDY” Author revisits World War II policies.

www.dailycampus.com

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

This Tuesday the spring engineering career fair was hosted in the Rome Ballroom. It was an impressive affair with 60 companies attending, each looking to fill multiple positions. The types of positions offered ranged from full-time positions for Spring graduates and internships for underclassmen, and encompassed all fields of engineering. Some

companies who attended were Pepsi, General Electric, General Dynamics Electric Boat, FM Global and United Technologies Corporation to name a few.

The career fair was a great opportunity for all students. In attending the fair, the students experienced the diversity of the job market and were able to understand what occupations were available. Senior Emily Anderson, an 8th- semester chemical engineering major, went to the fair to get a true taste of what the job market is like

right now. The fair also gave students a chance to dress-up and practice being professional.

Because many companies conducted interviews on the spot, this gave students a chance to experience what the interviewing process is like.

Dayna Carpenter, a recruiter from Turbo Care, was excited to attend the fair. She and her partner Barry Bradley had met with many promising students during the day. When asked about what they looked for in applicants, they stressed

the need for good communication skills “ We are sure all of these students have great technical knowledge, but what is most important to us is communication,” said Carpenter.

When asked about the level of preparedness she expected in prospective applicants, she recommended that students should aim to give a great first impression, do research on the companies and head in with informed questions.

The career fair is not restricted to only graduating seniors

FOCUS/ page 7

Engineering students peruse career options

however; underclassmen are encouraged to come as well.

Bradley said that when a promising sophomore or freshman speaks to them, the company keeps the student in mind for when they graduate.

Kimberly Duby, from the Undergraduate programs office, echoed this sentiment saying, “Its never too soon.” She estimates that about 600 students attend each fair, and fairs in the past have been very successful at help-

Deepti.Boddapti@UConn.edu

Mansfield school plans move forward

By Kim Wilson Senior Staff Writer

A BOUNCE BACK BLOWOUT UConn prevents losing streak, trounces Pittsburgh.

SPORTS/ page 14 EDITORIAL: INCREASE IN APPLICATIONS BOTH A GOOD AND BAD THING Number of applications rising faster than rate of acceptances.

COMMENTARY/page 4 INSIDE NEWS: AUTHORITIES ID MOUNTAIN MAN IN BURGLARIES ASHLEY POSPISIL/The Daily Campus

Troy James Knapp was identified in Utah mountains after five years of searching.

NEWS/ page 2

» weather wednesday Partly cloudy, late rain

Lottery opens for postseason tickets

By Amy Schellenbaum Senior Staff Writer

High 55 / Low 35 thursday/friday

High 55 Low 38

Joanna Morgan (left) an 8th-semester biomedical engineering student speaks, to Stefanie Summerer about opportunities at research in motion at the engineering career fair in the Rome Ballroom.

High 45 Low 37

» index

Classifieds 3 Comics 5 Commentary 4 Crossword/Sudoku 5 Focus 7 InstantDaily 4 Sports 14

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Students can pick up lottery tickets to win postseason men’s basketball tickets this week from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the UConn Athletics Ticket Office

by Gampel Pavilion.

Winning numbers for men’s basketball Big East Tournament tickets will be posted Feb. 28 on the Athletic Ticket Office windows. Winning students can buy up to two tickets with a UConn ID on March 1.

Lottery numbers for NCAA Tournament tickets will be posted March 12. Winners can buy up to two tickets the next day.

The UConn men are ranked

No. 9 in Big East standings, occupying the same slot they did this time last year.

“Last year we were ranked ninth in the Big East and we had to fight our way through five games in five days to win the tournament,” said Matt Kearney, a 4th-semester molecular and cell biology major. “It’s déjà vu.”

Women’s basketball postseason tickets will be on sale Feb. 29.

There are 20 tickets available on a first-come, first-served basis.

The UConn women are ranked No. 2 in Big East play and, according to both the Associated Press and ESPN rankings, No. 4 in NCAA play.

Amy.Schellenbaum@UConn.edu

UConn bursts through application record

By Amy Schellenbaum Senior Staff Writer This year, UConn admissions is vetting approximately 30,000 freshman applications to the school, beating last year’s recordholding number of 28,100, according to a press release from the university.

A decade ago, the university received less than half the amount of applications submitted for fall 2012 and in the past two years, the number of applications has increased 36 percent, according to the release from UConn spokesperson Michael Kirk.

“I’m proud of the recognition that 30,000 applicants indicate UConn is a highly sought-after university,” said 6th-semester psy-

chology major Kayleigh Kangas.

“I hope employers realize that UConn degrees come from a very competitive school.”

Director of Admissions Nathan Fuerst attributed the increase in application volume, up more than 15,000 from 2001, to the university’s “excellent academic reputation” coupled with the public school’s “competitive cost.”

“While no single factor can explain the dramatic increase in interest, recent attention paid to UConn’s rise in the national rankings to become a Top 20 school among public universities certainly had an impact,” Fuerst said in the press release.

UConn is ranked No. 19 among public universities, according to

» UCONN, page 2

The Mansfield Town Council voted Tuesday to make a preliminary recommendation to build two elementary schools, at a maximum of 700-750 students, for the May 2012 referendum, at sites yet to be determined.

“It’s time for us to move ahead,” said councilor Toni Moran.

The School Building Project includes options to renovate the three existing elementary schools, Vinton, Southeast and Goodwin, or build two new schools. All options include renovations to the middle school.

The majority of council members that voiced their opinions at the special meeting, held at 5:30 p.m. at the Mansfield Community Center, supported building two schools instead of renovating the existing schools.

“The difference between the baseline [basic renovations to the existing schools], which doesn’t include portable classrooms as opposed to the most expensive option [building two new schools] is $155 per year per median household,” councilor Bill Ryan said. “That is the difference we would be paying.

There is nothing more important than educating our kids.”

Councilor Peter Kochenburger agreed that building two new schools is a better option than renovating.

“A school that is five or ten years old will look much more attractive to people moving to Mansfield than schools that are 60 or 70 years old,” councilor Peter Kochenburger said. “We can fix these schools up and they still won’t be modern.”

Councilor Denise Keane said she is not sure building two new schools is necessary.

“I am not clear that it’s needed,” Keane said. “Yes, it’s wanted. Our schools are putting out good students and I’m not clear that we need new buildings at the expense of our taxpayers.”

Councilor Toni Moran said she believes the council should make a commitment to preserve Vinton elementary as a school site, stating that it has the greatest potential for residential development and is currently the largest school. Council members displayed diverse opinions on which school site should be preserved, stating they wanted to hear what the public has to say.

» COUNCIL, page 2

What’s on at UConn today...

Out to Lunch Lecture 12 to 1:30 p.m.

Rainbow Center, SU Mitchell Lunn, MD, will present his lecture “Improving Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Healthcare through Medical Education.” Learn about the specific healthcare disparities LGBT people face.

Community Outreach Info Session 3 to 4 p.m.

SU, 416A

Classics & Ancient History Club Meeting 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

SU, 416A

Learn more about the Office of Community Outreach and the ways to gain leadership positions in the office for 2012-2013.

Everyone is welcome to join the club for mad libs, rhetoric battle and planning a field trip to slater museum in Norwich.

Open Mic Night 7 to 8 p.m.

South Lobby, SU Head to the Union to see your peers showcase their talents at this open mic night sponsored by SUBOG. Listen to singers, instrumentalists and poets.

-ELIZABETH CROWLEY

The Daily Campus, Page 2

DAILY BRIEFING » STATE

State lawmakers to raise pharmacy choice bill

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut lawmakers are taking a look at legislation to expand pharmacy options for state employees.

The Labor and Public Employees Committee is expected to raise the bill for consideration Tuesday afternoon.

Last year, State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition leadership signed an agreement with Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration that requires long-term prescriptions to be filled at CVS pharmacies or through mail order. Other pharmacies can participate in the Maintenance Drug Network to fill daily state employee prescriptions; however, they must be able to match CVS Caremark rates.

Since the deal took effect in October, local and independent pharmacies have voiced concerns over losing business.

Boy Scouts of America sued over alleged sex abuse

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Two men are suing the Boy Scouts of America alleging they were sexually abused by a troop leader when they were scouts in Connecticut in the mid1980s.

The lawsuit against the national organization and its local chapter was filed Tuesday in New Haven Superior Court.

The men say they were abused by David “Dirk” Davenport when he was a scoutmaster in Madison.

Davenport didn’t return a message Tuesday.

Boy Scouts officials declined to comment on the lawsuit but said policies are in place to protect children.

Davenport was arrested in Guilford, Conn., in 1985 on charges that he abused boys. The News & Observer of Raleigh, N.C., has reported he pleaded guilty to two charges and served 2 1/2 years in prison. Prison officials declined Tuesday to immediately provide records.

Police investigate possible abuse of toddler

TORRINGTON, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut state police are investigating a possible child abuse case after a 20-month-old boy was brought to a hospital with a fractured skull, broken left arm and other injuries.

State police announced the investigation this week. They say the boy’s biological mother brought him to Charlotte Hungerford Hospital in Torrington on Friday and claimed he was in the custody of her estranged husband when he was injured.

Troopers haven’t released the parents’ names. Police say they executed search warrants at locations in Torrington and New Hartford and interviewed several witnesses. No arrests have been made.

The boy was transferred to Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford. His condition isn’t clear.

Weak finances force layoffs at Waterbury Hospital WATERBURY, Conn. (AP) — Waterbury Hospital is laying off 75 employees to save nearly $4.5 million.

WVIT-TV and The Hartford Courant report that the job cuts will affect about 5 percent of the hospital’s work force of 1,700. The cuts include 22 management jobs, educators and clerical and support staff.

Darlene Stromstad, president and chief executive, blamed declining government reimbursements, rising costs and the weak economy.

She says nearly 70 percent of the hospital’s patients are covered by a governmental payer that does not negotiate payment.

» NATION

Feds: Ohioan against fur planned murder-for-hire

CLEVELAND (AP) — Federal authorities say an Ohio woman who describes herself as an animal-welfare activist has been charged with soliciting murder in a plot to kill someone wearing fur.

Court records show 27-year-old Cleveland Heights resident Meredith Lowell appeared Tuesday in federal court in Cleveland and was ordered held by the U.S. Marshals Service pending a hearing next week.

Investigators say the FBI was notified in November of a Facebook page Lowell created with an alias offering $830 to $850 for the hit.

Investigators say an FBI employee posing as a potential killer learned via email correspondence Lowell wanted the victim to be at least 12 years old and wanted to be on site when the slaying took place so she could distribute “papers” afterward.

A defense attorney has declined to comment.

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Wednesday, February 22, 2012

News

Authorities ID mountain man suspect in burglaries SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Authorities on Tuesday identified a man sought for more than five years in dozens of cabin burglaries in the mountains of southern Utah.

In a statement Tuesday evening, the Iron County Sheriff’s Office said tips from the public and forensic evidence have linked Troy James Knapp to the crimes.

Authorities said an arrest warrant has been issued for his capture. The 44-year-old faces multiple counts of burglary and a weapons charge.

The identification of the serial cabin burglar, who has been considered armed and dangerous, was the result of “good old fashioned investigative work along with tips provided by the public,” according to the statement.

It said the suspect had been “forensically linked” to the burglaries, but provided no further details.

But in court documents filed Jan. 27 in Kane County in southern Utah, authorities indicated they matched Knapp’s fingerprints lifted from one cabin to

records from a 2000 theft arrest in California.

Last week, Iron County Sheriff’s Detective Jody Edwards said investigators hadn’t made a definite identification but were getting close.

However, charges against Knapp were filed in neighboring Kane County about three weeks ago, according to court records.

Edwards has been working the case since 2007. He didn’t return a telephone call seeking comment on Tuesday evening.

“We believe Mr. Knapp is our guy,” Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal Michael Wingert told The Associated Press.

“This guy is probably about as true a survivalist as Davy Crockett.”

Knapp has eluded capture for more than five years and is responsible for more than two dozen burglaries across a swath of mountains not far from Zion National Park. He’s roamed 1,000 square miles of rugged wilderness where snow can pile 10 feet deep in winter.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Attorney General George Jepsen told state lawmakers Tuesday that a national settlement for mortgage abuses has established needed reforms, but he asked that they use millions from the deal to help struggling homeowners and not spend the money on unrelated government programs.

The $25 billion settlement that Jepsen helped negotiate includes about $120 million for thousands of Connecticut homeowners and $27 million to the state for mortgage relief or counseling.

Jepsen said he looks forward to working with lawmakers and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy “to ensure that these funds are used to provide additional help to Connecticut’s borrowers.”

Rep. Patricia Widlitz, the House chairwoman of the Finance, Revenue and Bonding

Committee, said in an interview that the money should be earmarked for borrowers.

But she noted that the money “could be tempting” for state government as it seeks revenue.

“There’s always pressure.

That’s to be expected,” she said.

Lawmakers and previous governors, seeking money to plug budget holes, drew criticism from advocates for reaching into funds set aside to promote energy efficiency and clean energy.

The landmark $25 billion settlement with the nation’s top mortgage lenders, announced earlier this month, was hailed by government officials as long-overdue relief for victims of foreclosure abuses. But consumer advocates countered that far too few people will benefit.

The deal will reduce loans

AP

This photo provided by the Iron County Sheriff’s Office shows a man who authorities identified as Troy James Knapp, near Zion National Park.

State to reap millions in mortgage settlement

Population of elementary school students examined from MANSFIELD, page 1 The preference of the council is to not decide on a site option at this point. A decision needs to be made by March 7 for where the new schools should be located.

A public hearing for the School Building Project was set for March 5 at 7 p.m., at a site yet to be determined.

Early in the meeting, Linda Painter, director of Mansfield Planning & Development, presented charts that depicted where housing units of students are currently located. Council members looked at the population of elementary school aged children in a one-mile radius of each elementary school. Vinton has the most students living in a one-mile radius and Southeast has the least.

Painter also presented charts of town residential, commercial, geographically sloped and wetland areas.

When asked by Town

Manager Matthew Hart to summarize the data, Painter said “It depends on what the councils priorities are... what is the town’s vision for redevelopment?”

Storrs Center and the Four Corners developments are projected to bring in revenue that would combat the tax increases that will occur if the School Building Project carries through, according to a representative from HR&A that communicated via telephone during the meeting. $1.3 million could be generated by using Goodwin and Vinton elementary schools as residential sites, according to the representative. The representative said Southeast has been determined as a site that would be best for municipal use but that the plan “could easily change depending on the direction the council is headed.”

Kimberly.Wilson@UConn.edu

for only a fraction of those Americans who owe more than their homes are worth. It will also send checks to others who were improperly foreclosed upon. But the amounts are modest.

Nationally, about 11 million households owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth. The settlement would help 1 million of them.

In Connecticut, the settlement provides homeowners who lost their houses over the last four years with cash payments of about $1,500 for the “unfair treatment” by banks, Jepsen said. Some 7,500 people in Connecticut are expected to be eligible for these payments, he said, adding that the money is modest for the loss of a home.

Rep. William Tong, the House chairman of the Banks Committee, said he wonders if

consumers will truly benefit.

“A lot of us are wondering: Is this a good deal?” he asked Jepsen.

The attorney general said the settlement takes a small step in resolving what he said is $700 billion in “underwater mortgages,” or loans that are greater than the home’s value.

The settlement does not address that $700 billion, he said. “It addresses what’s available to us.”

“While I am as frustrated and angry as anyone else with the banks and the problems they have caused, that frustration and anger does not change the law nor what the law allows my office to win in court,” Jepsen said.

Congress, President Barack Obama and state legislatures must change federal and state law governing how banks operate, he said.

FREMONT, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska city’s attempt to fight illegal immigration with a newly court-approved ordinance appears likely to be more of an inconvenience for legal residents than a deterrent to illegal immigrants.

Backers of Fremont’s voterapproved measure say they’re still glad a federal judge signed off on most of the ordinance’s provisions Monday because it

represents at least some progress.

The measure won’t have any effect beyond the city limits of Fremont. That means two major meatpacking plants and some neighborhoods, including some with large immigrant populations, won’t be covered by the requirements for businesses to use the federal E-Verify database to ensure employees are legal or by housing permit rules for renters.

Neb. city’s illegal immigration law to be nuisance

UConn matches Texas A&M’s applications this year from UCONN, page 1 U.S. News and World Report.

UConn shares this ranking with Texas A&M, which estimates they received around 30,000 applications this year, and the University of Pittsburgh, which received 23,407 applications for Fall 2011.

Admissions will be sorting through applications for fall 2012

until May 1. The university estimates 3,225 freshmen will enroll in Storrs this fall.

“While UConn still has a considerable number of applications to review, this class of applicants appears to be very strong academically,” Fuerst said. “We have good reason to be optimistic.”

Amy.Schellenbaum@UConn.edu

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The Daily Campus, Page 3

Mild winter concerns some maple syrup producers

TEMPLE, N.H. (AP) — A mild winter across the Northeast is injecting extra uncertainty into maple syrup season, but many producers say they’ll just go with the flow, whenever it starts.

Temperatures have been up and snowfall totals have been down throughout the region this winter, raising some concern for the maple syrup crop.

But syrup producers say the weather during the six-week season when sap flows matters more than the weather leading up to it.

“The mild winter, I’m sure has some effect on the trees and the soil and the microorganisms and so forth, but as long as you get those freezes and thaws during the actual sap flow season, those are what control how much sap you get,” said Brian Stowe, sugaring operations manager at the University

of Vermont’s Proctor Maple Research Center.

Below-freezing nights followed by warm days are necessary to start the sap flowing from maple trees, a period that usually begins in late February or early March.

But those conditions arrived early in some areas, prompting producers like Ben Fisk, of Temple, to start collecting and boiling sap Feb. 2, more than a month earlier than he did last year.

“We made syrup the earliest we’ve ever made syrup this year,” said Fisk, 23, a fifth generation producer who has been making maple syrup since he was 5. “This time of year, there should be three or four feet of snow, and it should be cold out and we shouldn’t even be thinking about making syrup for another couple weeks.”

No Child waiver deadline extended; Conn. to apply HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The federal government is giving Connecticut and other states some breathing room as they prepare applications for waivers from parts of the No Child Left Behind education law.

States were expected to submit their applications on or before Tuesday, but the U.S. Department of Education recently extended the deadline to Feb. 28.

Connecticut is among about two dozen states seeking relief from some provisions of the 2002 law, which sets strict testing rules and requires escalating levels of proficiency from all students.

State officials have said they think Connecticut is well positioned to receive a waiver this spring, especially since its sweeping education reform plans would address many of the requirements.

They include reducing red tape, improving teacher evaluation methods, enacting the tougher nationwide Common Core curriculum standards and other changes.

The General Assembly is reviewing many of the proposed changes, and others are administrative reforms that are being enacted by the state Department of Education and Commissioner Stefan Pryor.

Connecticut’s state Board of Education has endorsed its waiver application, which will be posted

in its entirety on the department’s website at www.ct.gov/sde . Parts of the application already were available there Tuesday for public viewing.

The U.S. Department of Education granted waivers earlier this month to 10 other states, including Massachusetts, which showed it had imposed its own standards that were as strict or stricter than the No Child Left Behind rules.

The law sets strict testing rules and requires proficiency from all students regardless of race, family income, disability or their ability to speak English. Schools that miss the targets face increasing consequences, from paying for students to receive free tutoring to potential state takeovers.

Nearly half of Connecticut schools fell short last year of the law’s requirements, particularly those in the state’s poorest cities. That was up from 2010, when one-third of the schools failed to achieve “adequate yearly progress.”

The Obama administration is letting states seek waivers from some provisions of the law if they prove their standards are more rigorous and push toward students’ constant improvement.

States whose waiver applications fall short will have a chance to work with federal officials to correct and re-submit those plans.

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Wednesday, February 22, 2012

News

Romney says Obama has ‘fought against religion’

SHELBY TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Tuesday that President Barack Obama’s administration has “fought against religion” and sought to substitute a “secular” agenda for one grounded in faith.

Obama’s campaign seized on the characterization, calling Romney’s comments “disgraceful.”

Romney rarely ventures into social issues in his campaign speeches, but people participating in a town hall-style meeting one week before the Michigan primary asked how he would protect religious liberty.

“Unfortunately, possibly because of the people the president hangs around with, and their agenda, their secular agenda — they have fought against religion,” Romney said.

The Obama campaign linked Romney’s remarks to recent comments by rival Rick Santorum, who has referred to Obama holding a “phony theology” only to say later that he wasn’t attacking Obama’s faith but the president’s environmental views.

“These ugly and misleading attacks have no place in the campaign and they provide a very clear contrast with what President Obama is talking about: how to restore economic security for the middle class and create jobs,” said Lis Smith, an Obama campaign spokeswoman.

Religious liberty has been a leading topic in recent weeks because of the Obama administration’s mandate that insurance companies provide free birth control even to people employed by church-affiliated organizations, including schools and hospitals. Opponents frame the debate as one of religious liberty while proponents of the mandate say it’s about women’s health and access to contraception.

Romney hasn’t faced voters or reporters very often since Santorum’s surge and the rise of social issues in the campaign, largely avoiding questions on the subject. But he’s clearly focused on the conservative Republican base that’s still skeptical of him, calling himself “severely conservative” during a speech to activists in Washington earlier this month. And his lengthy, detailed answer Tuesday on religious liberty showed clear attention to the issue.

Romney implicitly invoked his own Mormon faith, also rare for the former Massachusetts

AP

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney takes a question at a town hall meeting at Eagle Manufacturing Corporation in Shelby Township, Mich.

a key role in the 2010 midterm elections, and local tea party groups are still active.

When one questioner at Romney’s town hall stood and introduced himself as someone from the tea party, the crowd cheered.

Romney’s focus on those voters shows in his schedule.

He’s set to address a coalition of tea party groups Thursday in Milford — a rarity for the former venture capitalist, who normally holds events at local businesses. Romney has scheduled just one or two public events per day in recent weeks.

Organizers said Romney, who accepted the invitation last week, will take questions from the crowd. Wes Nakagiri, the chairman of the tea party group, RetakeOurGov, that is hosting the event, said many of the group’s members want to “root for the hometown boy” but that most would “prefer somebody else.”

“The favored son helps if you are a longtime establishment Republican, knew his father,” Nakagiri said. “But it’s not going to be the same with people that are newly motivated to get into the process. Tea party people that have gotten into the process in the last two years don’t have those relationships and are focused on policy.”

There are signs that Romney’s campaign has stepped up its outreach to the GOP establishment in the state, a group that he’s counting on in the Feb. 28 primary.

After Santorum won contests in Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado, tickets for the

governor. He said Tuesday that he cares about the issue because he is “someone who has understood very personally the significance of religious tolerance.”

He also took questions on gay marriage, Supreme Court appointments and abortion — and when asked about whom he might select as his vice presidential running mate, he listed “pro-life” as the first credential he would look for.

Romney faces an unexpectedly difficult fight in Michigan, his native state and a place where his advisers had long assumed he could do well. He’s facing a tough challenge from Santorum, who has excited the GOP base with strong antiabortion rhetoric and appeals to blue-collar voters.

“I care about Michigan. This is personal for me,” Romney said.

The former Massachusetts governor has stepped his attacks on Santorum in recent days. On Tuesday he argued that tea party voters should prefer him over the former Pennsylvania senator — a renewed focus on the fiscally conservative voters who identify with those groups.

“I think the tea party would find it very interesting that Rick Santorum voted to raise the debt ceiling five times without getting compensating reductions in spending,” Romney said, echoing the negative campaign ads his campaign and their wealthy allies are airing in the state.

Michigan’s GOP primary electorate has grown increasingly conservative in recent years. Tea party voters played

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Oakland County Lincoln Day Dinner — he was already booked as the keynote speaker — skyrocketed, according to Jim Thienel, the chairman.

Romney’s campaign hadn’t responded to the party’s earlier request to have him address the dinner.

After the Santorum victories, Romney’s campaign called to say his wife, Ann, would be glad to attend. She spoke, too.

Romney grew up in Bloomfield Hills, which is in Oakland County.

Romney himself has shown confidence that he’ll win in Michigan. When asked in interviews earlier this week what would happened if he lost, Romney said, “That won’t happen.”

Still, supporters are trying to scale back expectations.

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette introduced Romney at his Tuesday town hall as “The Comeback Kid.” “We’ve got a barn burner of a campaign right now here in Michigan,” Schuette said, “and Mitt Romney is fighting like an underdog.”

Romney left Michigan for Arizona, where he’s set to debate his GOP rivals Wednesday night. Arizona also holds its primary Feb. 28. Then he will return to Michigan on Friday to deliver a major economic speech at Ford Field, the NFL football stadium in downtown Detroit.

Romney said Tuesday he’ll use the speech to outline his economic plan. He said he will have details on a plan for tax policy, cutting spending and adjusting entitlement programs.

Classifieds are non-refundable. Credit will be given if an error materially affects the meaning of the ad and only for the first incorrect insertion.

Ads will only be printed if they are accompanied by both first and last name as well as telephone number. Names and numbers may be subject to verification. All advertising is subject to acceptance by The Daily Campus, which reserves the right to reject any ad copy at its sole discretion. The Daily Campus does not knowingly accept ads of a fraudulent nature.

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Page 4

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Wednesday, February 22, 2012

The Daily Campus Editorial Board

Melanie Deziel, Editor-in-Chief Ryan Gilbert, Commentary Editor Tyler McCarthy, Associate Commentary Editor Michelle Anjirbag, Weekly Columnist Jesse Rifkin, Weekly Columnist Chris Kempf, Weekly Columnist

» EDITORIAL

Increase in applications both a good and bad thing

U

Conn received over 30,000 freshman applications for the fall 2012 semester – more than for 2011, which was more than for 2010, which was more than for 2009. To put that into perspective, this year’s number is approximately triple the 10,809 applications received in 1995 and more than double the 14,677 received in 2002. This is largely a positive development for our university, though not without its negative consequences as well.

First, the positive. The number of applications over the years has surged by a far greater percentage than the corresponding number of admissions, meaning the university’s acceptance rate keeps decreasing. With selectivity among the most frequently cited measures of a college’s success and reputation, this is certainly important. Our 2010 acceptance percentage of approximately 19.6 percent is much lower than our 28.5 percent rate as recently as 2001. Of course, this is still nowhere near the most elite universities (Harvard posted a 6 percent acceptance rate last year). Still, this trend, could UConn’s rate possibly ever near single digits?

Meanwhile, it is worth noting the primary factors contributing to such a sharp increase in applications. The ability to hold tuition in line likely was the largest contributor. For example, the cost of attending UConn rose by 2.5 percent this year, lower than almost any other comparable university. The University of Wisconsin, for example, proposed raising tuition by 20 percent. Furthermore, last year’s transition to the Common Application eased the process of applying for all, especially since UConn was among the last major universities to switch.

Not to mention our basketball success last year on the national stage. After George Mason University reached the Final Four in 2006, freshman applications spiked by 20 percent the following year. And they did not even win the championship like we did last year.

Still, with the good must come some bad as well. The university is experiencing difficulties associated with the rise in student numbers, such as over-enrollment in many classes. This even includes required courses, with students sometimes finding themselves unable to complete classes mandatory for their major early enough. Plus there does not appear to be enough housing to accommodate all students comfortably. Many rooms previously intended as singles are now being used as doubles while many rooms intended as doubles are now being utilized as triples.

As long as UConn makes sure to provide the adjustments necessary to accommodate this increased number of enrolled students, the rise in applications and corresponding decrease in acceptance rate will only mean good things for the university.

Now the challenge will be to ensure that this trend continues during the many years to come.

The Daily Campus editorial is the official opinion of the newspaper and its editorial board. Commentary columns express opinions held solely by the author and do not in any way reflect the official opinion of The Daily Campus.

Is there a nice way to tell the person sitting in front of you in class that he not only smells awful, but that he also needs to pull up his pants?

The Mechanical Engineering computer lab is a strange place. Today I watched two guys use deodorant that they had with them in their backpacks to motivate the person in the room who smelled bad to do the same.

I bet all those kids who bought their syracuse ticket for $200 in January feel very stupid now. #justboughtminefor30 I’ve never understood why people say “If you fall down 7 times, stand up 8.” Why did I fall down 7 times? Am I drunk? Who is tripping me? Maybe I should just take the hint and stay on the ground.

Sometimes I like to steal a piece of a puzzle just to screw everyone over when they can’t finish it.

The women’s bathroom on the second floor of Arjona has a toilet with a quarter of the seat broken off... Dare I ask what happened there?

Considering there hasn’t been a follow-up e-mail about the “friendly, nonpoisonous python” loose in my dorm building, does that mean it hasn’t been found?

Watching my professor’s German Shepherd service dog fall asleep in class was so entertaining that I didn’t fall asleep like I normally do.

My professor should stop adding “you know” onto the end of every sentence. If I knew, I wouldn’t be in class.

Send us your thoughts on anything and everything by sending an instant message to InstantDaily, Sunday through Thursday evenings. Follow us on Twitter (@ InstantDaily) and become fans on Facebook.

Same-sex marriage is an election issue

T

he past month has been more historic for same-sex marriage than perhaps any other month this past decade. Washington became the seventh state legalizing the practice, Maryland’s House voted for legalization (and passage appears likely in the state Senate), New Jersey’s legislature voted for legalization (and although Governor Chris Christie vetoed the bill, it seems possible enough affirmative votes may be present to override the veto and legalize anyway) and a federal Court of Appeals ruled California’s samesex marriage ban unconstitutional (although the ban remains in effect while the ruling

By Jesse Rifkin is appealed). With Weekly Columnist such changes, has America evolved a value system and moral code enough to elect a president who supports same-sex marriage?

No. Before I continue, let me clarify what this column is and is not. It is neither an approval nor a criticism of same-sex marriage as a social practice or a public policy. The issue stirs up heated emotional and religious feelings on all areas of the political spectrum, and I do not wish to play with such fire in this column. This column is an analysis of why trends towards same-sex marriage and rights are not reflective of broader public support at a level where America could vote for a president supporting same-sex marriage.

Make no mistake, most Americans oppose the practice, and their votes show it. Every time a state has introduced a measure to

legalize same-sex marriage through popular vote, it has failed. The issue has been put to voter referendum in 28 states, failing every single time – even in supposedly liberal states of California, Maine and Hawaii.

Whenever a state approved same-sex marriage, it was never through popular vote but through either court decision or legislative action. Just skim the list.

Massachusetts passed it through the 2004 state court decision Goodridge v.

Department of Public Health, our very own Connecticut passed it through the 2008 state court decision Kerrigan v. Commisioner of Public Health, Iowa passed it through the 2009 state court decision Varnum v. Brien, Vermont passed it through a 2009 bill passed by the legislature, New Hampshire passed it through a 2009 bill signed by Governor John Lynch, passed it Washington DC passed it through a 2009 bill signed

by Mayor Adrien Fenty and New York passed it through a 2011 bill passed by Governor Andrew Cuomo. Notice a trend?

It is always a few liberals in a legislature or court banding together against the wishes of the majority of voters.

None of the top four Republican presidential candidates of Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul or Mitt Romney support same-sex marriage (Although Massachusetts began allowing same-sex marriages in 2004 while Romney was governor, Romney had no involvement with the court decision mandate). But here is the kicker: Obama, a Democrat, opposes it too. With presidential candidates depending on mass public support for election, the fact that every remaining candidate in both parties opposes same-sex marriage strongly indicates that the country cannot yet vote for a candidate supporting it.

Sure, Obama’s Justice Department stopped legally defending a section of the federal Defense of Marriage Act in 2011,

but all they did was stop enforcing it. Even when the department ceased defending it in court, the House of Representatives almost immediately decided to. And the House, composed of hundreds of popularly elected representatives rather than one individual like the presidency, almost always better reflects the country’s opinions.

But don’t many public opinion surveys show increasing support for same-sex marriage in recent years? Yes, but this is misleading. Such polls almost always attempt respondent pools mimicking demographics of the country at large, not mimicking demographics of those who actually vote.

For example, young people consistently vote in disproportionately small numbers.

So although young people (hooked on “Glee” and Lady Gaga music) are more likely to support same-sex marriage, statistics show it is actually same-sex marriage opponents who vote in disproportionately high numbers on Election Day. Not to mention that population growth is fastest in the south. In 1960 (the first census year with 50 states) the nation’s “center of population” was in Illinois. By 2010 it was in Missouri; further south and further west than ever in history. While four of the six New England states allow same-sex marriage, how likely is it for an overwhelming majority of Americans to support it when the center of population is moving towards Texas and Utah?

Whether America should elect a president supporting same-sex marriage is highly debated. But as to whether America even could, the answer in 2012 is unmistakably no. Perhaps by 2016 that answer will change.

Weekly Columnist Jesse Rifkin is a 4th-semester political science and journalism double major. He can be reached at Jesse.Rifkin@UConn.edu.

Unalienable rights and liberties are not the same thing

I

went out with my family a few weeks ago to dinner. The discussion eventually turned to the presidential race. My brother, 13 years old, butted in and said this: “Did you hear that there’s a candidate who wants to take away a woman’s right to have an abortion?” Very calmly, I leaned over and told him very calmly that there was actually no such thing as a “right to abortion.”

My stepBy John Nitowski mother, a Staff Columnist very prochoice individual, shot daggers at me. I then proceeded to explain myself: having an abortion is a liberty extended by the laws of the state or federal governments. Unalienable rights are idealized in the Declaration of Independence as life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and are later spelled out in the Bill of Rights (right to free speech, free assembly, free worship, etc.).

Hopefully, you can tell at this point that my issue is not with abortion itself, but with the perspective between what is a right and what is a liberty.

From a legal standpoint, a right cannot be taken away.

Period. End of story. Not without Constitutional changes.

Even then, constitutional scholars and philosophers would say that our unalienable rights can never be taken away, lawmakers be damned. A liberty, on the other hand, is something that can be debated. After all, the conflict with abortion surrounds the perception of rights: does a woman’s right to property (her body) supercede a fetus’ right to life?

I’m not here to debate abortion, but point out the discrepancy of our perceptions. When something becomes “our right” we become entitled to it. Some things are okay to be entitled: I am entitled to keep my life and not have it taken away. I am entitled to a relatively safe environment free from gangs of ruffians. I am entitled to be able to speak my mind without the threat of being black-bagged and taken prisoner without a trial by jury. These are rights, and anyone who disagrees has a distorted view of how a society should function.

Smoking marijuana, no matter what your opinion of the issue is, is hard to spin as a “right” in the same way that the rights to free speech or right to free religion is. The key word here is “spin.”

You don’t have to spin the right to free speech. It’s rather simple.

But if you smoke a lot of pot, or maybe even deal a little, putting

what you want into your own body seems like a right. After all, your body is your property and property is an unalienable right.

Wouldn’t this mean that any drug use or abuse is protected by the Constitution?

In short, it is the prevailing philosophy of our “culture of entitlement.“ If it’s something that you, as a voter and an American citi-

“From a legal standpoint, a right cannot be taken away... A liberty, on the other hand, is something that can be debated.” zen want, then it is a right. If it’s something that other people want, but that you could care less about, it is a liberty. Few people bother to learn what the Constitution says, and even fewer bother to learn what the Constitution means.

The Constitution is both the legal and philosophical framework our country is founded on. It’s where

we find our definitions of liberty and rights. So where is this new version of rights everywhere and all over the place coming from?

Your guess is as good as mine.

So what are we to do with this new viewpoint? If you consider yourself pro-choice, that’s fine.

If you consider yourself pro-life, that’s also fine. But you have to recognize that your point of view is just that, a point of view. The same goes for a voter who wants liberal drug policies, more conservative tax procedures or the Jim Crow Laws.

Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court William Brennan Jr. described the Founding Fathers and our unalienable rights saying, “The Framers of the Bill of Rights did not purport to “create” rights. Rather, they designed the Bill of Rights to prohibit our Government from infringing rights and liberties presumed to be preexisting.” We cannot create any rights any more than they can be taken away. To put it simply: a right is something everyone would be proud to defend with violence; a liberty is something we defend with votes.

Staff Columnist John Nitowski is a 2nd-semester English major. He can be reached at John.Nitowski@UConn.edu.

Do you have opinions?

Do you want to get paid to write about them?

Then come to a Commentary section meeting!

Mondays at 8 p.m. in The Daily Campus

building.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

The Daily Campus, Page 5

Comics

I Hate Everything

by Carin Powell

Royalty Free Speech

by Ryan Kennedy

Procrastination Animation

by Michael McKiernan

Editor’s Choice

by Brendan Albetski

Horoscopes

by Brian Ingmanson To get the advantage, check the day’s rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging.

Aries (March 21-April 19) -- Today is a 7 -- Demand the facts and you’ll get them.

They help you figure out what to do next.

You have the message and can get it out. Contribute to a miracle.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) -- Today is a 7 -- Generosity looks good on you, so spread the wealth. A word or two from you helps a loved one stay on track.

Together, you solve a puzzle.

Gemini (May 21-June 21) -- Today is a 7 -- Someone unexpected opens your eyes to new ideas and new routes. Let your passions guide you. You’re getting to the good stuff. Completion is at hand.

Mensch

by Jeff Fenster

Cancer (June 22-July 22) -- Today is a 7 -- Now’s the perfect time to embark on a literary adventure. Stand up to a critic (especially if it’s inner). Others encourage. Don’t launch until you’re ready.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) -- Today is an 8 -- Get a firm grasp on finances. The facts give you power. It’s when it’s nebulous and fuzzy that things get weird. Stay in communication. It all works out.

Nothing Extraordinary

by Thomas Feldtmose

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) -- Today is an 8 -- You’re a powerhouse, jamming towards your goals. Surround yourself with those who can provide guidance should you get lost. Hang with someone who’s been there.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) -- Today is a 9 -- New data supports your intention. Write down a brilliant insight. Some change is possible, and it works to your benefit.

Learn from others.

One Thousand Demons

by Bill Elliott and Rachael Pelletti

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) -- Today is a 7 -- Gather all the information you need, and study the options for a while longer before making a decision. Your friends are your treasure.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) -- Today is a 6 -- There may be schedule conflicts ... better double-check your calendar. New information could surprise you but can be very helpful. Pay attention to details.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) -- Today is an 8 -- Your brilliance is highly appreciated, even if you don’t know it.

Inspiration gets intense, and you can use it to better everything around you. Don’t waste your money.

UConn Classics: Same Comic, Different Day Happy Dance

by Sarah Parsons

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) -- Today is a 9 -- You’re in charge, and you know it.

With leadership comes responsibilities.

You’re ready to make changes for the better. Consider options that you’ve ignored before.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) -- Today is a 9 -- Everything’s done for love. You have more resources than you thought possible, and that’s a great thing. You’re gaining wisdom. Follow your heart.

Questions? Comments?

Other Stuff? <dailycampuscomics@gmail.com>

The Daily Campus, Page 6

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

News

Monitoring of Muslim students sparks outrage NEW YORK (AP) — New York City’s mayor faced off with the president of Yale University on Monday over efforts by the city’s police department to monitor Muslim student groups.

The Associated Press revealed over the weekend that in recent years, the NYPD has kept close watch on Muslim student associations across the Northeast.

The effort that included daily tracking of student websites and blogs, monitoring who was speaking to the groups, and in one case sending an undercover officer on a whitewater rafting trip with students from the City College of New York.

Yale President Richard Levin was among a number of academics who condemned the effort in a statement Monday, while Rutgers University and leaders of student Muslim groups elsewhere called for investigations into the monitoring.

“I am writing to state, in the strongest possible terms, that police surveillance based on religion, nationality, or peacefully expressed political opinions is antithetical to the values of Yale, the academic community, and the United States,” Levin wrote.

Speaking to reporters later Monday, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg dismissed those criticisms as baseless.

“I don’t know why keeping the country safe is antithetical to the values of Yale,” he said.

He said it was “ridiculous” to argue that there was anything wrong with officers keeping an eye on websites that are available to the general public.

“Of course we’re going to

Johnson & Johnson CEO to step down TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Johnson & Johnson’s longtime CEO, Bill Weldon, is stepping down as the health care giant’s top executive after an embarrassing string of recalls of everything from Tylenol to Benadryl over more than two years has cost the company hundreds of millions of dollars and consumer trust.

The maker of Band-Aids and biotech drugs said Tuesday that Weldon will remain chairman of the board for the time being. But during the company’s April 26 annual shareholder’s meeting, he will cede the chief executive post to Alex Gorsky, head of the medical device and diagnostics unit, the company’s largest business by revenue.

“I’m honored that the board has placed such confidence in me, and I am also aware of the serious responsibilities that come with this office,” said Gorsky, 51, who oversees 140 manufacturing facilities globally Weldon, who has spent his entire 31-year career at J&J, became chief executive in 2002.

His departure is being described by the company as normal succession planning. But Weldon has repeatedly said he had no plans to leave unless asked to do so by the board of directors, which has long been loyal to him.

“I look forward to the transition of leadership and to a bright future for Johnson & Johnson,” Weldon, 63, said in a statement.

Weldon’s long tenure has been tarnished by more than two dozen recalls of nonprescription Tylenol, Motrin, Benadryl and other drugs began in 2009. The recalls involve problems from contamination and a nauseating smells on containers to liquid medicines that may contain tiny metal shavings.

J&J’s McNeil Consumer Healthcare unit has had about 25 product recalls since September 2009. Federal regulators have had three of its factories under increased scrutiny for nearly two years, and one of those, in Fort Washington, Pa., has been shut and is being rebuilt from the ground up. Meanwhile, the prescription drug division has had at least two drugs, for seizures and HIV, recalled over that time.

look at anything that’s publicly available in the public domain.

We have an obligation to do so, and it is to protect the very things that let Yale survive,” Bloomberg said.

Asked by a reporter if he thought it was a “step too far” to send undercover investigators to accompany students on rafting vacations, Bloomberg said: “No. We have to keep this country safe.”

“It’s very cute to go and blame everybody and say we should stay away from anything that smacks of intelligence gathering. The job of our law enforcement is to make sure that they prevent things. And you only do that by being proactive.”

Bloomberg added that he believed that police officers had obeyed the law.

The NYPD monitoring effort included schools far beyond the city limits, including the Ivy League colleges of Yale and the University of Pennsylvania, the AP reported Saturday.

Police talked with local authorities about professors 300 miles away in Buffalo. The undercover agent who attended the City College rafting trip recorded students’ names and noted in police intelligence files how many times they prayed.

Detectives trawled Muslim student websites every day and, although professors and students had not been accused of any wrongdoing, their names were recorded in reports prepared for Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly.

Levin said Yale’s police department did not participate in any monitoring by NYPD and was unaware of it.

AP

A person walks on the University at Buffalo campus in Buffalo, N.Y. The New York Police Department monitored Muslim college students far more broadly than previously known, at schools far beyond the city limits, including the University at Buffalo, the Ivy League colleges of Yale and the University of Pennsylvania.

A 2006 report explained that officers from the NYPD’s Cyber Intelligence unit visited the websites, blogs and forums of Muslim student associations as a “daily routine.” The universities included Yale; Columbia; Penn; Syracuse; Rutgers; New York University; Clarkson University; the State University of New York campuses in Buffalo, Albany, Stony Brook and Potsdam, N.Y.; Queens College, Baruch College, Brooklyn College and La Guardia Community College.

An NYPD spokesman said

police wanted to get a better handle on what was occurring at student associations. He cited 12 people arrested or convicted on terrorism charges in the United States and abroad who had once been members of Muslim student associations, or MSAs. NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said police monitored student websites and collected publicly available information, but did so only between 2006 and 2007.

“Students who advertised events or sent emails about regular events should not be worried about a ‘terrorism file’ being kept on them.

NYPD only investigated persons who we had reasonable suspicion to believe might be involved in unlawful activities,” Browne said.

Faisal Hamid, a Muslim student leader at Yale, challenged the NYPD’s justification.

“An MSA is simply a group of Muslim students; just because a terrorist happened to be member of an MSA does not mean that MSAs which nationally represents hundreds of thousands of Muslim students have any connection to criminal activity,” Hamid said. “Law enforcement should pursue actual leads,

not imaginary ones based on Islamaphobia.”

Syracuse University does “not approve of, or support, any surveillance or investigation of student groups based solely on ethnicity, religion or political viewpoint,” said Kevin Quinn, senior vice president for public affairs at Syracuse.

Columbia University “would obviously be concerned about anything that could chill our essential values of academic freedom or intrude on student privacy,” spokesman Robert Hornsby said.

Prop. 8 backers seek Texas man guilty of abducting, review of gay raping ex-neighbor marriage case SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The backers of California’s same-sex marriage ban petitioned a federal appeals court Tuesday to review a split decision by three of its judges that struck down the voter-approved law known as Proposition 8.

Lawyers for the religious and legal groups that qualified the ban for the 2008 ballot had faced a Tuesday deadline for asking the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to rehear the 2-1 decision made two weeks ago.

The ruling declared Proposition 8 to be a violation of the civil rights of gay and lesbian Californians.

Andy Pugno, legal counsel for the Protect Marriage Coalition, said the backers appealed to a bigger 9th Circuit panel instead of going directly to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The move means same-sex marriages will remain on hold at least until the 9th Circuit decides to accept or reject the rehearing petition.

“Generally speaking, we think the 9th Circuit as a whole deserves the chance to basically fix this because the decision is such an outlier, it’s really not representative of what the 9th Circuit’s thinking on this issue has been,” Pugno said.

He said backers of the ban made the decision even though the 9th Circuit is considered to

be liberal in its rulings.

“There is liberal and then there is insanity, and there is just no way the entire 9th Circuit would sign off on a decision like this,” Pugno said.

If a majority of its more than two dozen actively serving judges agrees to reconsider the case, it would be assigned to a panel of 11 randomly selected judges.

Proposition 8 amended the California Constitution to outlaw same-sex marriages five months after the state Supreme Court threw out a pair of statutes that limited marriage to a man and woman. The proposition was approved by voters in November 2008 with 52 percent of the vote.

“Today’s petition shows how far the anti-marriage proponents of Proposition 8 will go to ensure that gay and lesbian Americans remain second-class citizens,” said Chad Griffin, president of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which sued to overturn the California ban.

“Separate is never equal — and I am confident that one day, very soon, every American will be able to enjoy the fundamental freedom to marry.”

The 9th Circuit panel said in its Feb. 7 ruling that the amendment violated the U.S. Constitution’s promise of equal protection because it singled out

a minority group for disparate treatment for no compelling reason.

The two judges in the majority concluded that the law had no purpose other than to deny gay couples marriage, since California already grants them all the rights and benefits of marriage if they register as domestic partners.

The lone dissenting judge insisted that the ban could help ensure that children are raised by married, opposite-sex parents.

All three judges agreed there was no evidence that former Chief U.S. Judge Vaughn Walker, who struck down Proposition 8 after conducting a 13-day trial, should have disclosed that he was gay and in a long-term relationship with another man before he presided over the proceedings.

The appeals court focused its decision exclusively on California’s ban, rather than stating that banning same-sex marriages would be unconstitutional in every instance, even though the court has jurisdiction in nine western states.

Whether same-sex couples may ever be denied the right to marry “is an important and highly controversial question,” the court said. “We need not and do not answer the broader question in this case.”

WEATHERFORD, Texas (AP) — A Texas man on Tuesday was found guilty of kidnapping his former neighbor, holding her captive and torturing her for nearly two weeks.

Jurors deliberated 50 minutes before reaching a verdict in the trial of Jeffrey Allan Maxwell, who was convicted of aggravated kidnapping and two counts of aggravated sexual assault after a Texas woman testified that he whipped her on a deer-skinning device and that she endured repeated assaults as she was held captive for 12 days.

Maxwell, 59, faces up to life in prison. Jurors will hear more evidence during the trial’s punishment phase, which was to start Wednesday.

The woman testified last week that Maxwell abducted her from her rural home at gunpoint March 1 after beating her in the face and shackling her hands and legs. Then he drove 100 miles away to his Corsicana house, 50 miles south of Dallas.

She was rescued 12 days later when authorities went to question him about her disappear-

ance after her house burned down.

She told jurors she bled profusely after one of the sexual assaults, which she said stopped after she’d been there a week because Maxwell got sick. At that point he then started leaving her unrestrained but only during the day when they were in the same room, she said.

The Associated Press generally does not identify victims of sexual assault.

The defense attorneys did not present evidence during the trial. But they repeatedly objected to jurors’ seeing evidence — including whips, sex toys, blood-stained sheets and underwear — saying authorities seized the items from Maxwell’s house before obtaining the proper search warrants. The judge overruled those objections. Several law enforcement officials testified that they went to Maxwell’s house March 12 with a search warrant for one of his cars, but they didn’t collect any items until they obtained a warrant to search his house and another vehicle.

THIS DATE IN HISTORY

BORN ON THIS DATE

1980

The U.S. hockey team defeats the four-time defending goldmedal winning Soviet team at the XIII Olympic Winter Games in Lake Placid, NY.

www.dailycampus.com

George Washington - 1732 Steve Irwin - 1962 Clinton Kelly - 1969 Drew Barrymore - 1975

The Daily Campus, Page 7

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Reliving a historical ‘tragedy’ Stress-free between the sheets

By Jenny A. Campus Correspondent

ASHLEY POSPISIL/The Daily Campus

Author Greg Robinson spoke at the Asian American Cultural Center’s annual Day of Remembrance on Tuesday. The talk was part of a 70th anniversary commemoration of Executive Order 9066, a policy developed by Franklin D. Roosevelt.

By Kim Halpin Staff Writer In commemoration of the 70th anniversary of Executive Order 9066, author Greg Robinson spoke at the AsianAmerican Cultural Center as part of the Asian American Studies Institute’s annual Day of Remembrance.

Robinson began his talk discussing his professional problems with traditional views of this period of American and Japanese history. He outlined the basic truths of events that occurred after the bombing of Pear Harbor in 1941, including the mass removal and arrest of over 110,000 Asian Americas, many US born, to assembly and relocation centers as prescribed in Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066.

“Its not that the narrative

is wrong, but inadequate,” Robinson said.

“It’s not that the narrative is wrong, but inadequate” Greg Robinson Author He feels that the description is too limited in time and space but needs to extend before wartime activity.

There were many preemptive actions made prior to the entrance of America into World War II that suggest anti-Japanese senti-

ment. These included spies in west coast cities like Los Angeles, magazine articles outlines supposed danger from Japanese citizens and even legislative bills passed to allow for confinement of potential war enemies.

Robinson also described the treatment of Japanese in countries close to America and around the world, to show that these events were not isolated. In Canada, anti-Japanese legislation was enacted, even though Canada never entered into a state of war with Japan.

Targeted citizens were forced to move 100 miles inland from the coast where they were seen as less of a threat. This was similar to American policies, where Japanese Americans were mandated to live more than 100 miles from the coast, and also 200 miles from the

Mexican-American border for fear of illegal immigrants coming from our southern neighbor.

Use of Marshall Law in the state of Hawaii and Supreme Court rulings also helped to limit Japanese American’s liberties.

Political reasons also eliminated the immediate release of people from the confinement camps at the risk of realizing their suspicions were unfounded.

Robinson is the author of various books on the subject including “By Order of the President: FDR and the Internment of Japanese Americans,” “A Tragedy of Democracy” and “After Camp: Portraits of Midcentury Japanese American Life and Politics.”

After, when Robinson fielded questions from the audience, attendees asked about

Roosevelt’s participation in this atrocity and the conditions in other areas of the country. Others wondered about possible avoidance of confinement and how these lessons can be applied to current political discourse.

Robinson was impressed by 8th semester economics major Castro Jean-Gilles, who asked if this situation was, “the foundation for McCarthyism and Cold War paranoia.”

Robinson ended by saying that the scope of the situation needs to be, “looked at in a larger frame, as part of racism and the struggle for democracy,” so that we can, “understand where civil rights are today.”

Kimberly.Halpin@UConn.edu

Fantasy authors, real-life advice

By Jason Wong Staff Writer Authors Debra Doyle and James D. Macdonald had a book reading at the Co-op Tuesday evening. The pair is well known for their science fiction and fantasy novels.

Doyle holds a Ph.D. in medieval literature and has taught at the college level. Macdonald was an officer in the Navy and a journalist before becoming a full-time writer. Their young adult novel, “Knight’s Wyrd,” was hailed by the Horn Book and won the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children’s Literature. Though ostensibly they were there to promote and sell their latest book, “Lincoln’s Sword,” Macdonald started the event by reading a short story that they had written entitled “The Clockwork Trollop.”

Interestingly enough, this story has yet to be submitted to a publisher, so the audience at the Co-op had a rare chance to hear it before it is submitted on Friday.

“The Clockwork Trollop” is based off of a vulgar sea song about a sailor who creates a machine to satisfy his wife; his endeavor ends disastrously. The short story is written in the first person perspective with a Victorian feel to it, making it reminiscent of a “Sherlock Holmes” story.

However, this story is different in that some of the

action scenes are definitely erotic. Doyle and Macdonald gender swapped the tale, so that the mechanical monstrosity is instead female, created by a professor who intends to use it to end the sociological problems associated with prostitution. Unfortunately, his creation has a fatal flaw in it that causes the grisly death of an unfortunate sailor.

After the reading, the authors opened the floor for questions. When asked about their writing process, Macdonald described how they often will pass a manuscript between them until they feel the story is ready. Doyle talked about how she specializes in names and dialogue, while Macdonald is particularly good at writing action scenes. For short stories, they tend to write those straight out from beginning to end, though for novels, outlines are more common.

“There’s no set process to becoming a writer,” said Macdonald. “Read a lot. Write a lot. Send your stuff to the best markets – shoot high.

You’re not going to know if your stuff is New Yorker material unless you send it to the New Yorker.”

Doyle affirmed Macdonald’s advice about reading a lot by adding that writers are “intellectual packrats,” and talked about how other authors had a string of unconventional jobs before their literary success, or how some came from non-

JESS CONDON/The Daily Campus

Author James D. MacDonald speaks at the UConn Co-op Tuesday evening. MacDonald and fellow author Debra Doyle conducted a reading of their collaborated science fiction and fantasy work, including an exerpt from a short story, “The Clockwork Trollop.”

English major backgrounds.

For example, Kurt Vonnegut was a mechanical engineer.

They also gave brief advice to budding writers interested in writing in the fantasy genre.

“You have to ground fantasy in reality,” said Macdonald.

“Fantasy novels need to have good economics, history –

they need to have geography that makes sense. You still have to do research.”

As for their book “Lincoln’s End,” it is an alternative history that splices the Civil War era and magic, with Mary Todd Lincoln as a seer, and Honest Abe practically a figure of Arthurian legend.

Hayden Parker, 6th-semester Illustration major said, “I enjoyed how personally they responded to questions. There was a lot of advice giving, which was great coming from established authors.”

Jason.Wong@UConn.edu

Stress sucks. Sadly, there are many reasons feel it these days: Our basketball team plays with a consistency comparable to cottage cheese.

There’s less than seven weekends left of the semester.

Hostess is going out of business.

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to steal from our dining halls.

Our economy will never be as promising as Jeremy Lin’s basketball career.

Etc., etc., etc.

Luckily, there’s more ways than one to deal with the insurmountable bouts of anxiety the aforementioned issues evoke: SEX! Though not surprising given the subject of this column, this three letter word we’ve come to know, love and deem synonymous with the forever sought after ecstasy from an “O,” is actually clinically proven to make you and your private parts feel a little less stressed and a little more… satisfied.

“Good relationships offset tension in daily life. Anxiety spikes blood pressure, which hobbles the immune system,” said James Coan, Ph.D., a psychology professor at the University of Virginia in a 2008 interview with Self Magazine. “But when you have sex, you release feelgood hormones, including oxytocin and endorphins.”

Though the above supports my argument, it’s not an excuse to spread your legs every time you feel antsy. I am, however, suggesting that rather than sweat yourself silly on the treadmill before a rather large exam, you turn up the heat with your (regular) partner and toss your stress away with the condom wrapper.

As an individual who freely admits she’s turned to two different anxiety medications (with a prescription, of course), I’d be lying if I said that vigorous, exciting sex can’t accomplish more than my pharmacist can prescribe.

Take this past weekend for example: after successfully completing intensive freelance work, my most important career accomplishment to date, I needed “it.” Combined with the added stresses of balancing other commitments, jobs and my workload, I’d reached a frightening breaking point.

Fortunately, one bold request to my “partner” and a few different “positions” later, I was myself again. Just like that! No meds, no gym, no hot yoga. Just great sex.

According to Stuart Brody, Ph.D., professor of psychology at the University of the West of Scotland at Paisley in a 2008 interview with Self Magazine, “Intercourse specifically is linked to better psychological and physical health.”

If we’re all about a healthy mind and body, than take no shame in recognizing that one of the easiest ways to maintain them both is by jumping into bed and doing what’s natural.

So, undergraduate student population, there’s nothing “private” about it: don’t stress, have (safe) sex.

(It’s doctor prescribed).

Focus@DailyCampus.com

The Daily Campus, Page 8

FOCUS ON:

GAMES Upcoming Releases February 28 Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition (PS3, X360) The Lord of the Rings Online: Mithril Edition (PC) SSX (PS3, X360) Barbarian - The Death Sword (PC, MAC, IP) Black Knight Sword (PS3, X360)

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Focus

Game Of The Week

Superman Returns (PS2)

Your game reviews could be here!

Stop in to a Focus meeting, Mondays at 8 p.m. at the DC Building.

Playstation Vita, Doomed?

Price drop or bust?

February 29 WAKFU (MAC, PC) March 1 Zuma’s Revenge (DS) Deep Black: Reloaded (IP) Schedule from Gamespot.com

Focus Favorites

Photo courtesy of Gamespot.com

Budget Gems: Valkyria Chronicles

It’s a shame that people think of the failed Sonic titles when the company Sega is mentioned, since it causes them to overlook the many other quality games they have developed over the years; one of those being the underrated “Valkyria Chronicles” game for the PS3.

Simply put, this game is nothing short of perfection. At first, it may seem like another turn-based strategy game like “Advanced Wars,” but Sega incorporated real time elements to it as well. For example, when one selects a unit to move, the game becomes like a third person shooter, where one must navigate the soldier across the battlefield while avoiding the oncoming fire of the enemy. To add even more depth, every single soldier in your army has a distinct personality which factors into their performance on the battlefield. For example, if one chooses to rush the frontlines with an engineer who prefers to be around others, he will suffer a huge accuracy or damage penalty whereas a shocktrooper who actually gets an adrenaline rush when facing multiple enemies will experience heightened accuracy. Add a unique art style along with a compelling musical score and story and you have a perfect “10” in my book. Although this game was released in 2008 and can be found at a third of its retail price, the quality far exceeds that of some newer titles in stores today.

-Lucas Ma

By Jason Bogdan Senior Staff Writer Photo courtesy of Amazon.com

Sony’s new Playstation Vita will soon make it’s North American debut, but a poor release in Japan could already threaten the new device’s future among American gamers.

By Zack Fox Campus Correspondent Sony’s new handheld, the Playstation Vita, will be made available in North American territories come Feb. 22. But, following its disastrous Japanese release, signs are already pointing towards an uncertain future.

Sony’s first handheld (the PSP), while in no respects a financial flop, shot well below the company’s original expectations.

Constantly languishing in the shadow of Nintendo’s DS, it was the perennial understudy in a two-horse race; an assemblage of well conceived but poorly implemented ideas exemplified by the widely derided PSP Go, a system discontinued less than two years after release.

If the Japanese launch of the PS Vita is anything to go by then history is well on its way to repeating itself, if not to an even greater degree.

Following a respectable launch (325,000 units sold), sales hemorrhaged going into the second week, dropping a massive 78 percent during which just 74,000 consoles were sold. Sales dropped even further in the fourth week to 18,000 and finally hit an all time low last week, sitting at a paltry 14,000 sales. Compare this to the fact that the Vita’s direct rival - Nintendo’s 3DS - hit the 75,000 mark and, to add insult to injury, Sony’s own PSP managed 15,000 sales, the future certainly looks bleak for the Vita’s imminent launch in other international territories.

The situation is similarly dour on the software front. Despite launching with more than 30 games across both physical and downloadable platforms, not a single Vita title hit the Top 10 in Japan during its first month on sale. Only recently have titles managed to break the dominion of the 3DS and PSP, with “Gravity Rush” hitting the No. 2 spot last week and “Ragnarok Odyssey” claiming ninth place.

Incredibly, this is still not the whole story.

As reported by Jim Sterling on the gaming blog site Destructoid, several Japanese retailers started to cut the price of both the Vita’s Wi-Fi and 3G models. After less than a month on sale, the website reported that prices were cut by 17 percent, dropping to ¥29,980 from ¥24,999 ($375 to $313); as clear a sign as any of a console in crisis.

Why then is the console originally touted as the Next Generation Portable failing to make the desired impact in what is typically acknowledged as being the most traditional “gaming” country worldwide?

In comparison to 2004 when the PSP was released, the gaming industry of the modern day is a vastly different beast; a disparity epitomized by the now universal adoption and popularity of mobile and IOS based gaming. It is a habitat that has already forced the 3DS to its panic stations (only a drastic 40 percent price cut and strong firstparty software line up such as “Mario Kart 7” saved it from being completely buried last holiday season). The Vita, a system marketed on the fact that it is a core HD gaming device, is setting itself up to suffer an even harsher reception in an era where casual gaming rules supreme. In a gaming dynasty where the majority of consumers interact with the industry through smartphones or the casual elements of Nintendo’s Wii and DS systems, the Vita’s much lauded quad-core graphical processor and CPU mean next to nothing.

Much of the Vita’s shortcomings fall at the feet of Sony themselves, an ideal typified by the questionably large prices stamped across Vita hardware and software. Set to launch for $249.99 (Wi-Fi) and $299.99 (3G) in the US, it will be retailing a whole $100 above the 3DS, once again putting Sony in the expensive bracket that hindered sales of its PS3 and PSP. Added to this is the $49.99 price tag of its bigger games, such as launch title “Uncharted: Golden Abyss,” which will leave an unsavory taste in the mouths

of those used to the $1.99 titles available on Android and the Apple App Store. It does not end there though.

“It is a high-end device and Sony has shot itself in the foot with the proprietary memory cards, which is an added expense everyone needs to make on day one,” said Johnny Minkley of gaming website Eurogamer to the BBC. Selling for as much as $99.99 should someone opt for the 32 GB option, memory cards are already proving to be a PR nightmare for Sony on top of reports that the console will be unable to run PS2 and PS3 games, at least to begin with, and that thirdparty developers are already jumping ship.

“A number of PlayStation Vita developers have canceled their projects to go and make 3DS games,” Sterling reported last week and that, despite reassurances from Sony higher-ups that talks of abandonments are exaggerated, there is a general air of uncertainty amongst developers.

What the Vita’s disappointing start is illustrating is the now massively changed industry within which publishers and developers alike must operate. It was seen throughout all of the previous year with the 3DS and the incredibly slow start it made before eventually scrambling to its feet coming into 2012. However, while the 3DS launched early giving it room to maneuver, the Vita is increasingly looking as though its up the proverbial stream without a paddle.

Delaying its original launch so that it may enter the fray fully armed added to its games that can cost $20 more than that on the 3DS, the Vita has seemingly got itself stuck in a rut.

While it may still be very early, having still not launched in any territory outside of Japan, the message is very clear: despite Sony’s best intentions, there will be no easy rides with its second handheld console.

Zachary.Fox@UConn.edu

How role-playing games are saving the game for the Vita

By Lucas Ma Campus Correspondent With the release of the 3DS and the upcoming Playstation Vita, it would seem as though the PSP is on its last legs.

However, people seem to forget the PSP’s focus on the traditional idea of gaming – most prominent in RPGs – which is the sole reason why I still pick up my PSP today.

There are people who would argue that Sony’s first portable console has been dead long before the announcement of the 3DS, namely due to its library of games which can not compare to that of the 3DS. However, it is apparent if one were to take the time and compare the two, this statement is far from true. If anything, I find that the DS selection is sparser due to Nintendo’s gimmicks.

Rather than developing games

with touch-screen controls, games were being developed around the touch-screen feature itself, which hindered the quality of games. A glaring example would be “Starfox Command,” where the use of buttons to shoot and generally pilot your ship is nonexistent, simply because the developers wanted to incorporate the touch screen.

As much fun as it is to play platformers like “Mario,” the reason why I never play them for long is actually the same reason I pick them up in the first place: their overall simplicity. This applies to the gameplay and storyline. It would be possible to overlook the shallow gameplay if the story was compelling and made me want to find out what happens (which is never the case in such games).

It is because of these games that gimmicks need to exist in order to hold one’s atten-

tion. On the other hand, RPGs on the PSP such as “Persona 3 Portable” offer the whole package. So far, I’ve clocked over 100 hours into it and haven’t gotten tired of it.

Going back to P3 Portable, my first play-through took about fifty hours; I did not complete all the side quests, or fight the optional bosses or challenges. I barely collected half of the available persona summons. Furthermore, I still had the option to carry over all my items; only this time as the female protagonist who offers a new perspective on the game.

In short, features such as these keep the game fresh, and they are most common in RPGs, a genre that is common in the PSP. In general, RPGs do not depend on cheap tricks to try and extend the life of a game, like having to find all collectibles in order to fight the real

boss or back-tracking through multiple old stages. Some may give the option, but even if the player chooses not to do it, the game itself still offers hours and hours of actual plot.

The success of RPGs on this portable platform has been recognized to an extent, as third parties are still continuing to release games for it, even with the launch of the Vita. Xseed has announced “Grand Knights Historia” and promised a sequel to the award-winning “Trails in the Sky,” while Atlus is hard at work localizing “Gloria Union” and “Gugnir.” Couple this with the fact that I haven’t even started the “Ys” series, and I can safely say that I’ll be playing my PSP long after the Vita launch.

Lucas.Ma@UConn.edu

Whether the format is physical or digital, it’s almost always possible to wait for a video game to decrease in full retail price.

It’s a marketing design that follows for just about every other non-spoilable (i.e. not food) product; but video games have always been a bit more prevalent in price cuts. For any gamer who plans on a new purchase, there’s also an internal debate on if they should wait for an inevitable price drop or fall prey to impatience.

For reference on whether a game will drop at least half its price a year later, or sooner, just look to whatever game isn’t a First Party joint. For example, you’ll have to pay the same for “Mario Kart DS” as it was when it was first released over six years ago; but “Sonic Rush” that was released around the same time for the DS became cheaper not even one year later. There are obviously exceptions to this rule, but if you aren’t in the mood to buy recent, third-party titles like “Kingdoms of Amalur” or “Asura’s Wrath,” you’ll most definitely save a pretty penny for doing so.

It’s a strategy not worth getting ashamed over; but for those that do have this method, they should hopefully know that there’s a reason why certain games decrease in price so easily. It’s not like Bethesda planned for their game “Rage” to be easily buyable for just $20 after just a few months.

People can buy “Rage” on the cheap now because few actually did buy the game at sixty dollars when it was (in retrospect, now) foolishly released in the rush of releases during the holiday season. And because so many people bought “Skyrim,” there’s little surprise that most retailers still have it at full retail.

It sounds like a problem that can be easily solved with a simple idea like all $60 games being cut down by at least twenty bucks, but sadly, that isn’t the state of the industry any more. The millions of dollars put into the big budget games continue to escalate as the technology becomes more advanced, leaving for little leg room in original pricing. It’s bad enough as it is that retailers like GameStop are putting all the game’s profit in their pockets in used games sales and, you know, media piracy still being a concerning issue.

But honestly, this whole matter is just another example why this convoluted song-and-dance of buying video games will eventually be a thing of the past. With iOS games becoming free at the cost of adding advertisements, and Facebook gaming starting to change more complex, one day, the idea that we all had to pay sixty dollars for just one video game will be a laughing stock for future generations. But, for now, it’s best to just play it by ear and use strategy in when and where to buy “Mass Effect 3.” Also, support the hardworking game developers out there by paying full price when you can.

Jason.Bogdan@UConn.edu

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

The Daily Campus, Page 9

Focus

Mini-games take the cake

By Jason Bogdan Senior Staff Writer A different take from other music rhythm games, the “Rhythm Heaven” series doesn’t have scrolling color buttons or a health bar to play along to the song. There are only the moving cartoon characters on screen and the music itself to go on. It’s hard, but this boot camp of a fun time causes instinctual shaking heads and feet as the players are in harmony to the beat. And for this latest entry on the Wii, the Wii remote practically turns into a baton as players dance to this best entry yet.

On the outset, “Rhythm Heaven Fever” looked like a step backwards from the previous two games. Only the A and B buttons and no motion controls are used for the new collection of minigames, while the DS game had the fidelity of the touch screen, and the import-only GBA entry at least had the D-Pad. But after extensively going over all 50+ challenges, this sequel turned out to be better than ever in getting the player to resonate with the catchy music. The number of buttons might be lower, but the simplified take allows for a better sense of musical cadence.

The nuance on when to input the commands in each different challenge is easier to grasp; which is great, because “easy to learn, hard to master” doesn’t even begin to describe what you’re in for here.

Each separate, hilariously charming minigame is unique and challenging in its own way.

Whether you need to have a bit of patience to have a masked wrestler reply to an interview question, tap dance in a boxheaded quartet or play tambourine Simon Says with an adorable monkey, the WarioWare developers at Nintendo SPD Group No. 1 have never been more creative and endearing in teaching perfect rhythm.

Photo courtesy of Gamespot.com

“Rhythm Heaven Fever” brings together a collection of mini-games that boast impressive, catchy graphics and a worthwhile dual-player mode.

And because this is the first “Rhythm Heaven” game on a game console, it has never looked or sounded better too. Collaborating musician Tsunku used the higher sound quality to create the most catchy and consistently good soundtrack yet in the series.

And for such a dinosaur of a graphics engine that the Wii has, the developers wisely used the Flash-esque 2D animation from WarioWare: Smooth Moves that looks timelessly stylish.

The only real thing that holds this game back (like the other games) is the grading system.

Figuring out if you’ve got a grade of “Try Again,” “Good” or “Superb” continues to be an ambiguous endeavor, with no comments or advice on exactly what you’ve done wrong.

Otherwise, though, this is still a masterful choice for music rhythm game fans that has gads of

Rhythm Heaven Fever

9.0

/10

The Good

-Dozens of incredibly fun and catchy minigames here that has never made following the musical rhythm more fun -A sparse, but enjoyable two-player mode is included here that’s also a neat multitasking challenge for single players -The Wii engine might as well be put in a museum at this point, but “Rhythm Heaven’s” graphical style and wonderful soundtrack brings the system to life all over again.

The Bad

-Even with the inclusion of video demos and the opportunity to skip a level after numerous fails, figuring out the contrast in whether you did a “Good” or “Superb” job is sometimes a mystery -Unfortunately, like the Rock Band and Guitar Hero fare, some TVs have a level of lag that causes the button precision to go to hell. Make sure you find the television set that won’t let you down. unlockable goodies to find with the replayable music minigames.

And with a price point of just $29.99, there’s little reason for

Wii owners to not get their groove on with Rhythm Heaven Fever.

Jason.Bogdan@UConn.edu

PlayStation Vita’s rear pad a touchy subject for some LOS ANGELES (AP) — There’s a suspicious knock on the wall.

A dimwitted henchman working for an evil mastermind named Bakuki goes over to investigate the strange noise and then — WOOSH! — his blotchy body splatters across the room after a giant blade surprises him from behind. That’s just one way players can flick their fingers to help heroes Lil and Laarg evade trouble in the cartoony video game “Escape Plan.”

That suspicious knock on the wall didn’t come from mashing a button or thumping a touchscreen but from tapping the back of the PlayStation Vita, Sony’s new high-powered handheld console released Tuesday in the United States and Europe that features a touchpad located behind a touchscreen, giving gamers new ways to engage what’s happening on screen.

With the popularity of touchscreen smartphones and tablets, stroking a screen to cut a virtual rope or propel a digital bird is no longer a novel idea, so Sony Corp. is smacking that mechanic on its bottom with a smooth rear touchpad covered with the company’s circle, X, square and triangle icons located opposite a lush 5-inch high-definition screen.

Yes, there are old-school buttons and analog sticks as well, but the new interface means Vita users can also interact with images on screen by tapping the rear touchpad, front touchscreen — or both for a “pinching” effect that elicits a different response, like prompting Lil in “Escape Plan” to fart as he floats around Bakuki’s twisted headquarters.

“It just feels right to pinch the Vita like that to squeeze the air out of something,” said Chris Miller, CEO at “Escape Plan”

developer Fun Bits Interactive.

“It was a prototype we thought could be a cool game mechanic.

We initially tried mirroring what tablets and smartphones do with zoom and camera control, but that actually felt really awkward.”

The idea of a rear touchpad isn’t entirely new. Motorola has released a few smartphones with a touch-sensitive panel located behind the display screen, replacing the need for a trackball up front, and some ittybitty handheld keyboards have sported touchpads underneath buttons, but Sony is using the technology for purposes beyond simple navigation.

Several launch titles employ the rear touchpad in different ways: It’s a method for climbing ladders in “Uncharted: Golden Abyss,” reshaping balls of junk in “Touch My Katamari,” accelerating antigravity vehicles in “Wipeout 2048,” setting up golf swings in “Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational” and slitting throats in “Metal Gear Solid HD Collection.”

For the cart-racing game “ModNation Racers: Road Trip,” which invites players to customize their own rides and tracks with the swipe of a finger, developers fashioned the rear touchpad as a way to shape terrain. Push the back of the Vita, a flat surface becomes a hill.

Keep mashing, and it becomes a mountain. Too big? Tap the front screen to flatten it out.

“We were able to figure out a way to manipulate the terrain like it was clay,” said Sony San Diego producer Brandon Akiaten. “We started out with a single finger, but when we were looking at the entire terrain, we wondered why you couldn’t use more fingers, and we were able to create a way to do it, if you can fit all ten of your fingers on the back.”

Adele and Ed Sheeran win at UK’s Brit Awards

LONDON (AP) — Soulful songstress Adele capped a momentous year of Grammy Awards triumph and medical woes with a double win at the U.K.’s Brit music awards Tuesday, taking prizes for album of the year and best British female solo artist before making an obscene gesture after the show’s host cut her acceptance speech short.

Teen-friendly English troubadour Ed Sheeran won two trophies, including British male solo artist, at an energetic ceremony in London.

It has been a dramatic year for down-to-earth north London diva Adele, who based her charttopping songs of heartbreak on a rocky relationship.

Her sophomore album “21” won six Grammys last week and has sold more than 6 million copies in the United States alone. But Adele also had to undergo vocal cord surgery in November to fix a potentially career-threatening throat condition.

She delivered a powerhouse performance of her single “Rolling in the Deep” to thousands of fans and industry insiders at London’s O2 arena.

“It’s been an amazing year,” Adele said as she received the female artist statuette from petite pop star Kylie Minogue.

“I feel like a drag queen next to you,” joked the winner, who wore a sleek black Burberry gown but towered over Minogue. She thanked her record company “for letting me be the kind of artist I want to be.”

The show’s host, actor James

Corden, cut off Adele’s second acceptance speech, prompting the singer to make a rude middlefinger gesture in frustration.

She stressed afterward that it was aimed at industry leaders, not her fans.

“I’m sorry if I offended anyone but it was the suits that offended me,” Adele said. “Thank you all very much and thanks to my fans.

I don’t want them to think I was swearing at them.”

The show’s broadcaster, ITV, issued a statement apologizing to Adele for cutting her off.

“We regret this happened and we send deepest apologies to Adele that her big moment was cut short tonight due to the live show over-running,” ITV said.

The 23-year-old lost out on the British single prize to boy band One Direction’s “What Makes You Beautiful,” but took the coveted album of the year award for “21.” The statue was presented by singer George Michael, returning to the stage after suffering life-threatening pneumonia in December.

The ceremony also included tributes to two departed divas, Whitney Houston and Amy Winehouse.

Tousle-haired singer-songwriter Sheeran won prizes for solo artist and British breakthrough act.

The red-headed 21-year-old has been panned as bland by some critics, but has amassed legions of young fans through online releases and a relentless calendar of shows.

Sheeran thanked his manager for transforming a “spotty, chubby ginger teenager” into a Brit-winner.

AP

Adele celebrates with the award for the best British Album of the Year during the Brit Awards 2012 at the O2 Arena in London, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012.

Long derided as dull, the Brits have become a lively celebration of U.K. music and style — and this year’s awards come with British music riding high around the world.

“I’m so, so proud to be British and to be flying our flag,” said Adele, who has the century’s bestselling album so far.

Tuesday’s event — which kicked off with Coldplay performing “Charlie Brown” and included

live turns from Sheeran, Florence and the Machine, Noel Gallagher, Bruno Mars and Rihanna — brought out a host of stars who blended rock ‘n’ roll attitude and fashion finery.

Blur frontman Damon Albarn dressed down for the red carpet in jeans and a flat cap, and former Oasis guitarist Gallagher wore a leather jacket. But others struck a snazzier note. Actor Ray Winstone arrived in a pinstriped three-piece

suit, complete with watch chain.

Style standouts included Minogue, in a strapless sky blue dress; plump-lipped Internet sensation Lana Del Rey, wearing a floorlength red gown; and Florence and the Machine’s Florence Welch, in a lacy peach dress by Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen.

Coldplay won their fourth best British group trophy, while Foo Fighters were voted best international group.

Bruno Mars took the prize for international male solo artist, and Rihanna won the international female prize for a second year.

The Barbadian singer, who has often been in the news for

non-musical reasons since her then-boyfriend Chris Brown attacked her at a pre-Grammy Awards party in 2009, thanked her fans.

“At times when I feel misunderstood, my fans always remind me that it’s OK to be myself,” she said.

Lana Del Rey appeared moved to be named international breakthrough act.

“This award means much more to me than you know,” said the singer, who has gone from Internet-fueled buzz to backlash in record time after a disastrous performance last month on “Saturday Night Live.”

The Daily Campus, Page 10

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Focus

Obama joins Jagger, B.B. King, to belt out blues WASHINGTON (AP) — The president just couldn't say no: Mick Jagger held out a mic almost by way of command, and soon Barack Obama was belting out the blues with the best of them.

The East Room of the White House was transformed into an intimate blues club on Tuesday night for a concert featuring blues all-stars of the past, present and future — and the president himself.

The surprise performance by Obama came at the end of the playlist when the blues ensemble was singing "Sweet Home Chicago," the blues anthem of Obama's home town.

Buddy Guy prodded the president, saying he'd heard that the president sang part of an Al Green tune recently, and adding, "You gotta keep it up."

Then Jagger handed over the mic, and Obama seemed compelled to comply.

"Come on, baby don't you want to go," the president sang out twice, handing off the mic to B.B. King momentarily, and then taking it back to tack on "Sweet Home Chicago" at the end.

That was how Obama ended the night.

This was how he began it: Obama said sometimes there are downsides to being the president. You can't just go for a walk, for example.

And then there are the times that more than make up for all those frustrations, he said, like Tuesday night, when Jagger, King, Jeff Beck and other musical giants came by the house to sing the blues.

"I guess things even out

a little bit," Obama joked at the start of a rollicking East Room concert that was electrified by Jagger and the rest.

"This music speaks to something universal," Obama declared. "No one goes through life without both joy and pain, triumph and sorrow. The blues gets all of that, sometimes with just one lyric or one note. " King, 86, arrived in a wheelchair but rose tall to kick off the night with a raucous "Let the Good Times Roll," quickly joined by other members of the ensemble. And he followed with "The Thrill is Gone."

From there, Obama and his wife, Michelle, were swaying in their seats and singing along to an all-hits playlist including "St. James Infirmary" and "Let Me Love You." Beck slowed things down with an instrumental "Brush With the Blues," as anticipation built for the arrival of Jagger, who did not disappoint.

The longtime Rolling Stones frontman delivered on "I Can't Turn You Loose" and then teamed up with Beck on "Commit a Crime." Jagger got the president and his wife up out of their seats, swaying and clapping to the music, and picked up the pace with "Miss You," performed with Shemekia Copeland and Susan Tedeschi.

Obama was clearly savoring the moment, closing his eyes at times and nodding his head as he lip-synced the words.

The president rose at the end to introduce the ensemble

AP

President Barack Obama welcomes guests during the White House Music Series saluting Blues Music in recognition of Black History Month, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012, in the East Room of the White House in Washington.

as the "White House Blues All-Stars" for the final song of the night, "Sweet Home Chicago."

"For Michelle and me," the president said, "there's no blues like the song our artists have chosen to close with — the blues from our hometown."

With that, the ensemble wrapped up the evening with "Sweet Home Chicago." And

then Jagger handed off the mic to Obama for his presidential coda.

In advance of the concert, Grammy-winner Keb Mo had joked during a rehearsal break that Obama himself would perform, and there could even be a record in the works.

He joked that Obama's record would be called, "After the second term, now I can finally get my groove on."

Maybe he wasn't joking after all.

The lineup for Tuesday's concert spanned multiple generations, from legends like King and Guy to young faces such as 26-year-old Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews and Gary Clark Jr., whose style blends hip hop, contemporary soul and indie rock. Also performing were Warren Haynes and Derek

Trucks, with actress Taraji P. Henson as the program host and Booker T. Jones as music director and band leader.

The blues concert will be part of the "In Performance at the White House" series that airs on PBS. This one, designed to recognize Black History Month, will be broadcast on Monday on PBS stations and aired later on American Forces Network.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Villanova University has canceled a workshop on personal narrative by a gay performance artist, saying his shows aren't in keeping with its Catholic values.

Artist Tim Miller, once dubbed the "patron saint of the gay performance world" by the Los Angeles Times, said he was scheduled to lead the five-day workshop for students in April but the university abruptly scrapped it on Sunday.

He said his workshops focus on personal narrative and the students guide the direction they take but topics often include issues such as faith, sexuality, self and truth.

Miller said he thinks his being gay played into Villanova's decision to cancel.

"The thing that they worry about, I think, is that I am a gay person," he said. "Being a gay person with political opinions."

Miller said on Tuesday he has done similar workshops at Chicago's DePaul University, the nation's largest Catholic university, and other schools.

He said Villanova, a Catholic private university with about 10,000 students just outside Philadelphia, did not tell him why it was canceling his workshop.

"This is not my first time at the dance," Miller said, noting the cancellation came after blog postings that were critical about him. "It's clearly homophobia and panic."

In a statement, Villanova said it had concerns that Miller's workshops "were not in keeping with our Catholic

and Augustinian values and mission."

"Therefore, Villanova has decided not to host Mr. Miller on our campus," the statement said. "Villanova University is an open and inclusive community and in no way does this singular decision change that."

A spokesman said the university would not answer questions beyond the statement on Tuesday.

Miller gained notoriety in 1990 when he and three others had grants vetoed by the National Endowment for the Arts.

His work is frequently provocative, and he has been arrested in the past for demonstrating for AIDS research funding. He said some of his performances have featured nudity but there has been no nudity for about a decade.

Megaupload founder Kim Villanova University cancels Dotcom released on bail gay artist's workshop

AP

Kim Dotcom, the founder of the file-sharing website Megaupload, walks past media after he was granted bail and released on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2012, in Auckland, New Zealand.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Kim Dotcom, the founder of the file-sharing website Megaupload, was released on bail Wednesday after a New Zealand judge determined that authorities have seized any funds he could have used to flee the country.

U.S. authorities allege Dotcom facilitated millions of illegal downloads through his company. He had been in custody since his arrest Jan. 20.

A smiling Dotcom spoke to reporters briefly outside the court as he was ushered to a waiting truck.

"I am relieved to go home to see my family, my three little kids and my pregnant wife," he said. "And I hope you understand that that is all I want to say right now."

He confirmed he would be fighting U.S. extradition efforts. Asked how he had been treated by the police after his high-profile arrest, Dotcom said, "Well, it felt a little bit like an audition to 'American Idol.'"

Dotcom was released without any monetary bail bond, which is standard for cases that come before New Zealand's district courts. He does have other conditions of release, but Ministry of Justice officials declined a

request by The Associated Press to release those details, saying the AP would need to apply to the judge.

U.S. authorities claim Megaupload cost movie makers and songwriters some half a billion dollars in lost copyright revenue. They are trying to extradite Dotcom, 38, and three of his colleagues on racketeering charges.

New Zealand authorities have seized millions of dollars in investments and assets owned by Dotcom, including luxury cars and artworks.

North Shore District Court Judge Nevin Dawson found that the German-born Dotcom no longer posed a significant flight risk because, as far as the court was aware, he wasn't hiding any money or assets that could help him flee the country. New Zealand courts had earlier turned down Dotcom's bail application and a subsequent appeal, saying he did pose a flight risk, but Dawson said those decisions were made when details about Dotcom's assets remained unclear.

"Since that time, all known assets have been seized and are unavailable for Mr. Dotcom's use or disposal," the judge found. "No new assets or accounts of any significance have been revealed

since his arrest. Mr. Dotcom's submission that he has not concealed any assets or bank accounts has largely been borne out."

Dawson also said he received an affidavit from Bonnie Lam, the Hong Kong chief financial officer of Megaupload, supporting Dotcom's contention that he has no resources available to him.

Dotcom was born Kim Schmitz but legally changed his name. He is a citizen of both Germany and Finland and was granted New Zealand residency in 2010. He has also lived in Hong Kong, where the Megaupload company is registered.

Dawson disputed an earlier court finding that the U.S. doesn't have an extradition treaty with Germany.

The judge said there is a German law which prevents Germans being extradited to any country — but that a treaty between Germany and the U.S. would allow Dotcom to be prosecuted in Germany should he flee New Zealand and should German authorities deem prosecution appropriate. He said a similar situation applies to Finland.

Dotcom's colleagues had earlier been granted bail by New Zealand courts.

Inherited comic collection expected to fetch $2M DALLAS (AP) — Michael Rorrer said his great aunt once mentioned having comic books she would one day give him and his brother, but it was a passing remark made when they were boys and still into superheroes.

Ruby Wright gave no indication at the time — and she died last February, leaving it unclear — that her late husband's comic collection contained some of the most prized issues ever published. The 345 comics were slated to sell at auction in New York on Wednesday, and were expected to fetch more than $2 million.

Rorrer, 31, of Oxnard, Calif., discovered his great uncle Billy Wright's comics neatly stacked in a basement closet while helping clear out his great aunt's Martinsville, Va., home a few months after her death. He said he thought they were cool but didn't realize until months later how valuable they were.

Rorrer, who works as an operator at a plant where oil is separated from water, said he was telling a co-worker about Captain America No. 2, a 1941 issue in which the hero bursts in on Adolf Hitler, when the co-worker mused that it would be something if he had Action Comics No. 1,

in which Superman makes his first appearance.

"I went home and was looking through some of them and there it was," said Rorrer, who then began researching the collection's value in earnest.

He found out that his great uncle had managed as a boy to buy a staggering array of what became the most valuable comic books ever published.

"This is just one of those collections that all the guys in the business think don't exist anymore," said Lon Allen, the managing director of comics for Heritage Auctions, the Dallas-based auction house overseeing the sale.

The collection includes 44 of The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide's list of top 100 issues from comics' golden age.

"The scope of this collection is, from a historian's perspective, dizzying," said J.C. Vaughn, associate publisher of Overstreet.

Once Rorrer realized how important the comics were, he called his mother, Lisa Hernandez, 54, of League City, Texas, who had divided them into two boxes. She sent one to him and kept the other one at her house for his brother. Rorrer and his mother

then went through their boxes, checking comic after comic off the list.

"I couldn't believe what I had sitting there upstairs at my house," Rorrer said.

Hernandez, who works as an operator in a chemical plant, said it really hit her how valuable the comics were when she saw the look on Allen's face after he came to her house to look through the comics she had there.

"It was kind of hard to wrap my head around it," Allen said.

Rorrer said he only remembers his aunt making the fleeting reference to the comics when she learned that he and his brother, Jonathan Rorrer, now 29 of Houston, liked comic books. He said his great uncle, who died in 1994 at age 66, never mentioned his collection.

The Action Comics No. 1 — which Wright bought when he was about 11 — is expected to sell for about $325,000. A Detective Comics No. 27, the 1939 issue that features the first appearance of Batman, is expected to get about $475,000.

And the Captain America No. 2 with Hitler on the cover that had caught Rorrer's eye? That's expected to bring in about $100,000.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

The Daily Campus, Page 11

Sports

» NBA

Gasol, Gay lead Grizzlies past 76ers, 89-76 MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Philadelphia's first 13 points Marc Gasol had 15 points of the third quarter to keep and 14 rebounds, Rudy Gay the Sixers close. His 3-pointer scored 14 points and the with 3:30 left made it 61-55.

Memphis Grizzlies beat the Reserve guard Louis Philadelphia 76ers 89-76 on Williams hit another 3-pointer Tuesday night. with 46.2 left in the third to O.J. Mayo added 13 points pull Philadelphia to 64-60, and Marreese Speights had 12 but Memphis pushed its lead to help the Grizzlies (19-15) back to nine on back-to-back move a season highbuckets by reserves tying four games Quincy Pondexter above .500. Gasol, and Hamed Haddadi. who's headed to this The Grizzlies Grizzlies 89 allowed weekend's All-Star Philadelphia 76 to get no closer than Game in Orlando, 76ers finished three assists four points in the shy of a triple double. fourth. Tony Allen made a pair Jrue Holiday scored 22 of key defensive plays down points — none in the fourth the stretch for the Grizzlies, — for the Atlantic Division- forcing an airball by Iguodala leading Sixers, who shot with Memphis leading by five just 37 percent while losing and later getting a steal on a their fourth straight and sixth Sixers fast break. in their last eight. Rookie Gay then put the game out Lavoy Allen had 14 points of reach with a 3-pointer with for Philadelphia, and Andre 2:10 left, helping Memphis Iguodala added 11 on 5-of-14 improve to 6-3 this season shooting. on the second game of backPhiladelphia trailed by 20 to-backs. The Grizzlies had after the first period before fallen 97-93 on the road to rallying to pull within three Houston on Monday. late in the second and was Playing a Sixers team that down 47-42 at halftime. came into the game ranked Holiday scoring nine of first in the NBA in scor-

NBA

ing defense, Memphis made seven of its first nine shots in building a 15-7 first-quarter lead. A Philadelphia timeout didn't slow the Grizzlies, who scored the next 12 points — including two 3-pointers by Mayo — to take a 27-7 lead.

Gasol was at the center of the run, getting four points, five assists and four rebounds in the first quarter.

Philadelphia trailed 30-10 after the first after shooting 4 of 20 from the field in the period.

The 76ers' 10 points were the fewest Memphis has allowed in any quarter this season.

The Sixers finally got into an offensive rhythm in the second quarter, outscoring Memphis 9-2 over the first 3 minutes.

Holiday then made his first of three 3-pointers in the period with 5:13 left to cut Philadelphia's deficity to 10.

He scored 13 straight points for the 7ters to pull them to 43-40 late in the quarter.

After an abysmal first quarter, the Sixers connected on 13 of their first 17 shots in the second and trailed by five at halftime.

AP

Memphis Grizzlies forward Rudy Gay (22) shoots over Philadelphia 76ers guard Evan Turner (12) during the second half.

» NBA

Jamison, Irving rally Cavs past Pistons, 101-100

AP

Cleveland Cavaliers coach Byron Scott, right, comes to the aid of Alonzo Gee (33) in the first quarter against the Detroit Pistons.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Antawn Jamison scored 32 points and rookie Kyrie Irving led Cleveland's comeback from a 17-point deficit with 17 points in the fourth quarter, leading the Cavaliers to a 101-100 win over the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night.

Alonzo Gee, who scored 13 points in the fourth quarter, put the Cavaliers ahead for good, 97-95, by rebounding his own miss with a dunk with 25.4 seconds left. Irving, who scored 25 points, and Gee combined for 30 of Cleveland's 35 points in the fourth quarter.

Cleveland, which trailed 72-55 late in the third quarter, ended Detroit's three-game winning streak. Brandon Knight led the Pistons with 24 points while Greg Monroe had 19 points and 11 rebounds.

Irving, whose two free throws with 0.4 seconds remaining gave the Cavaliers a onepoint win over Sacramento on Sunday, came through again in the clutch. The 19-yearold point guard, who was the No. 1 pick

in the draft, hit two 3-pointers that sparked Cleveland's run and cut the lead to 80-76 early in the fourth quarter.

Gee scored five points to to pull the Cavaliers within two before Irving found a wide-open Jamison in the corner for a 3-pointer to give Cleveland an 86-85 lead with 5:53 to play.

Rodney Stuckey's two free throws regained the lead for Detroit, but Irving's 3-pointer from the top of the key and a left-handed layup in the lane put Cleveland ahead 91-87.

Irving poked the ball away on Detroit's next possession and flipped the ball to Gee, whose dunk put Cleveland ahead by six with 3:09 to play. Detroit responded with five straight points before Irving's basket put the Cavaliers ahead 95-92.

Knight's 3-pointer tied the score with 1:02 to play, but Gee rebounded his own miss with a dunk that put Cleveland ahead for good.

Ben Gordon missed on a layup attempt and Irving hit two free throws with 11.2 seconds remaining gave Cleveland a 99-95

» NCAA BASKETBALL

» MLB

Cubs send pitcher to Red Sox as comp for Epstein FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Theo Epstein's worth to the Boston Red Sox was easy to gauge. A quick glance at the two World Series trophies at Fenway Park settles that.

Determining his value to the Chicago Cubs, another title-starved franchise desperately hoping to be saved by the Boy Wonder, turned out to be a much more complicated issue. Turns out the architect of a two-time champion who restored pride to a franchise that had long been known for choking in the biggest moments was worth a 26-year-old reliever and a player to be named later.

The two teams finally announced a deal Tuesday that settles a four-month dis-

lead. Gordon's layup cut the lead two two, but Daniel Gibson, who missed the previous two games with a sprained ankle, hit two free throws with 2.4 seconds left.

Gordon's 3-pointer at the buzzer left Detroit one point short.

The contest was a bruising affair with players from both teams hitting the floor on several occasions. Gee and Cavaliers center Semih Erden were both taken to the locker room after sustaining facial injuries in the first quarter, but both returned shortly before halftime. Erden was poked above the right eye by Jamison while the two were going for a rebound and needed four stitches to close the cut. Gee suffered a nose contusion after being hit by a forearm from the Pistons' Tayshaun Prince while he was driving to the basket.

Monore was elbowed in the nose by the Cavaliers' Omri Casspi in the third quarter. He was treated by Detroit's trainer and remained in the game.

pute over what Boston should get as compensation when Epstein left for Chicago.

The Cubs sent right-handed reliever Chris Carpenter and a player to be named later to the Red Sox for a player to be named later -- and Epstein.

"I guess my name will go down in history," Carpenter said.

After the Red Sox blew a nine-game lead in the AL East by going 7-20 in the final month of last season, Epstein started to look for a new challenge. He became Chicago's president of baseball operations and got a five-year, $18.5 million deal in October.

But completing the deal proved to be much more than

a formality as both sides grappled with comparing the skill set of an executive on the suite level with what a player brings on the diamond.

The teams were not able to agree on compensation and wound up submitting arguments to Commissioner Bud Selig.

"I think it took this long because it was a unique circumstance," said Red Sox GM Ben Cherington, who served under Epstein before succeeding him. "We talk to teams all the time about trades and it's player-forplayer and it's ... easier to assign value and figure out what's fair, what's not fair. In this case it was just tougher because it involved not just

an executive but a friend."

It had to make for awkward conversations. Would Cherington throw out a name, only to have Epstein say, 'No, I'm not worth that much'?

"It was just difficult because these things don't normally happen," Cherington said with a chuckle. "It's hard to figure out what was appropriate. In the end both teams compromised and we feel really good about the guy we're getting and we're happy it was resolved and we were able to resolve it between the teams without the commissioner getting involved."

For one deal, at least, Epstein went from talent evaluator to the actual talent being acquired.

No. 7 North Carolina beats rival NC State

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Kendall Marshall had a careerhigh 22 points and 13 assists to help No. 7 North Carolina beat North Carolina State 86-74 on Tuesday night.

Harrison Barnes added 20 points for the Tar Heels (24-4, 11-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who extended their domination of their nearby rivals. North Carolina has won 12 straight meetings and hasn't lost to the Wolfpack (18-10, 7-6) in five years.

The Tar Heels shot 51 percent, including 10 for 19 from 3-point range. And Marshall was a big reason for that success, whether he was knocking down outside shots against sagging defenders or finding teammates for baskets.

The pass-first point guard came in with just three double-digit scoring games all season, but went 7 for 8 from the field and 4 for 5 from behind the arc to provide an unexpected burst of

offense.

Marshall also hit all four of his free throws and had no turnovers in 38 minutes.

C.J. Leslie had a career-high 24 points to go with 12 rebounds for N.C. State, while Lorenzo Brown had 18 points. But the Wolfpack just couldn't keep up with the Tar Heels.

Playing in front of a rowdy home crowd, the Wolfpack fought back from an early 14-point deficit in the first half and trailed by just five at halftime. The Tar Heels quickly pushed the margin back to double figures after the break. Then, with the Wolfpack within seven, the Tar Heels ran off nine straight points to take a 71-55 lead on Barnes' jumper over C.J. Williams with 8:18 left.

Marshall followed that with another 3 for the Tar Heels' largest lead at 74-56 with 7½ minutes left — signaling yet another UNC win in the series.

The Daily Campus, Page 12

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Sports

Toss Up: Which team owns NYC: the Knicks or Rangers?

By Ryan Curto Campus Correspondent With all the excitement of “Linsanity” and the newfound success of the New York Knicks, it seems as though no team is as hot and popular in the sports world as the Knickerbockers. However, while this may be the case, it is impossible to forget about the other team that calls Madison Square Garden its home: the New York Rangers.

More than halfway through the NHL season, the Rangers are not only in control of their division, but are also dominating the entire Eastern Conference. Having one of the best years that New York hockey has seen in a while, some are already predicting the Rangers to reach and possibly win the Stanley Cup. While it is impossible to turn on Sports Center without seeing Jeremy Lin’s face, the Knicks are still a team only floating around the .500 mark. While the Knicks have only just begun to find success, the Rangers are a team who has been hot and continued to remain hot all season long, thus, making them the team with more momentum in the city of New York.

It is true that for the past few

weeks every headline in the newspaper seems to be Knicks related.

However, even in the beginning of the NBA season when the Knicks were struggling mightily, they were still in control of the headlines. The reasoning for this is simple: the NHL is not as popular in America as the NBA is. Thus, it is unfair to judge the momentum of a team in New York, or anywhere else in America for that matter, based off headlines. Momentum must also be based off of numbers, and the New York Rangers have had and maintained impressive numbers throughout the entire season.

Everybody talks about the recent success of the Knicks. In the last ten games, the Knicks are 8-2. In the last ten games, the Rangers are 7-2-1. As of right now, the Knicks and Rangers are experiencing virtually the same amount of success. So what’s the difference?

The Rangers have been successful for the entire season, not just their last ten games. The Knicks record is a weak 15-16 while the Rangers record is a healthy 38-14. Again, while the headlines may indicate that the Knicks have more momentum than the Rangers at this point in the season, the numbers may suggest otherwise. The Knicks are

below .500 and sitting in seventh place in the Eastern conference.

The Rangers are 24 games over .500 and sitting comfortably in first place in the Eastern Conference.

It is unfair to judge momentum by what is seen in the paper. In fact, some question whether or not the new success of the Knicks will last. With J.R. Smith just joining the team and Carmelo Anthony just returning to the line-up, many believe that the lack of practice time in this shortened season will make it tough for the team to gel together. However, the Rangers have been playing together all season long. Team chemistry is something that the Knicks may still need to work out while the Rangers simply do not.

Just because the newspapers put Jeremy Lin’s face on every cover does not mean that the Knicks carry the most momentum in New York. The Rangers have dominated not only in recent weeks but also all season long. The numbers speak for themselves, and as of right now, the Rangers have more impressive numbers than the Knicks do.

Ryan.Curto@UConn.edu

By David Marinstein Campus Correspondent The city of New York is on a high right now. Just a few weeks ago, the Giants won the Super Bowl, spring training for baseball is just beginning and the basketball and hockey teams in the Big Apple are experiencing much success. The New York Rangers and the New York Knicks have both been big stories in the sports world due to recent success and high postseason hopes. But which of these two teams currently has more momentum in terms of future success? Although the Rangers have one of the best records in the NHL, hockey takes a backseat to all of the other major sports in this country. Plus, the Rangers don’t have a second year Asian American sensation from Harvard leading their team.

So if you have to ask me it’s the Knicks who have much more momentum right now.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock since the beginning of the month, odds are you’ve heard the words “Jeremy Lin,” “Linsanity,” “Lincredible”….the list goes on. Jeremy Lin took the reigns of the Knicks as their start-

ing point guard after coming out of nowhere. After being a forgotten about last man off the bench, the Harvard grad shocked the world and has led the Knicks to eight wins in 10 games. His statistics speak for themselves, averaging 24.6 points and 9.4 points as a starter. It’s truly amazing what this kid has accomplished. The story is one of the most amazing in basketball history and he deserves all the credit he’s been given. He turned around the (what had been) thus far disappointing season for the New York Knicks and gave fans more hope, creating an enormous buzz around Madison Square Garden and New York City.

Aside from the Lin, there are a few other reasons why the Knicks have the advantage over the Rangers in terms of momentum.

The Knicks bench, which had been VERY weak at the start of the season, just got a hell of a lot better- giving New York one of the better benches in the league.

The emergence of Steve Novak has been a revelation. All of last year, the guy only played in 23 games…he’s already played in 21 this season. Once Jeremy Lin began starting, Novak emerged as

an absolutely deadly three-point shooter that the team could count on. The Knicks also have rookie Iman Shumpert coming off the bench now that Lin is starting.

Shumpert gives the team a great athletic option at the shooting guard position and he’s one of the best defensive players on the team. The recent acquisition of the explosive J.R. Smith and the improved health of point guard Baron Davis will also bolster the Knicks’ bench. I’d be foolish not to acknowledge the recent great play of second year guard Landry Fields and the always solid Bill Walker. Any of those players could go off for 20 points in a game on any night. Throw that in with Carmelo Anthony, Amar’e Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler and you’ve got a very solid team that will no doubt be in contention for a top 5 playoff seed.

Sure, the New York Rangers are having an amazing season.

But at the end of the day, New York is a basketball town; MSG is the Mecca of basketball. The New York Knicks have all the momentum in the world right now and should ride it for a while.

David.Marinstein@UConn.edu

Hibbert leads Pacers past Hornets Life without snow INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — run in overtime. Hibbert and Roy Hibbert had a career-high Collison combined for eight 30 points and 13 rebounds to points and West scored to take a lead the Indiana Pacers to a 117- 113-102 lead.

108 overtime win over the New The Hornets scored back-toOrleans Hornets on Tuesday back baskets and only scored night. once more.

Paul George scored George's finger roll 20 points and Darren layup tied the score Collison had 18 points at 91 with 3:09 to 117 go in regulation and and eight rebounds for Pacers the Pacers, winners of Hornets 108 started an 8-1 run for three straight. the Pacers. Hibbert's Trevor Ariza scored jumper 37 seconds 21 points to lead the Hornets, later put them ahead and Danny who have lost 10 of their last 13. Granger's layup extended the New Orleans, which snapped lead to four with 1:50 remaina three-game winning streak ing.

Monday at Oklahoma City, conJarrett Jack made a free throw cludes a stretch of three games for the Hornets before Hibbert's in three days — all on the road putback extended the advantage — Wednesday at Cleveland. to 97-92 with about 1 1/2 minThe Pacers went on a 10-0 utes remaining.

NBA

AP

Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert, left, blocks the shot of New Orleans Hornets forward Gustavo Ayon during the second half in Indianapolis.

» NFL

Quinn says he's sorry for Tebow comments DENVER (AP) — Brady Quinn is apologizing to Tim Tebow for unflattering comments Quinn made about the Denver Broncos' starting quarterback in a GQ article.

The article on Tebowmania was written by Michael Silver and titled "The year of Magical Stinking: An Oral History of Tebow Time."

In it, Quinn was quoted as saying, "We've had a lot of, I guess, luck, to put it simply." He also said he felt the fans were the reason Tebow leapfrogged him on the depth chart when supplanting Kyle Orton as the starter after a 1-4 start.

"I felt like the fans had a lot to do with that," Quinn said in the article. "Just 'cause they were chanting his name. There was a big calling for him. No, I don't have any billboards. That would have been nice."

Quinn also said in the article that

the way Tebow expresses his faith doesn't "seem very humble to me."

Both men are Christians.

Quinn took to Twitter after the article's release Tuesday, saying the comments attributed to him did not reflect his opinion of Tebow.

Tebow "deserves a lot of credit for our success and I'm happy for him and what he accomplished.

Most importantly, he is a great teammate," Quinn wrote.

Quinn said he's reached out to Tebow directly "to clear this up," adding, "I apologize to anyone who feels I was trying to take anything away from our team's or Tim's success this season."

Quinn is an unrestricted free agent whom the Broncos are considering bringing back to Denver.

He was Orton's primary backup when the season started but when Orton struggled, the Broncos' brain trust wanted to see what they

had in Tebow, a 2010 first-round draft pick who made more than $7 million last season, including a big bonus that was paid before the season.

Tebow won seven of his first eight starts and produced a series of stirring fourth-quarter comebacks that made up for his poor passing and messy mechanics.

With Tebow at quarterback, the Broncos reached the playoffs for the first time since 2005, and they won their first game, against Pittsburgh, when Tebow connected with Demaryius Thomas on an electrifying 80-yard touchdown pass on the first play of overtime.

Thomas chimed into the latest Tebow rift on Tuesday, tweeting, "I'm tired of ppl talking about my QB.. If u ask me there's no such thing as luck.. It's hard work and determination.. That's all..."

After the Broncos lost at New

England in the divisional round, football chief John Elway declared Tebow the starter heading into training camp this summer but stopped short of saying the thirdyear pro had won the job for opening day next season.

The Broncos haven't ruled out bringing back Quinn, who didn't take a single snap in his two seasons in Denver after being acquired from Cleveland in the trade for Peyton Hillis in 2010.

Besides Tebow, the only other quarterback under contract for next season is Adam Weber, who spent last season on the Broncos' practice squad.

Los Angeles this month.

Mazzone also helped him work on his fundamentals coming out of Florida, where he was a three-time All-America, a two-time national champion and a Heisman Trophy winner.

As Lin's game and image rises, so do the Knicks from HAVE, page 14 “Players playing that well don’t usually come out of nowhere.

It seems like they come out of nowhere, but if you can go back and take a look, his skill level was probably there from the beginning. It probably just went unnoticed.”

I was in attendance two years ago in Gampel when Lin tapdanced all over our 12th ranked UConn squad to the tune of 30 points and nine assists even though we ultimately came out victorious. I saw a guard that wasn’t afraid to attack the rim, share the orange with teammates or take the clutch shot. He even showed pure athleticism swatting Jerome Dyson on an otherwise easy lay-up attempt. All the signs were there. Why was he skipped over?

How does a high school California Player of the Year, who leads his team to a state title against a heavily favored Mater Dei, not get at least one Division I scholarship offer? How does a

kid who ranked top-10 in his conference in every major statistical category go undrafted?

Lin stated that he was certain ethnicity played a role in his lack of scholarship offers. Before he became the first Asian-American NBA player to ever bless an NBA hardwood, race played a role in all throughout middle school and high school. Being an AsianAmerican basketball player was – and still is – an oddity, which led to ridicule and disrespect from his peers and competitors. So the only way to silence the slander was by proving his skill. And boy, has he done that.

Even now, with his rise as an NBA sensation, the indirect racial jabs haven’t ceased and the blunders and insensitivities that have taken place from fans and analysts are harrowing. Signs of “Yellow Mamba” flooded the Garden last Friday during the Knicks/Lakers showcase. FOX News writer Jason Whitlock crassly tweeted about Lin lacking in the man-region (in which he should’ve been fired,

but later apologized) and during a game timeout, MSG panned to a spectator holding a poster with Lin’s face pasted onto a fortune cookie. However, the full monty came after a Knicks’ loss against the Hornets Friday when ESPN summed up New York’s performance with a headline that read “Chink in the Armor”.

In his usual humble manner, Lin has done everything to downplay the talk of race and instead focus on the game itself. The Knicks are 8-1 in their last nine, and are gelling nicely. But will this continue?

They’ve faced formidable individual players (Deron Williams, John Wall, etc), but Miami, Philly and Chicago are all in the coming weeks and New York will have to come correct against the league’s true ringleaders if they want to prove they’re legitimate contenders. Not all the on-the-court talk has been positive either, as Lin’s turnover problems and questions about Melo stifling the Knicks’ progression have arose repeatedly over the past few days.

No matter how things play out,

it’s been a fun ride for us Knicks fans. And an enjoyable one for all sports enthusiasts alike. As Lin has shown, resiliency pays dividends both on and off the court. It wasn’t long ago when security mistook Lin for a trainer when he’d show up to the Garden for practice. And according to a close friend of Lin, he vividly remembers when coach D’Antoni refused to acknowledge the young bull when he first arrived on the Knicks roster. Now, with the Knicks on the upswing, Lin is solely responsible for saving his coaches job.

And other teams are paying attention as well. After the Pistons watched the Knicks dismantle the Lakers last Friday, Detroit coach Lawrence Frank said it best: “I don’t care what color you are, what nationality you are, how tall you are — anything is possible.”

Now let that be your beacon of motivation.

Quenton.Narcisse@UConn.edu

By Danielle Ennis Action Sports Columnist

It’s been nearly four months since we have seen snow on the ground here at UConn.

Perhaps, in the wake of such an early and detrimental storm as we faced on Halloween, Mother Nature decided to repent for the damage by guarding us from more snow.

But I, like most kids, wish she would just stop worrying.

When I was in elementary school, my mom rotated our winter and summer clothes.

When it was wintertime, the shorts, tanks and T’s were packed away in a cardboard box somewhere inaccessible.

I’m sure it was due to lack of closet and dresser space, but I thought it was just that there would never be a need for those clothes from the months of November to March. To me, the seasons were distinct.

It was unfathomable to need a t-shirt in February. Sweaters were barely warm enough.

Without snow, the year is a melded 12 months. We don’t see the transition from the white that mystifies us to the colors that wake us.

Seeing green for the first time in months is all part of the glory of the first days of spring. The lack of permanence, the knowledge of change; it keeps us going.

Even for those most bothered by snow, there serves a purpose. Those trudging through the piles of flakes, slowed in their unpaved morning commute or tired from shoveling hold the frustration that lends its way to those who hope for the future, the thawing March, the sun on their back, sandals, sand and those that think the grass is greener on the other side.

But, we are weathered for the blizzard. We live in a location known for long winters

and accumulation. We have our hats and coats, our signature L.L bean boots, and North Face down jackets. Yet, we have found ourselves on numerous days this winter digging for our lighter attire buried beneath the sweatshirts.

The coat rack and the plows seem obsolete.

Sure, all of us can rejoice in the fact that when less salt is needed for the roads, there’s more for tequila. But I’ll take my Hotty Toddy at the base lodge. For skiers and riders, the hardest part of facing a snowless winter is the mountains. Half the terrain is closed, the icy manmade conditions are unfavorable and riding the chairlift without the unparalleled view of the white covered branches is sorely missed. We can’t forget the simple bliss that snow brings.

Life without snow means life without snowmen, snowballs and, most importantly, snow days.

Bash it all you want. Curse the winter warlock. But there isn’t a soul that isn’t met with serenity when peering out to the view of white pillows, mashed potatoes and marshmallows of nature. Snow makes us giddy and youthful.

It tells us that there’s always time for play.

And, when you see the snow falling from a seemingly infinite location way up in the sky, all the while it sticks to the gravel and concrete beneath, you are reminded to stay grounded. And when you shift your eyes upward, tongue stretched out, neck leaned back, you are reminded that things are better when you keep your head up.

Why? Because there is always something to see.

Danielle.Ennis@UConn.edu

Royals to host All-Star game from TIGERS, page 14 Hosts of the 2012 All Star game, the Kansas City Royals, were silent this offseason. Relief pitcher Jonathan Broxton and starting pitcher Jonathan Sanchez were the Royals’ prizes this 2012 offseason. Third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff and relief pitcher Roman Colon, both signed to minor league deals, round out the additions for the Royals so far.

The Royals current lineup begins with Alex Gordon in left field, Lorenzo Cain in center field, Jeff Francoeur in

right field, Mike Moustakas at third base, Alcides Escobar/ Yuniesky Betancourt at shortstop, Johnny Giavotella at second base, upcoming star Eric Hosmer at first base, Salvador Perez catching and Billy Butler as the designated hitter.

The starting rotation for Kansas City consists of offseason acquisition and former San Francisco Giant Jonathan Sanchez, Felipe Paulino, Bruce Chen, Luke Hochevar and Aaron Crow/Danny Duffy.

Joseph.Crisalli@UConn.edu

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TWO Wednesday, February 22, 2012

PAGE 2

What's Next Home game

Away game

March 3 Pittsburgh Noon

Next Paper’s Question:

“Are you going to ESPN College GameDay?”

–Joe Levy, 8th-semester sports human development and family studies major.

» That’s what he said – Pitcher Chris Carpenter on being traded to the Red Sox for Cubs’ GM Theo Epstein.

Home: Gampel Pavilion, XL Center Feb. 28 Providence 7 p.m.

The Daily Question Q : “Who’s a better point guard: Jeremy Lin or Rajon Rondo?”

A : “Rondo.”

TBD Big East Tournament

Women’s Basketball (25-3)

» MLB AP

Chris Carpenter.

» Pic of the day

Break out the beads

Home: Gampel Pavilion, XL Center

TBD Feb. 27 TBD Feb. 25 TBD Big East Big East Marquette Notre Dame Big East 9 p.m. Tournament Tournament Tournament 5 p.m.

Men’s Ice Hockey (13-17-3) March 3 March 10 March 16 Feb. 24 Feb. 25 Atlantic Hockey Atlantic Hockey Atlantic Hockey AIC AIC 7:05 p.m. 7:05 p.m. First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals

Men’s Swimming & Diving March 9 NCAA Zone Diving All Day

Women’s Swimming & Diving March 9 NCAA Zone Diving All Day

Baseball (1-2) Feb. 24 Xavier 1 p.m.

March 2 March 2 Feb. 25 Feb. 26 Charleston Rhode Island Lipscomb Mississippi St. 5 p.m.

11 a.m. 2:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m.

March 2 Wisconsin 9 a.m.

March 2 Kansas 11 a.m.

AP

New Orleans Hornets guard Jarrett Jack, right, passes around Indiana Pacers forward Tyler Hansbrough in the first half. The Hornets wore their Mardi Gras uniforms.

THE Storrs Side

Softball (1-2) March 3 Charles 11 a.m.

March 4 Kansas 1 p.m.

March 9 San Diego St. 2:30 p.m.

The Daily Campus is more than just a paper.

Twitter: @DCSportsDept @The_DailyCampus www.dailycampus.com

Twitter: @DCSportsDept

Ward tabbed Big East Pitcher of the Week after season debut

By Andrew Callahan Senior Staff Writer Five days ago, UConn baseball came away with just its second Opening Day victory in the last 10 seasons after an 8-0 shutout of Indiana. The Huskies then were tagged with a couple of losses and left the Big East/ Big Ten challenge with a 1-2 record. However, sophomore pitcher Brian Ward was able to leave with just a little bit more.

Currently slated as the no.

1 starter for the young UConn pitching staff, Ward can now add another title to his college resume– Big East Pitcher of the Week. Through seven and two-thirds innings of work, the lefty repeatedly returned Hoosier hitters to their bench last Friday, allowing just four hits and zero runs. The Milford, Conn. native also tallied five strikeouts.

UConn will sport a revamped group of hurlers this seasonafter losing the likes of Matt Barnes, Greg Nappo, Elliot Glynn and Bob Van Woert. The departed Huskies take with them over 300 innings and 27 wins, which

now will be replaced by Ward and a mix of others. Ward tossed over 60 innings of ball a year ago, including wins in the Big East and NCAA tournament.

The 6-foot-3 southpaw has hit over 80 miles an hour on the radar gun since his high school days and also features a pluscurveball. Ward possesses notable control, as he walked just four batters a year ago in his first college campaign, compared to 53 strikeouts. He was named a Louisville Slugger Preseason All-American his senior year at Foran High School en route to an eventual all-state selection.

Ward and the Huskies take to the diamond again at 1:00 p.m. on Friday down in Charleston, SC at the Cougar Invitational.

UConn will begin with Xavier and follow with contests against Rhode Island and the College of Charleston before the weekend is out. As with all Husky baseball games this season, full coverage can be heard on 91.7 FM WHUS and online at whus.org,

Andrew.J.Callahan@UConn.edu

Tweet your answers, along with your name, semester standing and major, to @DCSportsDept. The best answer will appear in the next paper.

The Daily Roundup

“I guess my name will go down in history.”

Men’s Basketball (17-10) Feb. 25 Syracuse 9 p.m.

The Daily Campus, Page 13

Sports

Chapman prepares for starting rotation

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) — Aroldis Chapman will be tested as a starter this spring by the Cincinnati Reds.

The 24-year old lefthander whose pitches have been clocked at 105 mph has a 6-3 record with a 3.27 ERA in 69 relief appearances over the last two seasons with Cincinnati.

But the small-market Reds want to see if they can maximize their uncharacteristic $30 million investment.

“We are going to stretch him out,” manager Dusty Baker said. “We are going to see if there is enough time and he can do it. If there isn’t enough time or quality, we can send him back to the bullpen.”

Chapman was supposed to pitch in the Arizona Fall League as a starter, and then in one of the Puerto Rican winter leagues. But shoulder soreness canceled the plan.

“We would have the answers by now,” Baker said, “if things went according to plan.”

Now, it’s up to the spring training results.

“I worked hard all winter to get myself mentally and physically prepared to be a starter,” Chapman said through an interpreter.

“I have been here for 2 1-2 weeks to be prepared.”

Along the way, Chapman’s shoulder received the rest it needed.

“I feel,” he said, “that I’m in good shape.”

If he is unable to prove himself as a starter, Baker and the Reds have a backup plan.

“A lot depends on how he does, but it also depends on our needs,” the manager said. “If he doesn’t make the rotation, we could send him to (Triple-A) Louisville. But I wouldn’t be opposed to having three lefthanders in our bullpen.”

Chapman had 71 strikeouts last season, and has 90 for his career.

“If they make the decision to put me in the bullpen,” he said, “I will continue to work hard to prove that I can be a starter and work all the innings they want me to.”

Chapman is the lone lefthanded candidate for the starting rotation, but that is no guarantee that it will sway his manager.

“You prefer a lefty in your rotation, but you want to go with your five best starters,” Baker said. “A good righty is better than a bad lefty.”

Still, the Reds — as well as Chapman — are hoping for a successful transformation.

“One of the reasons we want him to start,” Baker said, “is last year, we scuffled for a starter when Johnny (Cueto) and Homer (Bailey) were hurt.”

The Reds, a year after making the postseason, went a disappointing 79-83 last season, finishing in third place of the National League Central division.

THE Pro Side Durant drops 51 on Denver, Dunk Contest unimpressive

By Jimmy Onofrio Staff Writer This upcoming weekend is NBA All-Star Weekend in Orlando, FL, a chance for players to rest for a few days and show off. The festivities will begin Friday with the Celebrity All-Star Game. On Saturday, beginning at 8 p.m., players will compete in the Skills Challenge, Three-Point Contest an, the grand final, the Slam Dunk Contest. The NBA All-Star Game will take place at 7 p.m.

Sunday. Here’s the best game of the past week, and a few words about the dunk contest.

Game of the Week: Oklahoma City 124, Denver 118 (OT): Kevin Durant’s 51 points Sunday for the OKC Thunder was enough to make it a special evening. Add in point guard Russell Westbrook’s 40 points and Serge Ibaka’s tripledouble and Sunday was a historic night in Oklahoma. Yet despite the huge outburst from OKC’s biggest scorers, the Thunder needed to rally from a nine-point deficit to force an overtime period.

Denver was playing without starters Danilo Gallinari and Nene, and the loss was their eighth in the last ten games. Oklahoma City

has the West’s best record at 25-7.

Monday night, the Thunder picked up another home win against New Orleans (pushing their home record to 13-1, tied for best in the league with San Antonio).

Dunk Contest: The contestants this year are Iman Shumpert (NY), Chase Budinger (HOU), Derrick Williams (MIN) and Paul George (IND). The overwhelming reaction from NBA watchers seems to have been disappointment. No offense to the players honored with a selection, but the dunk contest seems to have become pretty irrelevant. As if to confirm that, the winner will be determined exclusively by fan voting this year. That choice almost ensures that Shumpert will win, since he will undoubtedly make use of newly-minted-superstar teammate Jeremy Lin in at least one of his shots. I doubt there will be a repeat of the Dwight HowardNate Robinson contest from 3 years ago. Even the lack of celebrity judges suggests the contest has a foot in the grave. For years I have thought of the Dunk Contest as the best event of All-Star Weekend, but if I’m not impressed with the first round this year I’ll be turning it off.

James.Onofrio@UConn.edu

» INSIDE SPORTS TODAY

P.13: Chapman prepares to be a starter. / P.12: Toss Up: Who runs New York? / P.11: Column: Lamb must step up.

Page 14

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

www.dailycampus.com

A BOUNCE BACK BLOWOUT

Look at this photograph

UConn prevents losing streak, trounces Pittsburgh

Colin McDonough So I just took my senior portraits and it really got me thinking about the saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”

Well, a picture of me isn’t worth a thousand words (or one word for that matter). And this column won’t be a thousand words. But after scrolling through the Hartford Courant’s photos from UConn’s win at Villanova last night, one picture is at least worth some thought.

Bettina Hanson of the Courant took the photo, which is No. 24 out of 28 images on the newspaper’s website. It is after Shabazz Napier missed a free throw with 29 seconds left in overtime while UConn was leading 67-66. Roscoe Smith went for the rebound against Villanova’s JayVaughn Pinkston. Neither came up with the board. Ryan Boatright slipped his hand in and knocked the ball out of bounds off of Pinkston, creating a raucous celebration by Smith, Boatright and the rest of the Huskies.

UConn hadn’t won the game.

They were celebrating a missed free throw and retaining possession. But the passion captured by ESPN and Hanson shows just how desperate the Huskies were, and still are.

Smith and Boatright are both pumping their fists.

DeAndre Daniels is about to crack a smile on the bench.

Tyler Olander is in the process of raising both arms. Enosch Wolf is assisting the referees with the call with his right arm. His left arm is holding onto Michael Bradley, who is yelling toward the officials.

Brendan Allen is standing up next to Kyle Bailey, who is clenching his fist and looking up to the scoreboard to check the time, I assume.

The caption reads, “UConn’s bench celebrates after an outof-bounds call is awarded to them during OT.” Was this the most important play of the game? No. The Wildcats would come back minutes later to tie the game, setting up the biggest shot taken, and made, by a Husky since Kemba Walker left for the NBA. Either God or Alex Oriakhi, who poured Holy Water on the team prior to the game, answered Napier’s 30-foot prayer.

UConn came back from an 18-point deficit. Down 26-8 and the NIT calling, Jeremy Lamb took over on offense and scored a career-high 32 points. Smith played a hustle-filled 40 minutes. Oriakhi rebounded a Lamb miss and sent the game into overtime on a put back lay up.

Remember two years ago when UConn lost six of nine heading into Selection Sunday and settled for the NIT? One of the only highlights of the Big East season that year was an 84-75 win at No. 3 Villanova on Feb. 15. Walker had a career high 29 points and it seemed the Huskies had turned the corner and would make the NCAA tournament.

Last night’s win needs to be worth more than UConn’s last victory in Philadelphia. They need to channel the desire they showed in Hanson’s photo.

They need to continue to play with the fire and inspiration they displayed Monday night, and keep on winning.

If they don’t, the photos on the Courant’s website and in every Connecticut newspaper of the Huskies will portray a very different set of emotions.

Colin.McDonough@UConn.edu

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Kaleena MosquedaLewis scored 23 points to lead No. 4 Connecticut to an 86-37 win over Pittsburgh on Tuesday night.

The Huskies (25-3, 12-2 Big East) rebounded from Saturday’s loss to St. John’s that ended their record 99-game winning streak at home to hold the Panthers (8-19, 0-14) to three first-half field goals.

Connecticut began the game with a 29-4 run that included 10 straight points from MosquedaLewis.

Tiffany Hayes added 13 points for UConn and Kelly Faris had a gamehigh 10 rebounds.

Brianna Kiesel led Pitt, losers of 13 straight, with 15 points while Ashlee Anderson added 10.

Opponents haven’t fared well for nearly two decades when they’ve faced Connecticut following a loss.

The Huskies haven’t lost back-to-back games since losing to Providence and Louisville in March 1993. They’ve gone 683 games without consecutive losses and are 48-0 following a loss in that time.

They’ve been exceptionally dominant following losses this season.

After losing to Baylor on Dec. 18, the Huskies beat College of Charleston 72-24. After losing to Notre Dame on Jan. 7, they beat Providence 96-35.

UConn made short work of the young Panthers.

The Huskies smothered Pitt on defense, forcing 21 turnovers and dominating the Panthers in the post.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

86 37

AP

Pittsburgh’s Brianna Kiesel, left, drives into Connecticut’s Bria Hartley during the first half in Pittsburgh.

» NBA

Have you embraced your inner Linsanity?

By Quenton Narcisse Featured Columnist

Linsanity. Lincredible. Linning – whatever you want to call it. In a mere two weeks, Jeremy Lin has become the talk of all sports.

ESPN has inexplicably become his “fanboy”, fawning at his every whim and movement, citizens of New York have developed a sudden case of amnesia regarding the Giants Super Bowl run and with the help of some ‘ol fashioned duct tape, grown men have taken the liberty of converting Carmelo jerseys into – wait for it – Lin jerseys.

Is this real life?

I knew all reality was lost when I started receiving Jeremy Lin updates to my iPhone via Sportscenter. Not Knicks updates, but Jeremy Lin updates. Nothing like getting a buzz in your pocket

about Lin scoring six points and dishing nine assists after a first half against the Raptors. But I digress.

By now, we all know the story: Jeremy Lin, a 23 year old 6’3” Harvard grad cut by both Houston and Golden State and sits as the 15th man on a depleted downtrodden roster, gets thrust into the brightest NBA spotlight and singlehandedly revives the Knicks and the city of New York with his talent, moxie and humility.

Does this story remind you of anything?

No, it doesn’t. Not Rudy, not Marvin Wood’s Hoosiers, not Tebow.

Nine days ago, the Knicks were 8-15 as they nosedived towards the crypt of the Atlantic, and stood steadily on the planking board of missing the playoffs and becoming the most underperforming NBA team in recent

memory. However, with Lin at the wheel – and Amare and Melo hopelessly watching from the sidelines – the Knicks reeled off 7 straight wins, seized the 8th place in the Eastern Conference and have instantly become the talk of the NBA. Team defense finally came to fruition, Landry Fields returned from his yearlong stint at Camp Mediocrity and the Monstars finally gave Tyson Chandler his powers back as he’s playing his best basketball of the season.

But the talk of the town is Lin. His 200 points in his first eight career starts are the 5th most since the ABA/NBA merger, and in the last nine games, he’s averaging 26 points and eight assists. After dropping 38 bones on the Lakers on February 10th, Kobe gave his take on “Linsanity”:

AP

» LIN, page 12

Jeremy Lin’s incredible story is about more than basketball. It’s a story about making dreams come true that everyone can appreciate.

Tigers land Fielder, leave rest in dust

By Joseph Crisalli MLB Columnist The Detroit Tigers made one of the bigger moves this offseason in signing star first baseman Prince Fielder to a nine year deal.

Fielder, a first round draft pick in 2002 by the Milwaukee Brewers, has hit at least 32 home runs in his past five seasons belting 50 home runs in 2007. Fielder was one of the free agent prizes this offseason and with the addition of Fielder, the Tigers made the ultimate decision to move last season’s American League batting champion Miguel Cabrera from first base over to third base. The season ending injury sustained by catcher/DH Victor Martinez may have supported the acquisition of Prince Fielder to a now star studded roster. The current starting lineup for the Tigers consists of Delmon Young in left field, Austin Jackson in center field, Don Kelly/Brennan Boesch in right field, Miguel Cabrera at third base, Jhonny Peralta at

shortstop, Ryan Raburn at second base, Prince Fielder at first base, Mike Avila at catcher and Clete Thomas at DH with Brandon Inge playing spot duty within the infield. The pitching staff for Motown begins with last season’s MVP and AL Cy Young award winner Justin Verlander who posted a 24-5 record, an earned run average (ERA) of 2.40, a WHIP (walks/hits per innings pitched) of .92, and 250 strikeouts last season. Following Verlander on the staff is Doug Fister, Max Scherzer, Rick Porcello and Jacob Turner/Andy Oliver.

The Chicago White Sox were almost nonexistent this offseason as they made little to no moves.

With the loss of skipper Ozzie Guillen, and starting pitcher Mark Buehrle to the revamped Miami Marlins, the scenery will be vastly changed this season for the White Sox. The White Sox named Robin Ventura their manager in hope of a new beginning for the franchise following the Ozzie Guillen era in Chicago.

Ventura, who made his MLB

debut with the White Sox on Sept. 12, 1989, will be making his first appearance as an MLB skipper this season. The current starting lineup for the White Sox for 2012 starts with Alejandro De Aza in left field, Alex Rios in center field, Dayan Viciedo/Kosuke Fukudome in right field, Brent Morel at third base, Alexei Ramirez at shortstop, Gordon Beckham at second base, Paul Konerko at first base, A.J. Pierzynski catching and Adam Dunn at DH. The starting rotation for the White Sox begins with John Danks followed by Gavin Floyd, Jake Peavy, Philip Humber and Chris Sale/Zach Stewart.

The Cleveland Indians, after finding out starting pitcher Fausto Carmona, aka Roberto Hernandez, has been using a false name/age while being part of Major League Baseball, found themselves busy this off season. Carmona (Hernandez) has been placed on the restricted list where he will not be allowed to play in an MLB game until his identity situation

clears up. Moving forward from Carmona (Hernandez), the Indians traded relief pitcher Zach Putnam to the Colorado Rockies for starting Pitcher Kevin Slowey and cash considerations. Cleveland also signed a ton of utility infielders/outfielders and relief pitchers this offseason. First baseman journeyman Casey Kotchman was their big addition this offseason.

Kotchman at first base rounds out a roster with Michael Brantley in left field, Grady Sizemore in center field, Shin-Soo Choo in right field, Lonnie Chisenhall/Jack Hannahan at third base, Asdrubal Cabrera at shortstop, Jason Kipnis at second base, Carlos Santana catching and aging Travis Hafner at DH. The starting rotation for the Indians has potential to post good numbers with Ubaldo Jimenez leading the way, followed by Derek Lowe, Justin Masterson, Josh Tomlin and Jeanmar Gomez/David Huff.

Coming off a dreadful and embarrassing 2011 campaign with a good enough for last place record of 63-99, the Minnesota Twins are in hope that their talented roster

can turn it around this season.

With the loss of outfielder Michael Cuddyer from free agency to the Colorado Rockies, the Minnesota Twins added outfielder Josh Willingham who hit 29 home runs and had 98 runs batted in (RBI) in 2011 for the Oakland Athletics.

The Twins also signed starting pitcher Jason Marquis, and former flamethrower relief pitcher Joel Zumaya. The current starting roster for the Twins consists of Ben Revere in left field, Denard Span in center field, Josh Willingham in right field, Danny Valencia at third base, Jamey Carroll/ Tsuyoshi Nishioka at shortstop, Luke Hughes/Alexi Casilla at second base, Justin Morneau at first base (barring injury), Joe Mauer catching (barring injury) and Rene Tosoni/Chris Parmelee at DH. The starting rotation for the Twins, which was extremely shaky last season, is fulfilled by Francisco Liriano, Carl Pavano, Brian Duensing, Scott Baker and Jason Marquis/Anthony Swarzak.

» ROYALS, page 12