Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Black Cats Beware: Kitty Lovers Think You're Aloof

Black cats may bring bad luck, but to themselves rather than to people. A new study suggests that sable-colored felines are stereotyped as more aloof than their orange peers, a prejudice that may help explain why black cats take longer to be adopted than other colored kitties.

The findings, published in the Dec. 4 issue of the journal Anthrozoos, suggest that prejudice against black cats goes beyond superstition.

'Previous research supports the existence of 'black cat' syndrome, where black and brown cats are less likely to be adopted than cats of other colors,' Mikel Delgado, a researcher at University of California at Berkeley, said in a statement. 'We were interested in whether people's perceptions of the interaction between personality and coat color might play a part.'

Black cats often languish in shelters, and a 2002 study found that sable-colored kitties are more likely to be euthanized than other cats. Researchers suspected that potential adopters were reacting to the superstition that black cats are bad luck. Since medieval times, cats have been unfairly tarred as familiars, or supernatural creatures who help witches. [13 Halloween Superstitions & Traditions Explained]

But the prejudice against cats with certain coat colors may go beyond superstition. To see how, Delgado found cat lovers on Craigslist and asked them to rate black, multicolored (such as tabby), and orange cats on personality measures such as friendliness, laziness and stubbornness.

All the cat aficionados said personality was the most important factor in choosing a cat. However, kitties of different colors were ascribed different personality traits.

Black cats were seen as more antisocial than other types of cats, along with their white and three-tone brethren. Overall, orange cats were perceived as the friendliest.

Black cats in general had less extreme ratings on most of the measures, perhaps because people viewed these dark kitties as enigmas.

The findings suggest that shelter volunteers may have an uphill battle when convincing people to adopt black cats.

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Monday, October 29, 2012

Baseball: Kung Fu Panda rewarded for beating up Tigers

DETROIT (Reuters) - Big-hitting San Francisco Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval, affectionately known as Kung Fu Panda, was named World Series MVP on Sunday, completing a stunning turnaround to a career that appeared to have stalled.

Facing persistent weight problems and a benching just two years ago, Sandoval hit .500 in the Giants' sensational four-game blowout of the Detroit Tigers in the World Series.

The burly, 26-year-old Venezuelan with an infectious smile said he changed his conduct to become a better player.

'You learn from the things that happen in your career,' he told reporters. 'You get up and down. You never give up. All the things that happened in my career, thank God it happened early rather than late in my career.

'I'm just blessed to be here and part of the 2012 World Series.'

The Giants edged the Tigers 4-3 in 10 innings on Sunday night at chilly Comerica Park to wrap up the championship, a dominating series few people had predicted.

Sandoval set the tone for the Giants' triumph by hitting three home runs in the series opener, joining some illustrious company in the record books. Only Babe Ruth, Albert Pujols and Reggie Jackson have gone deep three times in the Fall Classic.

Two of Sandoval's home runs were against reigning Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander, arguably the best pitcher in the game. After the game, he received 300 text messages and a tweet from President Hugo Chavez back home in Venezuela.

HAVE FUN

'I still can't believe that game,' said the two-time All-Star. 'It's the game of your dreams. You don't want to wake up.'

The Giants won three do-or-die games against Cincinnati in the National League Division Series to advance to the N.L. Championship Series against St. Louis.

Against the Cardinals they overcame a 3-1 deficit with three straight wins to reach the World Series. They were seen by many as the underdogs in the Fall Classic after the Tigers blitzed the New York Yankees in four straight in the ALCS.

Although Sandoval said he was honored to win the award, baseball is a team game.

'I say thank you to my team to give me the opportunity to be here,' he said. 'They fight 162 games, fight in the two last series. Winning six elimination games is tough.

'But I'm happy. I'm happy. I learned. I learned from my mistakes. But when you learn, you see all the results, you look more mature and you put all the pieces together.'

Sandoval, who also played brilliantly at third base in the World Series, said his namesake, the stocky animated character Kung Fu Panda, is a perfect fit.

'It's me. It's me,' he said. 'The character is me, have fun, like a little kid, fight for everything, never lose faith.'

(Editing by John O'Brien/Patrick Johnston)



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Sunday, October 28, 2012

Baseball: Leyland stays humble after Giants tame toothless Tigers

DETROIT (Reuters) - Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland offered no excuses for his club's meek four-game surrender to the San Francisco Giants in the World Series.

'We got beat,' he told reporters after the Giants completed the series sweep by beating the Tigers 4-3 in 10 innings at Comerica Park on Sunday.

'You can't sit up here and try to find some reason or excuse. They beat us. They earned it. We didn't hit enough. Obviously we had five hits again tonight,' he added.

'So you just turn the page and move on. Congratulations to the Giants. They did a fantastic job.'

Sunday's victory capped a stunning Fall Classic blowout, in which the Tigers were outscored 16-6 over the four contests and, at one point, were held scoreless for 20 straight innings.

After sweeping the New York Yankees in four straight games in the American League Championship Series, few expected Detroit's potent bats to fall silent so quickly in the pursuit of a first World Series victory since 1984.

Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera had three hits and slugger Prince Fielder just one in the series as Detroit was shut out in two of the four games.

Leyland, who won the World Series in 1997 as manager of the then-Florida Marlins, took solace in the fact his team were champions of the American League.

'If somebody told me in spring training that we would be in the World Series, I would have had to say I'll take that,' he said.

The Tigers, who won the Central Division with an 88-74 record, beat the Oakland Athletics 3-2 in the five-game AL Division Series before breezing past the Yankees.

The 67-year-old Leyland admitted his club had been 'a little inconsistent all year'.

'We played pretty good when we had to get the division, and we obviously played pretty good through the first two rounds of the playoffs,' he said.

'We got to the World Series and we just sputtered offensively.'

Leyland said that although he was dejected at the loss, the feeling would not linger, adding that he really wanted to record a World Series win for 83-year-old Tigers owner Mike Ilitch.

'I'm disappointed,' he said. 'We're going to say our goodbyes tonight. I'm disappointed for Mr Ilitch. We wanted this bad for him.

'But when you've been in the game a long time, somebody wins and somebody loses. I'm going to go home and I'll hear some talk about it. 'You guys were not very good in the World Series,' and all this and that, but I'm pretty much able to turn the page.'

(Editing by John O'Brien)



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Tigers' Verlander not throwing in the towel

DETROIT (Reuters) - The odds are stacked against them but Justin Verlander believes the Detroit Tigers have the talent, temperament and personality to become the first team to overcome a 3-0 deficit and win the World Series.

'Obviously it's not another day at the office, but it's not desperation, either,' Verlander said before Sunday night's game against the San Francisco Giants.

'Not going to be easy, but we definitely have the team to do it. Our pitching could line up well, and just play the game we've played all year and see what happens.'

The Tigers are clearly on the ropes but if they could win on Sunday to trim the Giants' lead to 3-1, Verlander, arguably the game's best pitcher, would start in Monday's Game Five.

Verlander said the Giants were 'built on good pitching and defense and scoring opportune runs.'

'That recipe has led to postseason success for them thus far,' he said. 'Obviously it's going to be tough to beat a team like that four in a row, but if anybody is capable of it, we are.'

Tigers manager Jim Leyland bristled at suggestions that he switch the line-up around even though his club has been shut out the last two games of the series.

Detroit's two big guns, Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder, were a combined three for 19 with one RBI in the World Series.

'Everybody talks about lineup,' he said. 'That's a real big topic around Detroit most of the time.

'Our lineup it what it is, and we're playing in a World Series. I'm not afraid to make adjustments, but down three games to none, it's a little late for changing a lineup.

'We're here, and that's pretty good, the fact that we're here, and now we've got to try to figure out a way to win a game.'

Detroit's Max Scherzer, 1-0 with a stellar 0.82 ERA in the playoffs, was facing Giants' Matt Cain (2-2, 3.52 in the postseason) in Sunday night's match-up of right-handers.

Should the Tigers survive and play on Monday, it would be a repeat of the opening game pitching match-up between Verlander and Giants southpaw Barry Zito. San Francisco rocked Verlander and won 8-3 as Zito pitched 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball.

All 23 teams who have led the World Series 3-0 have gone on to win. Twenty won the series in four straight, while the other three needed five games to win the title.

The Tigers beat the New York Yankees in four straight in the American League Championship Series and Verlander, the 2011 Cy Young Award winner, is hoping history can repeat itself.

'Hey, we won four in a row against the Yankees,' he said. 'Who's to say we can't do it against these guys?'

(Editing by Julian Linden)



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Lions get win over Seahawks to set stage for Tigers

DETROIT (Reuters) - Matthew Stafford tossed his third touchdown of the game with 20 seconds to play to lift the Detroit Lions to a 28-24 win over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday and get the party started on a big sporting day in the Motor City.

With the Detroit Tigers preparing to take on the San Francisco Giants in a do-or-die Game Four of the World Series, the Lions came out looking to give their neighbors a boost and help their own playoff chances, improving their record to 3-4.

'Let's get win at Ford Field and carry that momentum over to Comerica tonight,' Lions coach Jim Schwartz said on his Twitter account before the game. 'No city in American fights harder to claw back when they are down than Detroit. Go @tigers.'

The Seahawks had looked ready to spoil the Motown mood when Russell Wilson hit Zach Miller with a 16-yard touchdown strike with just over five minutes remaining in the final quarter.

But Stafford answered with a masterful 87-yard scoring drive capped off by a one-yard bullet to Titus Young.

Stafford completed 34-of-49 pass attempts for 352 yards, including a pair of touchdowns to Young and another to Ryan Broyles. The Detroit quarterback also ran for a score.

(Editing by Julian Linden)



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Saturday, October 27, 2012

Baseball: Tigers turn to clichés as World Series sweep looms

DETROIT (Reuters) - Shutout for the second straight game by the San Francisco Giants and on the brink of being swept from the World Series, the defiant Detroit Tigers rolled out every cliché in the sporting book of comebacks on Saturday.

From every corner of the Tigers locker room, stunned players searched for words to explain how they had stumbled into a 3-0 hole in the best-of-seven series and when they could not offer up an explanation fell back on the time-worn classics, including 'it's never over, until it's over.'

Unless the toothless Tigers can rediscover some bite in the next 24 hours, the World Series could over as soon as Sunday with Game Four at a Comerica Park.

Detroit's bats have gone colder than the chilly Michigan weather.

Beaten 2-0 on just two hits in San Francisco on Thursday, the return home did little to inspire the Tigers as they were beaten again by the same score on Sunday, stretching their scoreless run to 18 straight innings.

Shutout just twice during the 162-game regular season, Detroit became the first team since 1966 Los Angeles Dodgers to be blanked in back-to-back World Series games.

'We've had our backs against the wall before,' said closer Phil Cock, glaring at reporters. 'We haven't done anything easy all year so might as well do it the hard way.

'There ain't no quit in any of us. No one is going to stop fighting. That right there is a huge key and we have that.'

The biggest problem for the Tigers has been a lack of production from their biggest bats.

Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera, the first player in 45-years to lead the American League in home runs, RBI and batting average and Prince Fielder, Detroit's prized off-season signing, combined for 74 homers during the regular season.

But the two sluggers are a combined 3-for-19 in the World Series while Detroit has managed a single run off Giants starters.

'I don't make excuses,' said Fielder. 'If I knew (what was wrong) we wouldn't be doing it. We're just not getting it done. It's still baseball you have to come out and play hard.

'That's all you can really do, we don't get to write the script.'

No team has ever clawed their way back from a 3-0 deficit to win a World Series.

In fact, only once has a team rallied from 3-0 down to win a best-of-seven playoff series, the Boston Red Sox coming back to shock the New York Yankees in the 2004 American League Championship Series.

'We've won four games in a row before but we're just going to take it one game at a time and come out tomorrow and be ready to play,' said Tigers right fielder Andy Dirks. 'Sometimes all it takes is one little bounce here or there.

'Tomorrow if we win, that's the momentum going our way that's what we're looking to do and take it one game at a time and see where it ends up.

'All it takes is one at bat to get everybody rolling again. One big inning here, one big something there and the momentum switches and that is what this game is, a game of momentum.'

(Editing by Alastair Himmer)



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UPDATE 1-Baseball-Giants silence Tigers bats, take 3-0 World Series lead

(Adds details)

DETROIT, Oct 27 (Reuters) - The San Francisco Giants rode another virtuoso pitching performance to blank the Detroit Tigers 2-0 on Saturday and move with one victory of their second World Series title in three years.

San Francisco, having held the Tigers scoreless for 18 straight innings, took a 3-0 lead and can claim the championship with a victory at Detroit's Comerica Park on Sunday.

Giants starter Ryan Vogelsong allowed the Tigers just five singles over 5 2/3 innings before giving way to two-time Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum and closer Sergio Romo, who failed to give up a hit.

The Giants scored both of their runs in the second inning, sapping the enthusiasm from a sellout crowd of 42,262 desperate to see the Tigers make a move in their bid to capture their first championship since 1984.

Hunter Pence opened the second with a walk, stole second, and moved to third on a wild pitch. He came home with the game's first run one out later when Gregor Blanco crushed an Anibal Sanchez offering off the wall in right center for a triple.

After Brandon Belt struck out, Blanco trotted home when Brandon Crawford singled to shallow center. Austin Jackson was charged with an error for letting the ball scoot by him, which allowed the speedy Crawford to take second.

Vogelsong, who has been magnificent in the postseason, was aided by two inning-ending double plays in the first three innings.

In the fifth, the Tigers had the bases loaded with one out but Quintin Berry struck out and Miguel Cabrera popped out to short.

Cabrera this year achieved the first Triple Crown in the majors since 1967 but the 29-year-old seven-time All-Star has just two hits and one RBI in the first three games of the series.

In the postseason, Vogelsong is 3-0 and has given up just three runs in 24 2/3 innings.

Sanchez took the loss for the Tigers despite pitching well, giving up six hits and two runs while striking out eight. (Editing by Nick Mulvenney)



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Tigers' Scherzer ready to go whatever the situation

DETROIT (Reuters) - Detroit Tigers right-hander Max Scherzer does not know if he will face a do-or-die situation when he steps onto the mound to take on the San Francisco Giants in Game Four of the World Series on Sunday.

A loss in Game Three on Saturday and the Tigers could find themselves trying to claw out of 3-0 hole or with a win, Scherzer could climb onto the hill at Comerica Park trying to even the best-of-seven series at 2-2.

Either way, the hard-throwing right-hander will approach the game the same way as he pitches against the Giants' Matt Cain.

'This is the start of a lifetime to be able to pitch in the World Series,' Scherzer told reporters. 'Every game you pitch in the World Series is a must-win game, so what better opportunity than the one I have.

'I've got to give the team a chance to win tomorrow, so regardless of what the series is at, it's a must win game.

'We're trying to win the World Series. So if we're going to do that, I am going to need to pitch well.'

As the Game Four starter, Scherzer is guaranteed only one appearance in the Fall Classic and plans to make the most of his opportunity.

While Scherzer had a no decision in a Game Four loss to the Oakland Athletics in the American League Division Series he sparkled in Game Four of the ALCS as the Tigers swept the New York Yankees to earn a World Series appearance.

In two postseason starts, the 28-year-old fireballer has a 1-0 record, allowing just one earned run with 18 strikeouts in 11 innings of work.

Scherzer, 16-7 during the regular season, has been Detroit's hottest pitcher down the stretch but will have to deal with cold conditions as the Fall Classic shifts from San Francisco to a chilly Motor City that could see snow on Monday if the Tigers can extend the Series to a Game Five.

'No one likes cold weather, but it is what it is, and we have a chance to play in the World Series, so who cares,' said Scherzer. 'I haven't worn sleeves the whole year fortunately, but that's going to change.

'I'm going back to all the tricks I did in college, numerous 40-degree games there. It'll be just a challenge just like what everybody has to do to battle this cold weather.'

(Editing by Gene Cherry)



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Romania rescues two brown bears from decrepit zoo

ZARNESTI, Romania (Reuters) - Two brown bears in Romania have been rescued from a zoo where conditions did not meet European Union animal safety standards and have been transferred to a sanctuary where they were released on Saturday, wildlife experts said.

The two male bears were removed from the decrepit Onesti zoo in eastern Romania and driven to Zarnesti, 150 kilometres (93 miles) away, which houses the country's first bear sanctuary in a forest.

'These bears used to live in small concrete enclosures ... They will be released soon in this beautiful forest area (after quarantine). That's a huge difference,' said Victor Watkins, a wildlife advisor at the World Society for the Protection of Animals.

Sixty seven bears are now housed in the sanctuary. Many of them were rescued from ramshackle zoos or from cages at roadside inns and restaurants where they were used to entertain guests.

Up to 7,000 bears live in Romania's largely unspoilt mountains. Several people, including foreign tourists, have been killed or injured by bears in recent years and experts have warned that their habitat is under threat from construction.

A poacher was killed as recently as last month after a bear attacked him after escaping from his trap.

The law limits the number of bears that can be killed by hunters to under 350 a year. Officials say some hunting is necessary to control their numbers.

(Reporting by Sinisa Dragin; Writing by Luiza Ilie; Editing by Andrew Osborn)



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Baseball: Tigers crave home cookin' to turn World Series around

DETROIT (Reuters) - After losing the first two games of the World Series in San Francisco, the Detroit Tigers are delighted to be hosting Game Three at Comerica Park on Saturday.

The Tigers are undefeated in four post-season games at Comerica in 2012 and their 50 home wins in the regular season earned them a tie for the second-best record in the majors.

'It's a lot of fun playing here,' Tigers catcher Alex Avila told reporters before the team's workout on Friday. 'When we're going well, when we have those big innings and the crowd gets into it and stuff like that, it's a great feeling.

'It's all about comfort, really, and guys when they're comfortable normally tend to play better.'

Anything other than a victory on Saturday would be considered a disaster as the Tigers cannot afford to fall 3-0 behind in the best-of-seven series.

San Francisco shut down the Tigers' potent bats during the first two games and now find themselves two wins away from their second title in three years.

Anibal Sanchez, 1-1 with a 1.35 earned run average in the postseason, gets the call for the Tigers, while the Giants will send their hottest pitcher, Ryan Vogelsong, to the mound.

Sanchez, 28, opened the year with the Miami Marlins but was shipped to the Tigers in a July trade. He pitches well against the Giants but if Detroit do not start hitting, it might not matter.

In San Francisco, the Tigers had just 10 hits in two games.

'The key is we're going to have to get some runs on the board, obviously,' Detroit manager Jim Leyland said.

'But Sanchez will be fine. Once he got acclimated here with his new team mates, new manager, new pitching coach, the Detroit scene, he's done very, very well.'

Giants manager Bruce Bochy said Sanchez had 'a good fastball and secondary pitches'.

'He'll throw any pitch at any time,' Bochy added. 'He throws quality strikes, and we've had our tough times against him. He's a really good pitcher.

'We know we have our work cut out when we're facing him because he's been hard on us.'

The 35-year-old Vogelsong played well down the stretch but has turned it up in the postseason, going 2-0 with a 1.42 ERA.

Despite the critical game, Leyland said he would not deliver a pre-game speech to motivate his players.

'I don't have a lot of psychological stuff,' he said. 'I've never been one of those guys. This is simple to me, we're going to work, bring your lunch bucket, go to work, give them a good day's work for a good day's pay and go home.'

(Editing by John O'Brien)



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Friday, October 26, 2012

Tigers face Giants' Vogelsong in critical Series game

DETROIT (Reuters) - Detroit's perceived advantage in pitching evaporated during the first two games of the World Series and now the Tigers find themselves facing the San Francisco Giants' hottest starter in Game Three on Saturday.

The Tigers entered the Fall Classic well-rested and were able to throw their best pitchers at the Giants early in the series and allow for a second start if the series goes long.

However, the Giants pounced on Tigers ace Justin Verlander in the opener and outlasted Doug Fister in Game Two and can take a nearly invincible 3-0 series lead with a win on Saturday.

Tigers manager Jim Leyland was philosophical about his team's chances to stop the bleeding.

'Well, I like to simplify things,' he said. 'I can simplify this one pretty easy. The way I look at it, we're two games back with five to play. But we're playing the team we need to catch.

'I think that's the best way to approach it.'

The Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games in the National League Championship Series and had only one day of rest before the World Series began in San Francisco. Detroit, meanwhile, swept the New York Yankees in four straight in the ALCS and had a week to rest up.

The pitching rotation did not exactly work out for the Tigers, and it could get worse because in Game Three they will face Ryan Vogelsong, who is 2-0 with a 1.42 ERA in three postseason starts.

With the series having shifted to Detroit for Game Three, Vogelsong, 35, did not think the frigid weather forecast for Comerica Park on Saturday would be much of an issue.

'The cold weather, obviously it's something we're going to have to deal with,' he said. 'But it's the World Series. You can't be worried about how cold it is.

'I threw a game in Chicago last year where it was 34 degrees (one degree Centigrade) and it was raining and sleeting, and I threw the ball pretty well that night.

'If I am thinking about how cold it is, it means I'm not thinking about what I'm doing on the mound.'

SILENT BATS

The potent Detroit offense has just 10 hits during the opening two games of the series and Tigers catcher Alex Avila noted that the Giants' pitchers 'haven't made many mistakes.'

'Hitters hit mistakes, that's the bottom line,' he said. 'When you have opportunities with the guys on base, you've got to be able to take advantage of them. To this point in two games we haven't. That's really it. There's nothing more to it.

'There's no magical scheme that you can just flick a switch or change something, and all of a sudden you score nine runs.'

Detroit will start right-hander Anibal Sanchez, who was 9-13 with a 3.86 earned run average this season having split his time between the Miami Marlins and Tigers, but in the playoffs is 1-1 with a 1.35 ERA.

'We need to forget what happened in San Francisco,' he said. 'I know we've got the talent. That's why we're here. We've got a pretty good team, so we're going to fight it to the end.

'We've got a long way to go, so we've got to keep working.'

(Editing by Larry Fine)



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Tigers happy to be back home in chilly Detroit

DETROIT (Reuters) - The Detroit Tigers arrived back on their home turf Friday to overcast skies, chilly temperatures and a lot of griping by the locals about the winter-like weather.

Detroit manager Jim Leyland, however, could not be happier with the conditions.

After losing the first two games of the World Series to the San Francisco Giants under sunny skies at AT&T Park, the Tigers hope a change in scenery will amount to a reversal of fortune.

'This is the World Series,' said Leyland. 'It's cold for everybody. It's cold for the fans, the beer is cold, everything is cold. It's great, enjoy it.'

The Tigers dropped the opening two games of the series 8-3 and 2-0, playing nothing like the brash team that swept the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series.

Game Three of the best-of-seven series is Saturday at Comerica Park. The next two games, if necessary, will also be in Detroit.

San Francisco entered the World Series having survived six win-or-go-home games against the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals.

OUT-PERFORMING THE TIGERS

For a team many believed fortunate just to be playing in the Fall Classic, they are out-performing the Tigers in all phases of the game.

'We're down two games, but that's in the past,' said Tigers right-hander Anibal Sanchez, the Game Three starter. 'At this moment every day we start over. Tomorrow we need to start over.

'We need to forget what happened in San Francisco. I know we've got the talent. That's why we're here. We've got a pretty good team, so we're going to fight it to the end.'

The Giants have held 2-0 advantages in the World Series four times in the franchise's existence and each time they have gone on to win the championship.

Detroit's offense was ineffective in the first two games, scoring just one run until the ninth inning of the series-opening rout, and then managing only two hits in Game Two.

'Well, right now their pitchers haven't made many mistakes,' said Tigers catcher Alex Avila. 'Hitters hit mistakes, that's the bottom line. When you have opportunities with the guys on base, you've got to be able to take advantage of them.

'To this point in two games we haven't. That's really it. There's nothing more to it.'

If the Tigers' offense is going to break out on Saturday, they will have to do it against the Giants' hottest pitcher, Ryan Vogelsong.

Leyland told reporters the Giants had better get used to Detroit's raw temperatures.

'We have got heaters in the dugout for both teams,' he said. 'Ours is going to be a little warmer than theirs tomorrow night, but that's all right, we're not going to tell them that.

'I'm just kidding,' he added.

(Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes)



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Are Pets or Kids Easier to Travel With?

Nine-year-old B. is well-behaved for her age; she never whines, is always upbeat and loves meeting new people. She's a perfect traveler, except the fact that she's never flown. Too darned fat.

No, this isn't a column about obesity. On the contrary, B. weighs in at a sleek 35 lbs. but because she's a dog (B. is short for 'Beauty.') She's too big for the cabin. Her owners won't allow her to fly in cargo either, so she stays at home. Which suits the Beagle-mix just fine and probably thrills her potential seatmates.

Traveling with pets isn't for everyone or every pet - but traveling with children has its pitfalls, too. Both require navigating various hazards and a minefield of fees. The question is, which are easier to travel with - and cheaper? Let's find out.

For more travel news and insights view Rick's blog at farecompare.com

What are the age requirement for pets and children?

Airline websites don't say much about age requirements for human babies traveling with families although US Airways says it can refuse infants who are 'less than one day old,' though anyone who'd fly with an hours-old baby is probably just plain nuts.

As for dogs (or cats for that matter; I'm not biased) most airlines say they're good to go at eight weeks. And that's when traveling alone in cargo, too. It's different for kids. Most airlines don't allow little humans to fly on their own until the age 5 and only then if their parents/guardians arrange for an airline escort (mandatory until age 12, usually). But airline escorts aren't free and they aren't cheap.

American, Delta, United and US Airways all charge a $100 each-way 'unaccompanied minor' fee, so prepare to pay this $200 round-trip fee in addition to the cost of your child's ticket. Some of the cheaper unaccompanied minor fees are on the discount carriers like Southwest which charges a mere 50 bucks each-way, but prices have a way of rising; until recently, JetBlue's fee was just $85 but has since increased to $100.

Advantage goes to solo traveling pets.

What's the difference in airfare for pets and children?

One big difference is there are never any 'deals' for animals. The pet fee is a two tiered: one price for cabin, one price for cargo. Some general price guidelines for U.S. flights only:

Cabin travel: This is only available to pets small enough to fit under the seat in front of you - while in a kennel - and the animal must be able to stand up and turn around in the kennel (we're talking about creatures that are no more than 15-20 lbs.). Not all airlines allow cabin travel but those that do have a wide range of prices: Frontier charges $50 each way for in-cabin travel, US Airways dings you for $100, while American and Delta hit you up for $125.

Cargo travel: Big pets can mean big price tags: American's fee is $175 each-way but if you have a 100+ pound animal, United's PetSafe program charges over $800 round-trip so unless you're in first class, Sparky's ticket will cost a lot more than yours.

As for children traveling within the U.S., there are no 'kiddie discounts'; they are treated like adults when it comes to base ticket prices, with one exception: children under the age of 2 can sit on a parent or guardian's lap for free (but be prepared to prove your tyke's age). If you want to buy an under-two year old his or her own seat (which the FAA recommends as a safety measure), you will pay the same as the grown-up seats. However humans do have one edge over pets because people can take advantage of airfare sales and specials. There are no such deals for Fido.

Advantage, children.

Are pets and children ever banned from flying?

Absolutely. US Airways doesn't accept animals in cargo while Virgin America's cabin pets can't travel in first class. Delta bans pets in cabins and cargo but only on its 767s. Hawaiian allows pets in cabins but not on flights from the U.S. to Hawaii (with the exception of service animals). To top it off, several airlines restrict short-snouted breeds in cargo during extreme weather but United refuses to transport adult English bulldogs 'older than six months and/or weighing more than 20 pounds at any time of year,' according to its web site.

For children, it's a little easier: All U.S. airlines accept kids but should you happen to find yourself in first class on Malaysia Airlines, look for your child in coach. That's right, no little ones are allowed in that carrier's elite seats and reaction seems about evenly divided between anger and ecstasy.

Advantage? I'd call this a draw.

Animals and kids are known to be excitable and on rare occasions, pets run away and sometimes get lost. Fortunately, when toddlers go charging down the aisle, they are invariably recaptured.

As for the owners of Beauty-the-mutt, none of this matters since they'd never get her to an airport in the first place. 'She can't stand car rides,' they said.

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Thursday, October 25, 2012

Baseball: Tigers hope storybook finish is their happy ending

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander embraced the challenge of returning home 2-0 down to the San Francisco Giants in the World Series and envisioned a storybook finish for the American League champions.

'It's lined up to be storybook, we just got to make it happen,' said Verlander, whose sub-par start in an 8-3 loss in the World Series opener got the Tigers off on the wrong foot.

'Those guys have been storybook this far. It would be nice to reverse the roles,' the hard-throwing Verlander told reporters in the back room of the clubhouse after Thursday's 2-0 loss in Game Two.

Detroit swept the Yankees in four games in the AL Championship Series and had to wait for the Giants to come back from 3-1 down to advance against the St. Louis Cardinals.

That followed another backs-to-the-wall predicament against the Cincinnati Reds in the Division Series, in which the Giants dropped the first two and had to win the last three on the road.

Those fightbacks painted the Giants as the comeback kings with six do-or-die victories in two rounds of the postseason.

Now it is the Tigers who must roar back if they intend to capture their first World Series crown in 28 years.

'They are up 2-0. They don't know what to do with that,' Verlander joked about the Giants suddenly being the frontrunners. 'They're playing great baseball, everything is going their way. Hopefully things turn.'

Verlander, the 2011 Cy Young and MVP of the American League who had been 7-0 in his last seven starts, said he believed Detroit had suffered from their layoff.

'We played for eight months now, counting spring training, and you don't have more than one day off besides the All-Star break and all of a sudden you get five or six,' he said.

'We just lost. We've got to go back home and win three there and win one here.'

Detroit slugger Miguel Cabrera, who became the first player to win the Triple Crown in 45 years by leading the league in home runs (44), runs batted in (139) and batting average (.330) said the Tigers' attack had been sluggish.

'Our game is like slow a little bit,' Cabrera said after San Francisco pitching held them to just two hits on Thursday. 'We have to pick it up a little bit, be more aggressive. Get more confidence trying to win the first one.'

Cabrera also felt the layoff had affected the Tigers.

'Before we don't want to say a negative thing that it was going to affect us,' he said. 'But I think it affected us a little bit, slowed us up a little bit. But I think we're ready to step up and play better.

'It's baseball. It's not time to put your head down. I think we're going to try and go out and be more aggressive at home. I hope we go to Detroit and play our game over there, in our ballpark, in front of our fans and hopefully do well and win.

'I think we're going to be ready to play and make something happen.'

The next three games of the best-of-seven Fall Classic will be in Detroit, if needed, with Game Three set for Saturday.

(Reporting by Larry Fine, Editing by Nick Mulvenney)



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UPDATE 1-Baseball-Giants blank Tigers to extend series lead

* Giants to take 2-0 series lead to Detroit

* Pence involved in both San Francisco runs (adds details)

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 25 (Reuters) - The San Francisco Giants moved a step closer to claiming a second title in three years by blanking the punchless Detroit Tigers 2-0 on Thursday to extend their World Series lead.

Detroit was held to two hits by Giants starter Madison Bumgarner and relievers Santiago Casilla and Sergio Romo, failing to reach second base after the second inning as the Giants opened a 2-0 advantage in the best-of-seven series.

Hunter Pence was involved in both Giants runs, racing home from third on a double-play in the seventh inning and then lofting a sacrifice fly in the eighth to score Angel Pagan.

The series now shifts to Detroit for the next three games, if necessary, where the Tigers will be desperate to open their account in front of a packed home crowd.

Bumgarner, who was yanked from the starting rotation after a poor performance in Game One of the National League Championship Series, gave up only two hits over seven innings to earn the victory.

The Giants, who banged out 11 hits in an 8-3 victory in the series opener on Wednesday, managed only five hits against four Tigers pitchers but were able to take full advantage of their few chances.

Detroit's Doug Fister continued his brilliant postseason pitching, but was forced to absorb the loss after giving up four hits and one run over six innings.

He surrendered that run in the seventh but pitched to only one batter when Pence had a lead-off single and Tigers manager Leyland exchanged Fister for southpaw Drew Smyly, who walked Brandon Belt.

Gregor Blanco followed with a bunt that hugged the line to load the bases. Crawford, the third left-handed hitter in a row, then hit into a double-play but Pence scored from third.

An inning later, three walks loaded the bases, allowing Pence to hit his run-scoring sacrifice fly to right.

The Tigers lone offensive threat came in the second when Delmon Young doubled into the left-field corner but a tardy Prince Fielder, trying to score from first, was nailed at the plate on a relay throw to catcher Buster Posey by second baseman Marco Scutaro. (Editing by John O'Brien)



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Tigers' closer Valverde getting hammered in playoffs

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The Detroit Tigers, taking on the San Francisco Giants in pursuit of their first World Series crown since 1984, may have to achieve their mission without help from struggling closer Jose Valverde.

Valverde saved 35 games in the regular season but during the playoffs has imploded, getting hammered in the American League Division Series against Oakland, the league championship series against New York and in Wednesday's opener of the World Series.

'It happens for a lot of players,' Tigers shortstop Jhonny Peralta said before Thursday's night's Game Two of the Fall Classic at AT&T Park. 'Right now, it's not a good moment for him.

'But we try to support him, we try to talk to him and let him know to forget about what happened yesterday or the day before and try to go for the next game.'

In the Giants' 8-3 triumph in Wednesday's World Series opener, Valverde surrendered two runs on four straight hits before getting yanked by manager Jim Leyland, who called on him in the seventh inning.

The lone out Valverde managed was against the opposing pitcher, striking out Tim Lincecum on a 3-2 pitch.

'I certainly don't think he was bad last night,' Leyland said. 'He wasn't real good. The biggest thing with Valverde is the same thing that's bitten him all year where he's been too much in the middle of the plate.'

Leyland said Valverde has the heat on his fastball, it's just that the location is off.

'People have all kind of answers as to what's been wrong,' he said. 'But from what I see, he was 92, 93 (mph) last night with a couple 94s, so I think it's just a matter of locating his fastball and keeping it out of the middle of the plate.'

Prior to Wednesday's game, the 34-year-old Dominican had not pitched since the opening game of the ALCS when the Yankees tagged him for a pair of two-run homers in the ninth inning of a game they led 4-0.

Detroit survived Valverde's ninth-inning disaster with two runs in the 12th in a 6-4 triumph.

In his previous playoff appearance, Valverde came on in the ninth-inning of an AL Division Series-clinching situation with a two-run lead and six batters later Oakland claimed a 4-3 win.

Left-handed reliever Phil Coke closed the most recent Detroit wins, but Leyland may be forced to use a closer by committee approach.

Ten-year veteran Valverde has 277 career saves but during the 2012 playoffs is 0-1 with a 30.38 earned run average.

Leyland had wanted Valverde to get his confidence back in Wednesday's game even though it was not a save opportunity. The Tigers were already down 6-1 when Valverde took the hill.

'I thought it was a good opportunity to get him back out there, get him back on the mound, get a little bit of a feel for it,' he said.

(Editing by Larry Fine)



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Tigers determined to forget Game One nightmare

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Minutes after the San Francisco Giants concluded their 8-3 rout of the Detroit Tigers in the opening game of the World Series, Austin Jackson began thinking about Round Two on Thursday.

'It's been that way the whole season,' the Tigers centerfielder told reporters after Wednesday's clubbing. 'And now it's no different. It's not the time to hang your head on one game.

'We still have to come out and play so you have to have a short memory and forget about it.'

Doug Fister, who grew up near San Francisco and used to be a Giants fan, received the call for the Tigers in Game Two. The right-hander has pitched 13-and-a-third innings this postseason and given up two runs while striking out 13.

The Giants will go with southpaw Madison Bumgarner, who has struggled down the stretch. In Game Four of the National League Championship Series against St. Louis, Bumgarner pitched three-and-two-third innings and gave up six runs.

'We were going through some mechanical issues, just some small things that might have affected my arm and made it more difficult to throw, and that's really all it was,' Bumgarner told reporters.

'I think we've got it fixed. There's no way to tell 100 percent until you get out there and get going game speed. But hopefully that's all it was.

'But regardless, whether the velocity is up tomorrow or down or whatever, I've still got to find a way to make pitches and compete, keep us in the game.'

Bumgarner was yanked from the starting rotation after two poor playoff starts but Giants manager Bruce Bochy said 'we're confident in Madison.'

'These guys are human, sometimes they're going to have their hiccups,' Bochy told reporters. 'He's worked on some things in the bullpen, and he needs to back off a little bit and just not try to do too much out there.

'So the time that he's had to work on some things should help him. We forget how young he is at 23. But he's been working to get back in sync and get his delivery back.'

The Giants used three homers by Pablo Sandoval and battered Tigers starter Justin Verlander, widely considered the game's best pitcher, to take the opening game of the series.

San Francisco won three straight in the National League Division Series to beat Cincinnati, and overcame a 3-1 deficit to defeat St. Louis in the NLCS. They now have a rare 1-0 lead.

Despite the opening-night whipping, Detroit's locker room was anything but morgue-like.

'In baseball, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose,' said Tigers slugger Prince Fielder. 'The great thing is that we get to play tomorrow.'

Tigers manager Jim Leyland believes Wednesday's loss will have no bearing on Thursday's outcome.

'I'm a guy that doesn't believe in momentum in baseball,' he said. 'I think momentum is your next day's pitcher.'

(Editing by Patrick Johnston)



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Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Baseball-Giants beat Tigers 8-3 in World Series opener

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 24 (Reuters) - The San Francisco Giants, powered by three home runs from Pablo Sandoval, got the better of ace right-hander Justin Verlander to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-3 in the opening game of the World Series on Wednesday.

Sandoval became just the fourth player to hit three homers in a World Series game with his solo shot in the first, a two-run blast in the third and another roundtripper in the fifth.

He joined Babe Ruth (1926, 1928), Reggie Jackson (1977) and Albert Pujols (2011) in accomplishing the feat.

Verlander, who had yielded only two runs over more than 24 innings in three playoff wins this postseason, gave up five runs on six hits in four innings. Giants starter Barry Zito pitched into the sixth, allowing one run to register the victory.

The second game of the best-of-seven series to decide Major League Baseball's champion will be played on Thursday in San Francisco with left-hander Madison Bumgarner starting for the hosts against Detroit's Doug Fister. (Reporting by Larry Fine, Editing by Peter Rutherford)



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Giants beat Tigers 8-3 in World Series opener

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The San Francisco Giants, powered by three home runs from Pablo Sandoval, got the better of ace right-hander Justin Verlander to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-3 in the opening game of the World Series on Wednesday.

Sandoval became just the fourth player to hit three homers in a World Series game with his solo shot in the first, a two-run blast in the third and another roundtripper in the fifth.

He joined Babe Ruth (1926, 1928), Reggie Jackson (1977) and Albert Pujols (2011) in accomplishing the feat.

Verlander, who had yielded only two runs over more than 24 innings in three playoff wins this postseason, gave up five runs on six hits in four innings. Giants starter Barry Zito pitched into the sixth, allowing one run to register the victory.

The second game of the best-of-seven series to decide Major League Baseball's champion will be played on Thursday in San Francisco with left-hander Madison Bumgarner starting for the hosts against Detroit's Doug Fister.

(Reporting by Larry Fine, Editing by Peter Rutherford)



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Tigers' Leyland looks for championship encore

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland has been around long enough to know what he likes about baseball and what he can do without.

Daily meetings with the media are not on the top of the 67-year-old's fun things to do list.

'The hardest part is probably dealing with the media, and I don't mean that disrespectful,' he told reporters before the Tigers faced the San Francisco Giants in the World Series opener on Wednesday.

'It takes a lot of time. You're answering a lot of questions. You're questioned a lot, you're second-guessed a lot. The fun part is normally the game.'

As the Tigers prepared to take the field for batting practice, Leyland once again settled into the hot seat fielding questions from the media about his perspective on the designated hitter having managed in both leagues.

He skippered the Florida Marlins to a World Series crown in 1997 and is back in the Fall Classic for the second time leading the American League champion Tigers.

'A lot of people have always talked about it's much more difficult to manage in the National League,' he said. 'I don't agree with that totally because I think in the American League you have to decide exactly when your pitcher is done.

'A lot of times in the National League your decision is made for you because if you get behind in a game, you've got to pinch-hit.

'It's different.'

The three-time Manager of the Year said winning the title once merely whetted his appetite for an encore.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy, who won the title two years ago when San Francisco ousted the Texas Rangers in five games, knows the feeling, assured Leyland.

'Because you're fortunate to be on a team that won one, that's why you want another one,' said Leyland, who has been in Detroit since 2006. 'You realize how good the feeling is and obviously that's why you'd like to have another one.

'Being part of another world championship would be quite a treat obviously but there's a lot of games to be played before that happens and I don't feel any different than Bruce Bochy does.'

Leyland has been managing in the majors since 1986 but said he has seen nothing like the elaborate choreographed handshake between Tigers sluggers Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera.

'To be honest with you, I don't pay much attention to that stuff,' he said. 'They say I'm old school. I'm really not. I'm old, but I'm not necessarily old school.

'But I don't really get into that, whether it's our team or the other team. I kind of don't really look, to be honest with you. But it's kind of a new wave of baseball and entertaining to some people. It is what it is.'

(Editing by Steve Keating)



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Gilles Marini & Peta Murgatroyd Reveal Who Decided On The Dancing Hunk's Towel Costume

The sight of Gilles Marini in just a towel got pulses racing on 'Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars' on Wednesday night and it turns out, viewers have Maksim Chmerkovskiy to thank.

'Maks! Maks!' Gilles told Access Hollywood.

PLAY IT NOW: Gilles Marini Strips Down On Dancing With The Stars: All-Stars

'My boyfriend nominated us to be the most scantily clad couple,' Peta Murgatroyd, Gilles' professional partner, added of her beau Maks. 'I think Gilles pulled it off very well. Actually, I think the women wanted to see this. Right?'

Gilles sported the towel during the group dance to guilty pleasure song 'Gangnam Style' and Peta enjoyed the experience.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Dancing With The Stars: All-Stars - Week 5 Highlights

'It was wild,' she laughed.

Also wild was their Monday night performance, a sexy rumba which knocked judge Carrie Ann Inaba right out of her chair.

'I was like, 'Oh gosh, [is] she hurt?' And I picked her up and she was fine,' Gilles told Access.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Gilles Marini: From 'Sex & The City' To 'Dancing' Superstar

'I couldn't believe she fell,' Peta added.

And Peta put the blame totally on Gilles for Carrie Ann's fall.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Dancing With The Stars: All-Stars Week 3 - Iconic Dances

'It's because [of] your sexiness, you realize,' she laughed.

'Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars' continues next Monday at 8/7c on ABC.

Copyright 2012 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.



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Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Quentin Tarantino returns to theaters with "Pulp Fiction," "Reservoir Dogs"

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - Two Quentin Tarantino classics are returning to theaters just in time for the director's latest genre mash-up, 'Django Unchained.'

Miramax, NCM Fathom and IGN are re-releasing 'Reservoir Dogs' and 'Pulp Fiction' nationwide for one night only in early December.

'Reservoir Dogs,' which launched Tarantino's career 20 years ago, will screen December 4 at 7:00 p.m. while 'Pulp Fiction,' recipient of seven Oscar nominations, will screen December 6 at the same time.

Each event will also include a special feature on Tarantino's career and a selection of trailers from movies that inspired him.

'There is no doubt that Quentin Tarantino's writing and directorial style has reinvented filmmaking as we know it,' Shelly Maxwell, executive vice president of NCM Fathom Events, said in a statement. 'Join Vincent, Jules, Marsellus Wallace, Mr. Orange, Mr. Pink, Mr. Blonde and the rest of his infamous characters as they return to the big screen in this special two-night Fathom event.'

NCM Fathom Events comprises over 700 locations in 170 markets, including all of the top 50.

The films will screen just weeks before the debut of Tarantino's latest original film, 'Django Unchained.' A western set in the antebellum south, it's set for a Christmas bow.



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Baseball-Tigers manager Leyland reaches target in the end

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Grizzled, gravel-voiced manager Jim Leyland was under the gun all season, the target of criticism from impatient fans and local media wondering why the favoured Detroit Tigers were not living up to expectations.

Leyland, a gray-haired baseball lifer who gave up an unpromising career as a weak-hitting catcher at 25 and took up managing two years later, explained it was a long season.

'That's just the way this works,' Leyland, 67, told reporters about giving players a chance to rise to their level.

That was just what his Tigers did while winning eight of their last 10 regular season games to overtake the Chicago White Sox after trailing by three games with 15 to play.

Now with his Tigers one of two teams left standing and a World Series trophy to battle over against the San Francisco Giants, no one could quibble with the manager in Motown.

'It's been terrific,' Leyland said as his players worked out at Comerica Park while waiting for the National League winner after the Tigers completed a sweep of the top-seeded New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series.

'Everywhere you go, people are pumped up. They're selling all kinds of Tigers stuff all over town. Where I live ... everybody's got Tigers gear on, everybody's in good spirits.'

Leyland loved baseball but as a catcher in Detroit's minor league system he lasted just seven seasons, getting as far as Double-A Montgomery before trading his glove for a lineup card.

The son of a glass factory worker from Ohio, Leyland worked his way up the ladder, spending 10 years managing Detroit farm clubs before getting hired in 1982 to coach for White Sox manager Tony La Russa, the start of a close friendship.

BUILDS TRUST

Leyland got his first crack at major league managing in 1986 with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

He stayed 11 seasons there, and with a young Barry Bonds leading the offense, took them to the National League Championship Series three years in a row and won Manager of the Year honours in 1990 and 1992.

Leyland left Pittsburgh for Florida in 1997 and promptly won the World Series with the Marlins before leaving after the next season when ownership dismantled the team to keep payroll down.

After a disappointing year with the Colorado Rockies, he walked away.

Leyland, whose father was one of 16 kids, his wife part of a family of 11 and himself one of seven children, said he wanted to spend more time with family.

Seven years later, Leyland got the itch and in 2006 returned to his first professional team, taking over a Tigers club that had finished fourth with a 71-91 record in 2005.

Leyland managed them to a 95-67 mark, a trip to the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals and a third Manager of the Year award.

Emotional despite his gruff appearance, Leyland builds trust with his players and develops a bond of mutual respect that has won him loyalty throughout his managerial stops.

After taking the Tigers to the league championship last year, he now has the chance to become the only active major league manager with two World Series rings in the best-of-seven Fall Classic starting on Wednesday in San Francisco.

'We're one big happy family here,' he told a roaring Comerica Park crowd last week after finishing the sweep of the Yankees, his eyes welling with tears. 'I'm just glad to be part of it.' (Reporting by Larry Fine in New York; Editing by Frank Pingue)



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Monday, October 22, 2012

Baseball-Coke quenches Tigers' thirst for late-game security

DETROIT, Oct 22 (Reuters) - If the Detroit Tigers are to celebrate their first World Series in 28 years it could ultimately depend more on how they finish games than how they start them, leaving the Motor City's fate in the glove of unheralded Phil Coke.

Until Detroit's American League Championship Series (ALCS) sweep of the New York Yankees last week, many baseball fans considered Coke one of the world's best known soft drinks rather than a hard-throwing reliever known for his late game mastery.

But when regular closer Jose Valverde suffered a post-season meltdown, Coke slipped into the role and recorded the last out in the final three games of the ALCS.

'I don't have any idea what's going on, I just know I'm having a good time,' Coke, whose two postseason saves are one more than he had all season, told reporters. 'We have a common goal that we're trying to achieve and the last thing I want to be known for is the one that didn't do his job.'

Valverde's nightmare resulted in Coke's dream come true, the anonymous middle reliever thrust into the spotlight and poised to play a leading role on baseball's biggest stage.

Led by reigning American League Cy Young winner and Most Valuable Player Justin Verlander, the Tigers' starting rotation is of the highest quality and a known quantity.

In nine postseason games, Detroit starters have posted a miniscule 1.02 earned run average (ERA) and limited the mighty New York Yankees to just six runs in the ALCS.

While Detroit starters were painting masterpieces, Valverde was unable to provide the finishing touches, surrendering seven runs in three playoff games.

With the Tigers up 4-0 in Game One of the ALCS and cruising towards an easy win, the Yankees pounded Valverde for four runs in the ninth inning, including a pair of homers, forcing Detroit to stage a late rally and claim victory in 12 innings.

Tigers manger Jim Leyland had seen enough, deciding things would go better with Coke.

'No, he wasn't (expecting to close),' said Leyland. 'That is probably the good thing about it, he didn't expect it. ... He didn't have a lot of time to think about things and reacted and pitched.

'Nobody knew it would play out this way.'

In five seasons spilt between the Yankees and Tigers, Coke has never quite settled into a permanent role.

After acquiring the lefthander from New York in 2009, as a throw in to the trade that brought center fielder Austin Jackson and starter Max Scherzer to Detroit, the Tigers flirted with the idea of developing Coke into a starter.

But after 14 starts in 2011 that produced a 3-9 record, the Tigers abandoned the experiment and returned Coke to the bullpen as a setup man, where this season he made 66 appearances posting 2-3 record with a 4.00 ERA.

Now, Coke, armed with a mid-90s fastball, has inherited one of baseball's most pressure packed jobs, a task the easy-going lefty has embraced and seems ideally suited.

'We just get the ball when given and go out and do our thing,' said Coke, who won a World Series with the Yankees in 2009. 'I'm just going out there and doing what I need to do and whether it's to end the game or it's to be in the fifth inning and throw a couple innings, it doesn't matter.

'My job is not to worry about that; it's to throw strikes and get outs. That's what my job is and that's where my head's at and that's all I pay attention to.' (Editing by Frank Pingue)



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Blue Iguana Slithers Back from Extinction

Just a decade ago, the Grand Cayman blue iguana was on the brink of extinction, with only 10 to 25 individuals left in the wild. But the reptile has made a major comeback and is no longer listed as a critically endangered species.

The blue iguana, which is only found on the Caribbean island Grand Cayman, now has a population of about 750 thanks to a recovery program. And over the weekend, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) updated its listing of the species from critically endangered to endangered.

An endangered status is probably the best conservationists could ever hope for as far as the reptile is concerned, said Fred Burton, director of the Blue Iguana Recovery Program.

'Human impacts on Grand Cayman are now so extensive that there just isn't scope for these iguanas to regain numbers in the tens of thousands,' Burton explained in a statement. 'However, we are confident that we will achieve our lon-term goal of restoring at least 1,000 Grand Cayman blue iguanas to the wild.'

The blue iguana is the largest native species on Grand Cayman. The reptiles often grow to more than 5 feet (1.5 meters) in length and weighs more than 25 pounds (11 kilograms). They once ranged over most of the island's coastal areas and interior dry shrub lands before habitat destruction, car-related deaths and free-roaming dogs and cats pushed them toward extinction.

The recovery program involves habitat protection, research, monitoring and releasing captive-bred iguanas into the wild.

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Sunday, October 21, 2012

Zoo Keeper Stable After Elephant Attack



An Australian zoo keeper is in critical but stable condition after she was crushed by a 3-ton elephant during a training exercise.

The elephant, known as 'Mr. Shuffles,' challenged veteran zoo keeper Lucy Melo, 40, on Friday at the Taronga Park Zoo in Sydney.

'The elephant pinned her up against one of the fence poles.and [colleagues] came in, moved the elephant away and called the ambulance immediately,' said zoo director Cameron Kerr.

When paramedics arrived, Melo was able to speak and briefly asked what happened before she went into cardiac arrest, said ambulance service spokesperson Andrew Wood.

The zoo keeper, who is a nine year veteran of the park, is recovering at the Royal North Shore Hospital.

On Saturday, Mr. Shuffles and the elephant herd were described as calm and well. Zoo officials said they would resume usual activities.



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Friday, October 19, 2012

Baby Panda Takes First Steps at San Diego Zoo





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Tigers get Motown humming about World Series

DETROIT (Reuters) - The Detroit Tigers swept past the New York Yankees and into the World Series on Thursday giving Motown something to sing about after years of hard times.

Detroit was in full party mode after the Tigers mauled the Yankees 8-1 to complete an unlikely American League Championship Series sweep and return to the World Series for the first time in six years where they will face either the St. Louis Cardinals or San Francisco Giants.

More than most American cities, Detroit has felt the full force of America's economic meltdown and painfully slow recovery but fans and players alike are hoping a first World Series title in 28 years can help lift the city.

'We did it, Detroit,' said Detroit slugger Miguel Cabrera, the first Triple Crown winner in 45 years leading the American League in home runs, batting average and RBI. 'It's what we worked for all year, trying to get to this point.

'Hopefully we'll win the World Series for Detroit.

'We always believed we could do it and we believe we can do it in the World Series, four more wins.'

Despite a lineup that included Prince Fielder, who signed a massive nine-year $214 million deal in the off season, a return to the World Series seemed unlikely as the Tigers sputtered towards the end of their inconsistent 162-game season.

After running away with the Central division last season and strolling into the playoffs with a 15-game lead, the Tigers were expected to dominate again but instead spent large parts of the campaign languishing below .500 chasing the Chicago White Sox.

Detroit's 88 victories were the joint fewest of any of the 10 teams to qualify for the playoffs and if not for a fantastic surge that saw them win eight of their last 10 to overhaul the crumbling White Sox (loser of 11 of their last 15) would have watched their season end in bitter disappointment.

'I just reminded everybody when we took our punches all year, let's just wait till the end and then if we have underachieved, I will be the first one to admit it,' said Tigers manager Jim Leyland. 'But let us play out the schedule to see if we underachieve.

'So hopefully we've quieted some doubters now.

'The guys just stepped it up when we had to. We caught a couple breaks when the White Sox couldn't win a couple of games they needed to win.

'We never lost sight of what we were supposed to do.'

With the National Hockey League Detroit Red Wings locked out, the National Football League Lions fighting to find their form and the NBA Pistons rebuilding, it has been left to the Tigers to restore the city's sporting pride as they chase their first World Series since 1984.

Despite the tough-times and one of the United States highest unemployment rates, Tigers fans have been among the Major League's most loyal, passing three million in attendance for the third time in six seasons this year.

'Great fans,' said former Tigers' catcher Ivan Rodriguez.

'I spent four and a half or five years here, very good years, and the fans here, they're unbelievable.

'They support the team from day one all the way into the end of the season.

'I look forward to going outside and saying hello to them. They are great fans. I respect them. I respect the organization, the city.'

(Editing by Greg Stutchbury)



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Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Rain postpones Yankees-Tigers Game Four

DETROIT (Reuters) - Rain forced the postponement of Game Four of the American League Championship Series between the New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers on Wednesday, ensuring the most successful baseball franchise staved off post-season elimination for another day.

The Yankees, trailing the best-of-seven series 3-0, arrived at Comerica Park needing a win to extend their season but got a reprieve when a storm rolled into Detroit moving Game Four to a 1607 EST (2007 GMT) start on Thursday.

Major League Baseball did not announce a schedule for Game Five if necessary.

With the storm approaching, officials initially pushed back the start rather than have to call a rain delay and face a messy finish to a potential series clincher.

Certainly, the decision not to start the game was welcomed by the Yankees, who will have ace CC Sabathia, fresh and ready to take to the mound on Thursday.

Had the game started and been interrupted by rain the Yankees might have only gotten a few innings work out of their big lefthander.

Max Scherzer is expected to remain the Game Four starter for the Tigers.

(Editing by Greg Stutchbury)



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How Dolphins Stay Awake For Two Weeks Straight

Dolphins can stay constantly alert for more than two weeks by sleeping with only half of their brains, researchers say.

These findings suggest how dolphins can keep on the constant lookout for sharks, investigators added.

Unlike land mammals, dolphins sleep with only part of their brains at any time, past research has suggested. Half of their brains rest, while the other half remains 'awake,' and dolphins regularly switch which side is active.

'After being awake for many hours or days, humans and other animals are forced to stop all activity and sleep,' said researcher Brian Branstetter, a marine biologist at the National Marine Mammal Foundation in San Diego. 'Dolphins do not have this restriction, and if they did, they would probably drown or become easy prey.'

To see just how mindful dolphins are with just half a brain, researchers tested their ability to scan the environment. Dolphins use echolocation to map the world, a biological form of sonar where they emit clicks and listen for their echoes to probe murky, dark surroundings. [Sleep Tight! Snoozing Animals Gallery]

The researchers set up a portable floating pen outfitted with eight modules, each consisting of an underwater sound projector and microphone. When a dolphin scanned any of these modules using echolocation clicks, they could respond with sounds mimicking echoes of those clicks from remote surfaces. Essentially, these modules could behave as 'phantom targets' - illusions that acoustically simulated physical objects.

The scientists had two dolphins - a female, Say, and a male, Nay - continuously scan these modules. If they detected phantom targets, they were trained over the course of a year to press a paddle to get fish. The dolphin Say often gave victory squeals whenever she succeeded.

The scientists found these dolphins could successfully use echolocation with near-perfect accuracy and no sign of deteriorating performance for up to 15 days. The researchers did not test how much longer the dolphins could have continued.

'Dolphins can continue to swim and think for days without rest or sleep, possibly indefinitely,' Branstetter told LiveScience.

These findings suggest that dolphins evolved to sleep with only half their brains not only to keep from drowning, but also to remain vigilant.

'These majestic beasts are true unwavering sentinels of the sea,' Branstetter said.

Future research can help verify whether the dolphins stayed awake and alert for multiple days by sleeping with half their brains. This would require monitoring their brains for electrical activity via electroencephalogram, or a EEG.

'Research with freely moving humans who wear portable EEG equipment has been conducted; training a dolphin to wear a similar portable EEG backpack that is capable of withstanding and functioning in an ocean environment presents much greater challenges,' Branstetter said. 'However, these hurdles are not insurmountable. Also, we are interested in investigating if dolphins can perform more complex cognitive tasks without rest, like problem-solving or understanding an artificial language.'

The scientists detailed their findings online Oct. 17 in the journal PLoS ONE.

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