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SAN DIEGO – The United States Golf Association might be getting 153 thank-you cards at the conclusion of the 108th U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.
The super-golfer trio – Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Adam Scott – went off in one morning group Thursday, drawing a slow-creeping gallery of thousands, along with at least 150 media members and tournament officials.
That left an unfettered trek around the South Course for the rest of the field – 153 golfers, to be exact. That led to good scores and even better feelings over the USGA’s decision to group the world’s top three players together.
“It was a lovely, nice, peaceful day out there,” said England’s Lee Westwood, one of 11 players to break par with his 1-under 70. “It was great. You could hear the cheers and you could see the sort of migration of people around the golf course. It was like wandering around on a Sunday morning. It was fabulous.”
PGA Tour rookie Kevin Streelman and Nationwide Tour player Justin Hicks shared the first-round lead at 3-under 68. Four players, including 2006 U.S. Open winner Geoff Ogilvy, were a stroke back at 69.
Not that anybody noticed, especially in the morning when the marquee group took off at 8:06 a.m.
Woods’ first shot after a seven-week layoff from left-knee surgery was a scorching hook that landed in the left rough. That led to a double bogey.
“I had plenty of warm-up shots,” Woods said sarcastically. “It’s just a terrible way to start.”
Birdies at Nos. 4, 7 and 8 got the 13-time major winner to 1 under, but a second double bogey, this time at the 14th hole, pushed Woods, who was limping throughout the round, back to 1 over – where he finished (72).

thenewstribune.com

A list of exhibits currently on display at area galleries April 24-30
Venues are in Fredericksburg unless otherwise noted. Call for hours.
Art First Gallery , 824 Caroline St. All Member Show. Through April 28. “from the heART” featuring new works by Emily Robertson and Ana Rendich. April 29-May 31. 540/371-7107.
Artists’ Undertaking Gallery , 309 Mill St., Occoquan. “Art on the Edge,” an exhibition of works of art by wood turner Patrick O’Brien and mixed media artist Alice Webb. Through May 5. 703/494-0584.
Arts Center in Orange , 129 E. Main St. “Poetry of Color,’ paintings by John J. Fitzsimmons. Through June 7. Opening reception , today, 6:30 p.m. 540/672-7311.
Artworks , 914-916 Caroline St. Art by Daniel Baggett and Mary Beth Hall. Through April. 540/371-4099, 540/371-4454.
Atrium Gallery Art Studio , 526-2 Wolfe St. Works of Nancie Harris and students. Through April. 540/310-0752.
Bistro Bethem , 309 William St.Works by Joan Limbrick. Through June 6. 540/371-9999.
Brush Strokes , 810 Caroline St.All member exhibit featuring Bonnie Halford. Through April. 540/368-0560.
Caroline Street Cafe & Catering , 1002 Caroline St. Art courtesy of Brush Strokes. 540/654-9180.
Central Rappahannock Regional Library , 1201 Caroline St. Works by Don Glover. Through April. 540/372-1144.
Frame Designs Gallery , 2010 College Ave. Exhibit of local art- work. 540/371-0567.
Fredericksburg Area Museum , 907 Princess Anne St. “John Adams Elder:Fredericksburg’s Artist of the Civil War Retrospective.” Through September. 540/371-3037.
Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts , 813 Sophia St.”Regional Juried Show” an all- media juried show. Frederick Gallery. Works of Jen Callahan and Elizabeth Seaver, Members’ Gallery. Through Saturday. 540/373-5646.
Gari Melchers Home and Studio at Belmont , 224 Washington St., Falmouth. “Memorable Madonna: The Art Institute of Chicago’s Mother and Child.” Through June 1. 540/654-1015.

fredericksburg.com

The stars are coming out on Oprah’s Big Give. Last week, movie star John Travolta took the final three for a ride on his private jet. This week, movie and TV star Jennifer Aniston pays a visit to the Big Give.
On the season finale of Oprah’s Big Give, Oprah challenges the final contestants to create “Big Gives” with no money at all and with very little time. Also, Jennifer Aniston shows up to deliver some big news to the contestants.
Not only will the winner of Oprah’s Big Give be crowned, but a last unexpected twist will be revealed. Oprah’s Big Give is judged by Jamie Oliver, Tony Gonzalez and Malaak Compton-Rock. The show is hosted by Nate Berkus.
Oprah’s Big Give season finale airs on Sunday, April 20 from 8 PM to 9 PM ET on ABC.
Photo Credit: ABC/Adam Larkey

realitytvmagazine.com

UCLA, the third of the top seeds and placed in the West, appears to have the easiest path to the Final Four. The Bruins open in nearby Anaheim, which guarantees them a home-court advantage. Another advantage is the presence of Duke as No. 2 in the region. If the Bruins end up facing the Blue Devils — which is a big if — they will bump up against a team that has no one to counter 6-foot-10-inch center Kevin Love.
Kansas, the last of the top seeds and placed in the Midwest, earned the top line Sunday by beating Texas for the Big 12 tournament championship. This stands just below the South as the toughest regional, and the Jayhawks will be hard-pressed to survive a gauntlet that could well include Clemson, which just defeated Duke and scared the Tar Heels, and No. 2 seed Georgetown, regular-season champ of the Big East.
There will be some wailing at Arizona State, which was left out of the field despite having two wins over Arizona, which did make the field. Some of the midmajors will yelp as well. For the second spring in succession, they received just six of the at-large bids, with the other 28 spread among the half-dozen “power” conferences.

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Illinois (14-18) at No. 16 Purdue (24-7) 6:30 pm EDT
INDIANAPOLIS (Ticker) - Purdue has not fared well in the Big Ten Conference tournament. But they have never been as seeded highly as they are this season either.
The 16th-ranked Boilermakers hope to make a deep run in the conference tournament as the second seed for the first time in school history when they face Illinois in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Purdue is just 4-10 all-time in the tournament, including just 2-9 since 1999. Last season, the Boilermakers made it to the semifinals for just the second time in their history. Purdue lost to Michigan in the 1998 tournament final.
Freshmen E’Twaun Moore and Robbie Hummel lead the team in scoring at 12.4 and 11.7 points per game, respectively.
The 10th-seeded Fighting Illini were swept in the two-game series with Purdue this season and have struggled to their first losing campaign since the 1998-99 season.
Chester Frazier’s layup with under four seconds remaining lifted Illinois to a 64-63 victory over Penn State in an opening round matchup on Thursday. Brian Randle led the Illini with 17 points.

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Texas Tech will win if: G Alan Voskuil finds his shooting touch after going scoreless in a loss at home against Baylor … G/F Martin Zeno has an explosive night … Freshman G John Roberson goes off on OSU G Byron Eaton like he did (20 points) in a win over the Cowboys on Feb. 2.
Oklahoma State will win if: G Byron Eaton of Lincoln keeps playing the way he has the last nine games. … Defensive stopper G/F Marcus Dove can shut down Tech’s Martin Zeno. … Guards Obi Muonelo, James Anderson and Terrel Harris give inspired effort on both ends.
The bottom line: Eaton helps Cowboys continue their season.
Baylor will win if: LaceDarius Dunn can build on 10-of-16 shooting (38 points) in a win over Texas Tech last Saturday. … The Bears get hot from the 3-point line, where they lead the league with 8.6 3s per game. … Show the poise exhibited in eight wins after trailing by nine or more points.
Colorado will win if: Freshman G Javon Coney can build on the season finale vs. Nebraska when he scored 15 points in 10 minutes. … If guards Richard Roby and Marcus Hall have big games. Hall has scored in double figures in nine of his last 10 outings and has 13 steals in his last four games.

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Big Brother: ‘Til Death Do You Part houseguests Amanda Hansen and Allison Nichols were both rushed to a Los Angeles hospital on Friday after suffering unrelated illnesses that stemmed from eating the show’s “slop” food mixture, the New York Daily News reported Sunday.
Hansen, a 23-year-old paralegal from Fridley, MN who is hypoglycemic, fainted and appeared to suffer a seizure due to a lack of sugar; while Nichols, a 28-year-old pharmaceutical sales representative from Boston, MA, experienced an allergic reaction to something she ate.
Hansen’s fainting and subsequent seizure was captured by Big Brother’s live 24/7 Internet feeds.
“I need sugar really bad, and they won’t let me in the [Diary Room],” she told her perfect-match partner Alex Coladonato.
“What do you need sugar for?” Coladonato asked.
“Because I’m hypoglycemic,” she answered.
“So go have a glass of water and sugar,” replied Coladonato.
“I need like bread and fruit or something,” Hansen further explained.
Hansen then went into the kitchen where she conversed with fellow houseguest Natalie Cunia.
“God, I need sugar really bad, and I went in the [Diary Room] and told them,” Hansen told Cunia.
“Oh yeah. You can’t have food, huh?” asked Cunia.
“Yeah, and I’m hypoglycemic,” said Hansen.
A few minutes later both women left the kitchen.
“Oh, I need some sugar,” reiterated Hansen.
She then hunched over, walked a few more feet, and collapsed face first.
“Are you serious?! Amanda?” said Cunia before running for help.
As several of the other houseguests tried to get the attention of producers, Hansen began to experience a seizure and the live feed was dropped.
Unbelievably, Nichols was suffering a severe allergic reaction to something she ate at the same time that Hansen was having her medical problem, the Daily News reported. The allergic reaction — which occurred off-camera — caused Nichols’ lips to swell.
“My throat completely closed,” Nichols explained upon returning. “I had an allergic reaction.”
Hansen and Nichols were both treated in the Big Brother house by paramedics before being taken to the hospital where they were checked by doctors, the Daily News reported.
“They both chose to return to the game after receiving medical clearance,” CBS said in statement, according to the Daily News. “Their medical conditions and course of treatment will continue to be monitored.”
Big Brother first introduced “slop” during the show’s Summer 2006 Big Brother: All-Stars seventh edition. Houseguests who lose a weekly food challenge are required to only eat “slop” until the next food challenge.
Big Brother’s U.S. edition had already experienced another first during the show’s currently airing ninth season.
Neil Garcia, a 29-year-old gay Los Angeles real estate agent, became the first American Big Brother contestant to ever voluntarily leave the competition when he exited the house two weeks ago. His perfect-match partner Joshuah Welch later explained Garcia departed “due to an urgent, personal matter.”

realitytvworld.com

On the anniversary eve of the untimely demise of that great American rap artist, Tupac Shakur, I thought it fitting and altogether redeeming to remember him by deferring to those who knew him best; hip hop officianados and Flat Earth Society members.
There is speculation (though no one is absolutely sure) that Tupac was shot to death once in 1994 (five entrance and exit wounds) while styling in his Escalade Caleche (ka-lesh).
Rumor has it that he was re-incarnated as Cynthia McKinney, and continued to inspire cop killing and teen-age pregnancies until 1996 when he was killed again, this time for good; or maybe not.
Eerily, five years after his death (May 2001), he released a new and lambent hip hop album with lyrics such as these:…”Now we was once two (n-word) of the same kind–Quick to holla at a hoochie with the same line–You was just stretched to Y.A. and hit the hood swoll—‘member when you had a Jeri curl and didn’t quite learn–On the block, witcha glock, trippin off sherm–Oh and you a Muslim* now–We still drop a bomb on the pigs–cause they ain’t nuthin but pigs–Let’s get the AR 15 and turnem into slop”
*I suspect Tupac was dreaming of a seraglio which may have prompted this reference to a Muslim.
What ever is the answer to Tupac’s nine lives?
Well check this out. Maybe he has, indeed, come back again as the former 4th District Congresswoman.
How else can you explain Ms. McKinney’s offering of H.R. 4210, a bill which called for an investigation of the 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur?
Why would Tupac’s mother, former Black Panther Afenia Shakur, back the bill so vigorously and agree to tour with McKinney.
Ms. McKinney wanted Congress to investigate the rap star’s murder, alleging, in her inimitable style, that the government (ours) conspired to snuff out the rapster.
This notion that Tupac and McKinney are one in the same is not without support.
Rapper Chuck D. grudgingly said of Tupac, “Hey, the dude sold five million records when he was living; then sold 22 million after he was dead. Seriously, whassup wid dat?” The rap world is speechless. Answerless.
Also fanning the flames of this McKinney/ Shakur oneness is the fact that not one piece of legislation (according to my sources) has been introduced calling for an investigation into the violent death of Notorious B.I.G.? Whassup wid dat?
It is also common knowledge that Shakur was a gangsta punk who lived (and some say died) by his lyrics.
Would it not follow that a rap star re-incarnated as a Congresswoman, might, as a result of his churlish nature and possible tinnitus, (an infirmity common among people who scream obscenities for money) offer the following as her/his political agenda?:
McKinney posing as Shakur posing as Mckinney did the following; 1) Voted to legalize the killing of babies after they were born (partial birth abortion). That would seem to facilitate Tupac’s gestational solution on the birthing end of teen-age pregnancies.
Also Tupac, posing as McKinney told a Saudi prince she would accept his offer of $10 million for the re-construction of the twin towers, that Mayor Rudi Giuliani rejected because of anti-semantic strings attached to it.
Consider these two quotes by Cynthia McKinney and Tupac Skakur, juxtaposed for comparison.
First, McKinney speaking at her Tupac best: (At an anti-Iraqi war protest) ”The American people have been forced to endure fraud in the elections of 2000 and 2004, criminal neglect on September 11th, a war started on deliberately faked evidence, the outing of a C.I.A. agent to cover up the truth, and now criminal incompetence in providing security.” Now Tupac, speaking at his McKinney best:…”I knowed we growed apart–you probably don’t remember I used to fiend for your sister, and now you ain’t even with it–Go toe to toe when it’s time to roll against the man–got a big money scheme–we gon’ take it back–but go ahead ‘cause I ain’t mad at cha…”
Frankly, I find the comparisons between this dead artist and this politically dead artiste completely fascinating.
NOW, you still don’t believe that McKinney and Tupac are one and the same? Well go ahead on, ‘cause I ain’t mad at cha.
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fayettedailynews.com

It became official on Raw last night that the main event for WrestleMania XXIV on March 30 will be a triple-threat match for the WWE title, as champion Randy Orton defends against Triple H and John Cena. I think this is the best possible main event on the Raw side, as it’s more intriguing than any singles match-up involving these three.
When it had appeared that Cena would not return from his injury in time to be on the WrestleMania card, I was all for Jeff Hardy facing Triple H in the main event, or possibly having a triple-threat match with those two and Orton. But with Cena coming back earlier than expected, WWE had to put him in the main event. After all, Cena is the top star in the company, and I know that fact pains some fans, but that doesn’t make it any less true.
Cena, Orton and Triple H all deserve to be in the main event. Hardy, even though he lost to Orton at the Royal Rumble last month and did not win the elimination chamber match Sunday at No Way Out, still is being given a big push. His time will come after WrestleMania, where I fully expect him to win the Money in the Bank ladder match, which he qualified for last night by defeating Snitsky.
Some thoughts on last night’s show:
There was nothing wrong with the Cena-Orton main event, but the crowd in Anaheim was nowhere near as good as the one in Las Vegas at No Way Out, and it hurt the match. Hopefully, there’s a good explanation for special referee Triple H counting Cena’s pin of Orton in the non-title match, which earned Cena a spot in the WrestleMania main event. As Triple H stated earlier in the show, it doesn’t benefit him to have it be a triple threat. He ended up giving both guys a Pedigree after the match, but I was thinking that he was going to do that during the match, which still could have led to a triple-threat. …
After a tremendous angle with Floyd Mayweather and The Big Show at No Way Out, last night’s segment was awkward and fell a little flat. It was quite a contrast to see Show so relaxed and confident when cutting his promo, while Mayweather seemed nervous and unsure of himself when speaking. It reminded me of when Mike Tyson appeared on Raw 10 years ago and said that he was a big WWE fan and his favorite wrestler was “Cold Stone.”
WWE has to be disappointed with the less-than-enthusiastic reaction Mayweather got from the crowd, as he was greeted with a mixture of boos and indifference. Show challenged Mayweather to a match of some kind, and the boxing star accepted. There has been speculation that it would be a tag-team match pitting Mayweather and Rey Mysterio against Show and Shane McMahon, but it was reported on prowrestling.net that Mysterio is scheduled to undergo surgery on his torn biceps Friday, which would put him out for four to six months. …
I’m not sure if the beatdown of Hornswoggle by JBL and Vince McMahon in a steel cage elicited heel heat or “we really don’t like this angle” heat. Personally, I didn’t care for it. I know that heels are supposed to do vile things, but I did not like the imagery created by two large men brutally assaulting a midget who plays a child-like character. With that being said, I did think that the emotion from Finlay, who was handcuffed and forced to watch the attack, was very good, and JBL is just great at being unlikable. …
By the way, where was Chris Jericho to “save us” during the Hornswoggle beatdown? …
It was a nice touch to have Shawn Michaels make the announcement that Ric Flair would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame next month. Although it isn’t official yet, it sure looks like it will be Flair vs. Michaels at WrestleMania. I’m looking forward to the buildup to that one. …
Hardy and Mr. Kennedy both got new entrance music. Kennedy’s was a change for the better, but Hardy’s wasn’t. With Hardy being so hot right now, I don’t think I would tinker with anything involving him. …
WWE conducted a poll asking whether Maria should appear in Playboy, and 94 percent said that she should. You mean 6 percent actually voted no? …
If WWE had asked whether Val Venis could defeat Mr. Kennedy in the Money in the Bank qualifying match, the “no” votes probably would have exceeded 94 percent. …
Going back to Maria, I didn’t like the decision to have her beat Beth Phoenix, even if it was portrayed as a fluke because of the returning Candice Michelle’s distraction. Phoenix has been great as a monster heel, and she it should take more than a simple distraction and quick roll-up to defeat her. I would have minded it a lot less if Michelle had actually physically interfered behind the referee’s back to cost Phoenix the match. …
During Paul Burchill’s match, Jim Ross asked Jerry Lawler if he could remember any other brother-sister tandems on Raw. No one said it, but what about Ken and Ryan Shamrock from 10 years ago? I know they weren’t really siblings, but neither are Burchill and Katie Lea. Supposedly, WWE wanted to do an incest story line with the Shamrocks, but – fortunately – it never happed (and let’s hope it doesn’t happen this time, either). Ironically, Ken and Ryan ended up dating in real life. You have believe Burchill is hoping history repeats itself.
Whoever booked the mayweather bit tonight should be fired. When big show went off on him and he ran back into the ring the crowd actually gave a… and started cheering but then his whole entourage entered the ring and he lost any kind of babyface reaction and lost whatever credibility he hadn’t lost from running away on Sunday night.I think the only way to save this angle is to put MVP with Mayweather and go at it as heels b/c the big show is getting to much of a babyface reaction. Handicap match between MVP and Mayweather vs Big Show and someone (shane?) might be decent. I’d hate to not have MVP in the money in the bank match though. The point is Mayweather as a heel would be money… he’s just not a face.
And for the love of wrestling please put Shelton Benjamin in the money in the bank match!!! I don’t care that he can’t cut a promo to save his life… he’s as good in mitb as anyone! The fans deserve him in the match.
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