Sasha Cohen on Ice

Sasha Cohen took the ice a few minutes after the other five skaters in her practice group Friday afternoon, and why not? Doesn’t the star always come on last?

From the moment she finished second in her senior national debut at age 15 a decade ago, with a persona already so outsized it was hard to imagine that a 5-foot-2 frame could accommodate it, Cohen has been the closest thing to a pure diva in figure skating.

Yet never before has everyone else in a competition seemed like just a warmup act for Alexandra Pauline Cohen, known by the Russian diminutive of her first name, so well known that the nickname alone identifies her.

From 1996 through 2006, Michelle Kwan’s commanding presence diminished that of everyone else in the sport. Even in 2006, when Cohen won her only national title, the story was whether the absent Kwan would be given an Olympic spot.

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Togo National Team

LUANDA, Angola – Gunmen in an area plagued by separatist violence opened fire Friday on a bus carrying Togo’s national soccer team to a tournament in this southwest African country, wounding at least six people including two players, an official said.

Some players said they wanted to pull out of the African Cup of Nations tournament following the violence, but an official in Angola said it would go ahead as planned.

In the West African nation of Togo, soccer federation vice president Gabriel Ameyi said backup goalkeeper Obilale Kossi and central defender Serge Akakpo were among those hurt. The team’s top player, Emmanuel Adebayor, was unharmed, according to his club Manchester City.

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James S. Chanos

James Chanos (born 1958 in Milwaukee) is an American billionaire and hedge fund manager, and is president and founder of Kynikos Associates, a New York City investment company that is focused on short selling.

He was schooled at Wylie E. Groves High School and Yale, where he graduated in 1980. In business, he developed an investment strategy based on intensive research into stocks (as long as months), searching for fundamental and large market failures in valuation: typically under-estimated or previously un-reported failings in the business or market of a stock. followed by committing to a (usually large) short-position which he is willing to hold for long period of time – almost the mirror image of Warren Buffet’s reputed “fundamentals+long stay” investment strategy. Because of this model, his investments function more like those of a whistle-blower than most typical investments. Examples of this include short-selling companies such as Baldwin-United, Drexel Burnham, and more recently, the notorious Enron Corporation.

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Dizzy Dean

Jay Hanna “Dizzy” Dean (January 16, 1910 – July 17, 1974) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball, and was the last National League pitcher to win 30 games in one season. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953.

Dean, who was born in Lucas, Arkansas, pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals (1930-1937), the Chicago Cubs (1938-1941), and briefly for the St. Louis Browns (1947).

Dean was best known for leading the 1934 “Gashouse Gang” team. He had a 30–7 record with a 2.66 ERA during the regular season. His brother, Paul, was also on the roster, and was nicknamed “Daffy,” although this was usually only done for press consumption. Though “Diz” sometimes called his brother “Daf”, he typically referred to himself and his brother as “Me an’ Paul”.

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Tell Them Willie Boy is Here

Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here is a Technicolor movie released in 1969, based on the true story of a Paiute Indian named Willie Boy and his run-in with the law in 1909 in California.

The movie was written and directed by the once black-listed Abraham Polonsky. Because of his blacklisting, he had not directed a film since Force of Evil 21 years earlier in 1948.

The film’s story revolves around the Paiute Indian outlaw Willie Boy (Robert Blake) who escapes with his lover, Lola (Katharine Ross) after killing her father in self defense. According to tribal custom Willie can then claim Lola as his wife. According to the law, Deputy Sheriff Cooper (Robert Redford) is required to charge him with murder.

Willie Boy and Lola are hunted for several days by a posse led by Cooper. Willie manages to repel the posse’s advance when he ambushes them from the top of Ruby Mountain. He only tries to shoot their horses, but ends up accidentally killing a bounty hunter, resulting in another murder charge.

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