'We need to win this one. I want to be the one that runs around the 18th green and sprays everyone with that big bottle. I want to drink that champagne.'

KENNY PERRY (right),member of U.S. Ryder Cup team

Spanish golfing legend Seve Ballesteros made a surprising statement about one of his favorite events, the Ryder Cup.

Ballesteros, who played on eight European Ryder Cup teams and was the winning captain in 1997, said he would root for the Americans when the 37th Ryder Cup begins Friday at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville.

“I see the Ryder Cup getting very boring because we are beating them so badly,” he said. “Everybody is losing interest. I think it will be good if they win the next one. It would give the Ryder Cup a lift.”

Ballesteros might have been only joking – although he’s been known to stoke the rivalry when possible – but the biennial match-play event between the United States and Europe has become no laughing matter for the U.S. side.

The Americans once led the competition 21-3 (with one tie), but most of that record was built when they were facing only Great Britain. Now the European side has won five of the past six, the last two by nine-point margins.

“We need to do something to stop the bleeding,” U.S. captain Paul Azinger said. “And we need to stop it right now.”

As the competition comes to Valhalla for the first time, the U.S. team leads overall 24-10 with two ties, but has won only three times since 1983.

The Ryder Cup, which has become one of the great international sporting events because of the national pride on the line, is hosted by the PGA of America every four years.

That should provide some home-field advantage, but the red, white and blue has been unable to take advantage. The Europeans have been popping the champagne corks on both sides of the pond.

“We need to win this one,” said Kenny Perry, a current team member who was on the losing side in 2004 at Oakland Hills near Detroit. “I want to be the one that runs around the 18th green and sprays everyone with that big bottle. I want to drink that champagne.”

Fulfilling Perry’s dream won’t be easy.

PGA Tour veteran Jay Haas said that back in the days before the Europeans became so dominant, there was a sense they had to “climb Mount Everest” to beat the Americans. Now, it seems they have a head start up the peak.

Azinger will bring his 12-player team into the tournament as a decided underdog, according to most of the golfing world, especially without the world’s No. 1 player, Tiger Woods, out since having knee surgery after the U.S. Open.

“We are on our soil, but we are still going to have to earn it against a really, really strong team,” Azinger said. “When I look at that list, it’s a scary team. They’re coming in here on a high-horse, and they’re the favorites.”

The Americans won 19 of the first 23 competitions against Great Britain (1927-71) and then against Great Britain and Ireland (1973-79).

Everything changed in 1979 when the selection process was expanded to all of Europe. The U.S. team finally saw its depth matched.

“We got it handed to us basically for 50 years,” said TV commentator David Feherty, who played on one European team and wrote a book on the Ryder Cup. “It was so hard to win because we didn’t know what it was like.

“I looked up to guys that were always losing the Ryder Cup. Now, it’s become easier because these guys are watching others who are used to winning it.”

The Europeans won on American soil for the first time in 1987, the two teams tied in 1989, and the United States won close ones in 1991 and ’93.

The only U.S. victory since then was the “Miracle at Brookline” in 1999, when the Yanks needed the largest final-day comeback in Ryder Cup history to win by one point.

“We had our noses rubbed in it pretty good, so I am thrilled where it’s at today,” said Tony Jacklin, a former European captain whom many credit with helping the turnaround. “But it could change back in a hurry.”

The Americans are 5-1-1 in the Presidents, a biennial event against the best players from non-European countries.

And in recent years, the U.S. team has had the Nos. 1- and 2-ranked players in the world in Woods and Phil Mickelson.

“You look up and down that American lineup, and, golly, there’s no way you can think they’ll lose,” said Louisville’s Bobby Nichols, a former winner of the PGA Championship and Ryder Cup player. “They have had a lot of good players on that team.”

Domo luggage set

The smaller the better when it comes to packing vacation or travel gear. Especially if you are planning a Labor Day weekend getaway, check out these mini-necessities perfect for any size suitcase:

1. First, you need a suitcase. Stand out in the crowd with fun and funky luggage by Domo; suitcase, $89.99; carry-on, $69.99 at Stein Mart.

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3. No room for an entire toothpaste tube? Marvis makes a travel-sized 1.29-ounce tube in five minty flavors; that still leaves plenty of room in your makeup bag; $4.50 at www.beauty.com.

4. Portable eye shadows by Cargo are perfect for the glam gal on the go. Single-use shadows are embossed onto superflat cards; $24 for a tin of 28 cards at Sephora.

Two's Company mini sewing kit

Marvis travel toothpaste

Cargo eye shadow

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Two friends who were sitting next to Kaitlyn Lasitter last summer when her feet were severed in an accident on a Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom ride have asked a judge to allow them to join the family’s civil lawsuit against the theme park.

Teenagers Anna Blair Johnson and Arin Valsted suffered bruises and have required psychological counseling since a cable snapped and struck them on the Superman Tower of Power ride, severing Kaitlyn’s feet on June 21, 2007, attorneys said.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – State officials say it’s impossible to pinpoint the cause of the cable break on a theme-park ride that severed the feet of 13-year-old Kaitlyn Lasitter, but they do fault the deteriorated cable condition and the ride operator’s failure to hit the emergency stop button.

After last summer’s accident, surgeons were able to reattach one of Kaitlyn’s feet; the other was amputated.

Triple Crown contender Big Brown has developed a quarter crack on the inside of his front left hoof, but trainer Rick Dutrow told reporters Sunday that he is confident the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner will be “100 percent” for the June 7 Belmont Stakes in New York.

“We didn’t know until Saturday that it was a quarter crack,” Dutrow said. “It scares us this happened, but this has nothing to do with his ability to finish what he started. It’s bad it happened, but it’s good it happened now. He’s going to be OK.”

A quarter crack occurs to the hard substance of the hoof, similar to a fingernail, and can be painful and can lead to an infection of the soft tissue underneath.

Big Brown did not train Saturday and Sunday. Noted quarter crack specialist Ian McKinlay, who has worked on Big Brown’s hooves in the past, called it a “very, very minor crack” about five-eighths of an inch long in the hoof wall. The hoof is being treated with a solution of iodine and alcohol and will be patched Monday with a set of wires and mesh.

McKinlay emerged into the national spotlight when he patched up Touch Gold’s foot before that colt won the1997 Belmont to end Silver Charm’s Triple Crown bid.

Big Brown is attempting to become the first horse to sweep the Triple Crown in 30 years.

Big Brown had foot problems since shortly after majority interest in the colt was sold last fall and he was turned over to Dutrow. Dutrow has said Big Brown didn’t train at all during January and wasn’t completely fit when he won a March 5 allowance race by 12 and three-fourths lengths to earn a berth in the Florida Derby.

Kaitlyn Lasitter (center), accompanied by her family in Washington on Wednesday, had both feet severed last year on a ride at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom.

WASHINGTON – Eleven months after a cable on a ride at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom snapped and severed Kaitlyn Lasitter’s feet, the 14-year-old’s ordeal isn’t over. She walks gingerly on her reattached right foot and a prosthesis on her left, holding hands with her parents, the crutches close at hand.

Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., hopes Kaitlyn’s ordeal will persuade Congress to close what he calls a gaping loophole in federal law: Rides at amusements parks like Six Flags, Disney World and Busch Gardens aren’t subject to federal regulation, while rides at traveling carnivals are.

“There is a dangerous double standard that defies common sense,” Markey said Wednesday at a news conference. He has been trying to change the law for nine years to empower the Consumer Product Safety Commission to investigate accidents and require manufacturers to fix design flaws.

The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions opposes his legislation.

There has been no federal oversight of theme park rides since 1981; there is no database that tracks deaths and injuries.

The Lasitters have sued Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom, which did not return calls requesting comment.

“I want to be a 14-year-old girl,” Kaitlyn said. “I want to go to the mall with my friends, but I can’t. When I do, I have to have crutches, I have to have my dad there to hold my hand and I have to have a wheelchair just in case I get tired.”

<strong>Dribbling his way to Duke matchup </strong>
Belmont guard Justin Hare does a dribbling drill during his team's preparation for Thursday's NCAA regional game with Duke.

When Tyler Tiedeman cocks his right elbow Friday night to shoot for Boise State, he’ll pose a dangerous threat to the University of Louisville.

That elbow accounts for why he plays basketball instead of bouncing around minor league baseball.

Tiedeman, a 6-foot-7 senior forward, is one of the nation’s top 3-point shooters. He’s making 49.4 percent of his treys for the 14th-seeded Broncos.

He was a star high school pitcher whose fastball reached 93 mph and went to the University of Arizona on a baseball scholarship.

Early in his freshman season, he started feeling pain in his elbow that wouldn’t go away. He made only one pitching appearance, lasting three innings, before consulting with the team doctor. The verdict: He needed the dreaded “Tommy John” surgery on the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow.

Many have come back strong from that surgery, but Tiedeman also had minor arthritis and scar tissue in the elbow. The doctor couldn’t promise a full recovery, so he opted for the less serious arthroscopic surgery.

“The thing that hit home the most was when he said I might not be able to play catch with my kids one day,” Tiedeman said.

Tiedeman decided he’d rather be Tommy Kron than Tommy John. He went home to Santa Rosa, Calif., to try his luck in basketball, which he played well enough in high school to draw NCAA Division I interest.

By then he was off the radar of most programs and was out of shape.

“I hadn’t played basketball in over a year,” he said, “and I probably drank a few too many beers at Arizona, too.”

He enrolled in his hometown junior college and averaged more than 17 points per game before transferring to Boise State.

He spent last season mostly as a reserve behind Coby Karl, who’s now with the Los Angeles Lakers. Thrust into a starter’s role this season, Tiedeman has averaged 14 points and 3.4 rebounds.

Beasley vs. Mayo
In a men’s basketball season where freshmen have hit it big, it’s fitting for two of the best to provide a marquee matchup Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Behind shooting guard O.J. Mayo, Midwest No. 6 seed Southern California will play 11th-seeded Kansas State, led by forward Michael Beasley, in Omaha, Neb.

Beasley, averaging 26.5 points and 12.4 rebounds, is the hotter NBA prospect, widely projected as the No. 1 overall pick. Mayo is a top 10 prospect averaging 20.8 points.

Mayo’s “decision-making has gotten better,” said Tom Brennan, an ESPN analyst and former Vermont coach. “He’s making his teammates better. He’s matured. Beasley has just been amazing from day one.”

USA TODAY

Dead player inspires team
DENVER – De’Andre Adams is inspiring his Winthrop teammates 10 months after his death in an auto accident.

Patches with his number are stitched onto the Eagles’ jerseys. They play one of his favorite songs before games. And his picture is right there on a banner at Winthrop Coliseum in Rock Hill, S.C., the backup point guard whose wild on-court celebration was the signature moment of the Eagles’ upset of Notre Dame in last year’s NCAA Tournament.

“That just symbolizes everything Dre was about,” senior guard Michael Jenkins said. “The energy, the passion, the love for the game.”

It was that image of the sprightly, fun-loving, always-smiling Adams that was on the Eagles’ minds as they arrived at the Pepsi Center on Wednesday to prepare for Washington State in the East Regional.

“Everybody says he’s with us,” freshman George Valentine said. “And when we lose, we say we let down De’Andre.”

The Associated Press

Who’s the smartest?
ANAHEIM, Calif. – If Thursday’s tilt between Cornell and Stanford was decided in the classroom, the third-seeded Cardinal might be in trouble.

“I’m not going to lie. It’s probably going to be them,” Stanford’s Taj Finger said, giving the academic nod to the Big Red. “We have a ton of smart guys on the team, but I think we’re a little bit more geared to basketball.”

Brook Lopez, one of Stanford’s 7-foot twin towers, wants to major in creative writing.

Cornell guard Louis Dale, Ivy League player of the year, wants to go into investment banking.

The Associated Press

UCLA close call unlikely
ANAHEIM, Calif. – Having survived five close calls in the last two weeks, UCLA seemingly has it easy in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

The top-seeded Bruins are favored by 32 points against 16th-seeded Mississippi Valley State.

History is on UCLA’s side, too. No. 1 seeds are 92-0 against No. 16 seeds in the tournament.

“That’s encouraging, isn’t it?” Delta Devils coach James Green asked. “We’ve got to try to be the best No. 16 seed that’s ever played in the tournament.”

UCLA forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute will start Thursday’s West region opener six days after spraining his left ankle.

The Associated Press

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ON THIS DATE
1897: Yale beats Penn 32-10 in New Haven, Conn., in the first men’s intercollegiate basketball game.

1954: La Salle wins the NCAA basketball title by defeating Bradley 92-76 and sets a record for most points in the title game.

1965: Gail Goodrich’s 42 points lead UCLA to a 91-80 victory over Michigan in the NCAA basketball championship.

2003: Shaquille O’Neal becomes the 28th player in NBA history to score 20,000 points during the Lakers’ game against Sacramento.

2005: LeBron James, 20, becomes the youngest player to score 50 points in an NBA game, when he scores 56 in the Cavaliers’ 105-98 loss to the Raptors.

———

SPORTS SOUND-OFF

O’Neill flashes the mojo, or he doesn’t
Re: O’Neill’s best defender is his wife, Roberta

• Kevin O’Neill’s no-nonsense approach to life, coaching and communicating are exactly what this program needed when he was brought in here by Lute. . . . It is hard to fathom why he and/or his lovely bride would deem to put up with the unfair criticisms, outright name calling and general berating. (If you believe some of the blogs posted, he is responsible for every loss, injury and probably the economic recession, too!) JJFORD W.

• If we want our program to have continued success, Kevin O’Neill is not the answer. Hopefully he will go back to the NBA. He came into a difficult situation and did the best he could, but you can tell by watching what he runs, the way he substitutes and the way he never adjusts on offense or defense, he just isn’t the answer. TOM H.

> Got a beef? E-mail: sports@tucsoncitizen.com. Call: 573-4635. Fax: 573-4569. Write: Sports sound-off, P.O. Box 26767, Tucson 85726-6767

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NUMBER OF THE DAY

.934

Winning percentage of the four No. 1 seeds: North Carolina, Memphis, UCLA and Kansas, the best since seeding began in 1979.

The previous best was .930 in 1981, when two of the top seeds, LSU and Virginia, advanced to the Final Four.

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TRIVIA CORNER
What coach went to the most Final Fours without winning the title?

———

Answer: Houston’s Guy Lewis with five. Each time the Cougars lost to the NCAA champion, Georgetown (1984), North Carolina St. (1983), North Carolina (1982) and UCLA (1968, 1967).

Philips teamed with glass designer Swarovski to turn USB thumb drives shaped like heart-shaped pendants into romantic gifts.

Women influence 40 percent of consumer electronics purchases, and nearly 100 percent of you say that style is an important factor in your buying decisions. Manufacturers are listening, and they introduced dozens of products designed with women in mind at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January.

Sparkling USB drive
Working with Swarovski, Philips (usa.philips.com) created a line of crystal products. Its $180 USB drives include one shaped like a padlock, another like a heart-shaped pendant. The drives – and crystal-embellished earphones – are expected in department stores before Feb. 14.

Photo wallet
A digital photo wallet from Coby Electronics (cobyusa.com) has room for a few hundred pictures. With a rechargeable battery, 1 gigabyte of internal memory and an SD card slot for adding more, it will be available this spring in black or brown with a 2.4-inch display for under $100.

Fashion laptop bags
The folks at the Finnish bag company Golla (golla.com) say that European women wouldn’t be caught dead carrying their computers in plain black cases. The Golla bags are just as sturdy as ordinary computer bags but are lighter, and they have lots of interior pockets and sleeves for stashing important stuff. In more than 20 designs, the Golla bags sport new looks every year. The company also helps you accessorize your cell phone and iPod cases.

Multimedia refrigerator
New refrigerators from Whirlpool (whirlpool.com) with the centralpark connection will include a space for a digital photo frame or an iPod player on the door. The Ceiva photo frame displays images stored on the Internet or on a memory card. The iPod dock will charge the player while it’s in the cradle.

Disc designer
Dymo’s $280 DiscPainter (dymo.com) can give homemade CDs and DVDs a personalized look. Use software that comes with the printer or a program like Adobe PhotoShop to create a custom label for your favorite music mixes or photo collection. The printer works with printable discs and can apply the graphic in less than five minutes.

A new digital photo wallet from Coby Electronics has room for a few hundred pictures.

Finnish bag company Golla offers computer bags that double as fashion accessories.

New refrigerators from Whirlpool with the centralpark connection can house a Ceiva digital photo frame.

Dymo's $280 DiscPainter can give homemade CDs and DVDs a personalized look.

Stretches, emphasis on core can help eliminate the flaws when you hit the links

Tiger Woods works on his swing in February at the Gallery at Dove Mountain.

When his body’s engine began to stall, Mike Brown, 68, sought a tune-up as do many golfers in the “magic age” bracket of 50-70.

“It’s when most notice they are hampered in the ability to execute,” says Chris Sanger, 63. The two men have sought answers in the field of golf fitness.

Golf fitness? Isn’t that an oxymoron?

Many don’t even consider golfers to be athletes, much less in top condition.

Glen Griffith, director of Tucson Golf Schools, considered the best golfer- pro or amateur – in southern Arizona, says, “They are very much athletes.”

Want proof? Check out some of the players on the pro tours. Some look like they could play in the NFL.

And it’s not too tough to figure out who’s driving the changes on the golf circuits.

“The year after Tiger (Woods) came on the (PGA) Tour, he was a different man,” says Griffith, 34, “(He’s) built strong with more size and muscle. Those first three years he just killed everybody.

“Then a couple of years down the line David Duval went from a chunky little guy to being fit and in shape. All have started now coming that way. The big heavy-set guys are falling away.”

Woods was the vanguard of the movement to coordinate and strengthen the 32 muscles that involve the golf swing in the name of complete conditioning.

The LPGA has followed suit. It’s no surprise that two of the best women golfers in the world – former Arizona Wildcats Anika Sorenstam and Lorena Ochoa – have dedicated fitness regimens.

But don’t get the wrong idea.

Fitness for golf is not about a lot of weights or just heavy hitting, says Fitness Together personal training director Ian Davey. It’s a light, but effective, touch.

“Four physical factors must be addressed,” said Davey, 44, “flexibility, stability, strength and balance. And they must follow in that order.”

He stressed the core, a somewhat misunderstood term. It is essentially the body’s “engine.”

“It’s not just the front, but the back and down to the hamstrings,” he said.

Griffith, 34, teaches the same routine he uses at home, including a stability ball, exercise band, yoga and Pilates. He also incorporates cardio in gym sessions.

“Open up the chest and strengthen the back, shoulders, core, oblique (muscles).

“If you hit with the big muscles and the small ones are weak, you’re not going to get it done.”

The first thing owner John Utz tells clients when they come to Ultimate Treatment Zone Physical Therapy is to do some homework.

“When they come in, I tell them go do some stretches and come back and see me in a few weeks,” he said.

Utz’s goal is to reduce the physical limitations that hold golfers back in their game. These can show up because of weak muscles or flaws in their swing.

“Without realizing it, they might straighten the right leg to the outside of the foot or slide back and forth when rotating the hips or chicken-wing the right elbow,” he said.

Or the worst sin, slouching with weak hamstrings and back when addressing the ball. Utz, 32, subscribes to the working mode of addressing problems of bad posture, limited body rotation and limited spine rotation.

Brown was working out on a gym stationary bicycle one day when somebody casually mentioned he was tight in his upper body and shoulders.

“As a drum,” he agreed. “If I had flexibility I’d hit 30 yards farther.”

Brown, who has a single-digit handicap, suffers from an arthritic hip, which he treated with special exercises, and claims he’s now “back to where I’m supposed to be.”

Sanger wants to improve his game as much as he can, with one catch: He wants to enjoy his exercises. He’s found some balance.

“You can do exercises at home while watching TV,” he said.

Utz emphasizes that these workouts need not tire you out or bring soreness the next day.

The key to the workout is to “hold (tension) until the feeling goes away.

“It could be four to five minutes, no pain,” he says.

Adds Sanger, “You don’t have to hurt yourself to be flexible.”

HIP ROTATION: Utz helps Brown with upper spine stretch. Works torso for hip rotation, lower back and shoulders fundamental to a golf swing. Slowly rotate torso from right to left for designated count. Note: People with lower back problems should consult a doctor before attempting this exercise.

HIP ROTATION FOR GENERAL FLEXIBILITY: Christy Utz pushes on straightened leg with right leg against knee. This will help spine rotate with swing of club. Slowly push and hold for designated time.

CHEST STRETCH: John Utz holds Brown's shoulders as he stretches arms and chest. Improves posture at address of ball. Stretch out and hold for designated time.

HAMSTRING STRETCH: Christy Utz straightens her leg against the wall to strengthen the hamstrings. This helps golfers hinge correctly at hips to eliminate slouch at address. Push and stretch.

BALANCE DRILL: Brown stands on one foot for minimum of 30 seconds. Helps core strength and balance for a golf swing.

BALANCE SWING: Mike Brown after balance drills does golf swing follow-through and holds balanced on left foot for 30 seconds.

PROPER FORM - John Utz aids wife Christy with proper form for addressing ball. Back is straight and hips are ready to hinge with swing.

———

PREVENT GOLF INJURIES
Getting ready
• Ease into the sport gradually. Consider lessons or a tune-up to improve your skills.

• Before play, take time to warm up, and then stretch. Focus on your lower back, shoulders, forearms, wrists and any problem areas.

• Consider stretching after play, too.

• Practice on real turf when possible. Use good equipment.

• Stay in good shape. Take steps to strengthen your forearms and your core muscles, such the abdominals and back. Options include yoga, Pilates, strength training and working out on a balance ball. Ask an expert which one is best for you.

Mind your technique
• Don’t hunch over the ball too much.

• Don’t overemphasize your wrists when swinging.

• Keep your pelvis as level as possible throughout the swing.

• Lift your bag, using proper back mechanics (bend through the knees).

Avoid accidents
• Look around you and behind you before you swing.

• Be cautious when driving a golf cart, and reduce speed for pedestrians, inclines and weather conditions. Keep hands, legs, feet and arms inside the golf cart when it’s moving.

• Take rest breaks and stay well hydrated.

• Seek shade while waiting at the tee.

• Call it a day if you’re in pain or exhausted.

Sources: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons; Gary Costelle, Baptist Hospital Northeast; Troy Grubb, Kentucky Orthopedic Rehab Team (KORT); Dr. Frank Kelly, Forsyth Street Orthopaedics, Macon, Ga.; Dr. Johnny Benjamin, Indian River Medical Center, Vero Beach, Fla.

By Bryan Lee, The (Louisville, KY.) Courier-Journal

With the help of a prosthetic leg, 14-year-old Kaitlyn Lasitter last week took her first steps since her feet were severed last summer on the Superman Tower of Power ride at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom.

Despite her progress, Kaitlyn continues to battle pain, depression and the uncertainty of what will become of her reattached right foot. Her family says doctors have told them they will not know for months if Kaitlyn’s body will accept or reject it.

Quarterback Pat White scores on a 50-yard run with 1:36 left to lift West Virginia over Louisville 38-31.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – In a stadium filled with gold, a man named White kept the University of Louisville football team feeling blue.

Pat White’s 50-yard touchdown dash with 1:36 left gave West Virginia a 38-31 victory over Louisville at Milan Puskar Stadium on Thursday night in yet another thriller between the schools.

His heroics spoiled a 17-point second-half comeback by the Cardinals (5-5, 2-3 Big East Conference) and kept the No. 6 Mountaineers (8-1, 3-1) alive in the conference and national title chases.

West Virginia led 31-14 midway through the third quarter before Louisville mounted a furious rally.

Art Carmody’s 37-yard field goal with 3:05 to go tied the score at 31. But on second-and-eight from midfield, White took the snap from the shotgun, darted left and broke free to the end zone, delighting the all-gold-clad sellout crowd.

Louisville’s Trent Guy muffed the ensuing kickoff, falling on the ball at the 1-yard line. The Cardinals moved to their 40 before quarterback Brian Brohm’s final heave was intercepted at the West Virginia 7 by Antonio Lewis as time expired.

Brohm and White entered the season as prominent Heisman Trophy candidates, and each had his golden moments Thursday night.

White completed 16 of 25 passes for 181 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 147 yards on 24 carries. He also lost two fumbles.

Brohm was 27 of 46 for 345 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions. He was at his best during the Cards’ comeback, including a perfectly placed 12-yard TD toss to Mario Urrutia that made it 31-28 with 10:32 left.

The Louisville defense, so permeable early this season, had allowed just three points to the West Virginia offense in the second half before White’s TD run.

No one could have expected anything less than another classic from these two burgeoning rivals. West Virginia and Louisville have played two overtime tournament basketball games and a triple-overtime football game since 2005.

NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. – One by one, the names of the victims of Comair Flight 5191 rang out in the sanctuary of Southland Christian Church, punctuated only by the sobs and sniffles of those who came to pay tribute on the first anniversary of the crash.

About 2,000 people came to the church Sunday to honor the 49 lives lost in the crash on Aug. 27, 2006. The service was the first of several commemorative events for the families of those who died.

Race cannot be used in assigning students to specific schools

WASHINGTON – A divided U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that schools cannot consider students’ race when assigning them to schools.

The conservative-leaning court decided that the desegregation policies of Jefferson County, Ky., and Seattle unfairly deny students their choice of school because of their race.

The 5-4 ruling came five months after the nine justices heard a Jefferson County mother’s lawsuit challenging the school district’s desegregation policy

Crystal Meredith said her son Joshua McDonald was denied his first choice in schools because he was white.

Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., who wrote the majority opinion, said the district has “failed to provide the necessary support for the proposition that there is no other way than individual racial classifications to avoid racial isolation in their school districts.”

Jefferson County school officials argued that barring the district from using race as a factor in assigning schools could lead to re-segregation of some schools.

But lawyers for parents whose children did not get to attend their first-choice schools have argued that programs assigning students on the basis of race amount to unconstitutional racial quotas.

“We can’t have this in our school system . . . which will perpetuate racial isolationism because it does nothing to stop the achievement gap,” said Teddy Gordon, a Louisville lawyer representing Meredith.

The Bush administration sided with those challenging the school assignment programs.

In 2003, the court’s 5-4 ruling upheld a college’s limited use of race in admissions aimed at creating a diverse student body. But since that case, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who wrote the majority opinion and was often a swing vote in favor of affirmative action, retired.

In 1954, the court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka that segregated schools are unconstitutional.

The tenor of questioning from justices during oral arguments suggested the court might strike down both programs.

In a statement, Louisville, Ky., Mayor Jerry Abramson said he was “disappointed the court has struck down a plan that for more than 30 years has helped provide a quality education for all students and broken down racial barriers to move our community forward.”

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OTHER ACTIONS

The Supreme Court on Thursday:

● Blocked the execution of a mentally ill Texas murderer because lower courts failed to consider whether he had a rational understanding of why he was to be killed.

● Ruled that agreements between manufacturers and retailers on minimum prices are legal if they promote competition, abandoning a 96-year-old ban.

By The (Louisville, KY.) Courier-Journal, The Associated Press

Raytheon shareholders
get quarterly dividend
Raytheon Co., the largest private employer in Tucson, announced Thursday that it will pay a quarterly cash dividend of 25.5 cents per share of stock.

The dividend is payable Aug. 2 to shareholders as of July 3.

Raytheon had 2006 sales of $20.3 billion. The company makes a variety of missiles and missile systems in Tucson.

Pizza Hut raises prices as cost of cheese rises
A rise in the cost of cheese this year is cutting into profits in the pizza industry and has prompted Pizza Hut to raise prices.

With cheese prices up 55 percent this year, other pizza chains may follow suit.

Block cheddar cheese hit $2.06 a pound this week on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. That’s up 73 cents per pound from the end of 2006. Cheddar is the benchmark for other types of cheese.

Optimism on economy
thanks to job market
NEW YORK – The U.S. economy should expand modestly in coming months as a healthy job market continues to trump weakness in housing prices.

The Conference Board said Thursday its index of leading economic indicators rose a higher-than-expected 0.3 percent in May, boosted by rising stock prices, higher consumer expectations and the availability of jobs.

By The (Louisville, KY.) Courier-Journal, The Associated Press

A sharp rise in the cost of cheese this year is cutting into profits in the pizza industry and has prompted Pizza Hut to raise prices.

With cheese prices up by 55 percent this year, other pizza chains may follow suit.

Block cheddar cheese hit $2.06 a pound this week on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, a 55 percent increase from the end of 2006, when it was $1.33 a pound. Cheddar is the benchmark for mozzarella and other types of cheese, which typically make up the largest single ingredient for pizza companies.

“It’s definitely a major concern,” said Rob Mooney, president of Louisville, Ky.-based Bearno’s Inc., which has 16 restaurants in Indiana and Kentucky.

Like many larger outfits, Bearno’s locks in cheese prices months ahead of time. But if current prices don’t drop by this fall, Mooney said, his company would have to shell out roughly $300,000 more over the next 12-month period.

Dallas-based Pizza Hut, the nation’s largest delivery chain, recently raised the price of a regular cheese pizza to the same level as a one-topping pie.

Jennifer Little, a Pizza Hut spokeswoman, said the new strategy is to treat cheese “almost like an extra topping.” Little said the price change also could be justified because a typical cheese pizza has about 50 percent more cheese than a similar-size pie with one topping, such as pepperoni.

Pizza Hut, part of Louisville-based Yum! Brands Inc., uses 300 million pounds of cheese annually.

Papa John’s International, also based in Louisville, uses about 100 million pounds of cheese a year. The chain has locked in prices through the third quarter of this year, but spokesman Chris Sternberg said the company also is feeling pressure from fuel prices and higher minimum-wage rates.

There are no immediate plans at Papa John’s to raise menu prices, but Sternberg didn’t rule out a change if the cost of cheese remains high over the long term.

Reasons for the cheese price increase include a drought in Australia and growing demand in China and Russia for American-made dairy products.

The biggest reason, according to Rob Hainer, spokesman for the Southeast United Dairy Industry Association, is a sharp rise in the cost of feed grain, primarily corn. Fueled by the growing popularity of ethanol, corn prices have risen to about $4 a bushel, roughly double the price from a year ago.

Hainer said a lack of rain this year throughout the Eastern U.S. could further drive up the cost of corn, in turn raising dairy prices.