Posted at 10:30 AM ET, 03/19/2012

TheWashingtonPost

What about a ‘game-change’ test for Santorum?
By Jennifer Rubin

On Fox News Sunday, Bill Kristol, who’s done everything but force by gunpoint Republican non-candidates to get into the presidential race, said that “if [Rick] Santorum could upset [Mitt] Romney in Illinois, where Romney is outspending him, you know, 5 or 10 to 1, it’s hard to tell if you add in the super PACs and all that, that would be huge.” He reiterated, “So I just think the dynamics would change if he wins. If he comes close in Illinois, he stays in and has a respectable — has an outside chance still to win. But Illinois could be a game-changer.”

So if he wins — no wait, “comes close”! — it’s a game changer, the argument goes. (Is close anything less than the 70 plus points by which he lost in Puerto Rico? Closer than the most extreme outlier poll? Within a couple of points?) But, however you define “close,” fairness would seem to dictate that if Santorum doesn’t win or make it close, then it’s a big deal for Romney.

You see, if it takes a “huge” win and a “bracket buster” upset to change the race dynamic, it would seem that at some point one has to concede that Romney is running away with this and that repeated failures by Santorum to capture must-win states (e,g., Ohio, Michigan) spell the end of his run.

Moreover, I think it is incumbent on Santorum and his supporters to tell us what part of the game would change. If Santorum is saying the game would change so dramatically that he could capture a majority of delegates, that is one thing. Then success can be measured by the percentage of remaining delegates he would need for victory, and we would have an end point (the point at which the delegates needed for 1,144 exceed the delegates remaining to be selected).

If, however, the game would change to a brokered convention, then that is another thing altogether. If that is really the strategy (Santorum has said different things at different times), Santorum should ’fess up. That’s a whole different game, and it involves considerable risk for the GOP: a prolonged intra-party battle and an effort to overturn the will of a majority of GOP primary voters.

Really, is that what this is all about? If so, Santorum should level with voters. His reluctance to do so suggests this is not a vote-getter for him. In fact, it is arguably a giant turnoff that will get Republicans wondering if this is about getting President Obama out of office or about that giant chip on Santorum’s shoulder (and his Newt Gingrich-like animosity toward Romney, whom he complains “lies” and, oh the inhumanity of it, outspends him and has a superior campaign organization).

At this point, there is a fair shot for the GOP to win the White House. (George F. Will told us it is “not yet time” to give up. Whew! I mean I was hoping to get at least within six months of the election before conceding the presidency.) How Romney wins the nomination and how his opponents behave as he does that will have something to do with how he does in the general election. The task of reconciling with the base and former opponents, the pundits solemnly lecture us, will be an enormous undertaking for Romney. But it’s not his job alone.

If conservative pundits and leaders were to insist on cheering on convention mayhem, if evangelicals were to threaten to stay home and if constituent groups (anti-immigration activists, for example) were to insist on positions so extreme as to sink Romney, then the resulting loss will be theirs as well.

Romney is doing his part for now. He’s running a methodical campaign on conservative issues. The question remains whether the rest of the conservative movement will do its part as well.

By Jennifer Rubin
 | 
10:30 AM ET, 03/19/2012

Categories: 
2012 campaign

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Tags : Game

ORLANDO, Fla. Derrick Rose doesnt crave the spotlight even when hes playing basketball at a most valuable player level.

So the weeklong silence that Rose broke Monday morning shouldnt have surprised anyone. Beyond being bummed by a sore groin that sidelined him for a fourth straight game Monday night and likely will keep him out for all three games this week, Rose believes attention should be focused on active teammates that he might not be joining for a while.

They say with an injury like this, they dont know how long its going to take, Rose said at Amway Center. I thought I was going to be back sooner. Im missing big games that I hate to miss, like the one (Monday).

Of course, coach Tom Thibodeau called Rose day-to-day, but thats just Thibodeau being coy. Rose didnt participate in the morning shootaround and said he isnt doing any basketball-related activity, just lifting weights.

I havent been able to run in a couple days, just making sure that my leg is OK and making sure that the pain goes away very quickly, Rose said.

Rose detailed that he suffered the injury during the Bulls March 12 victory over the Knicks when Jeremy Lin blocked his shot on a first-quarter drive.

I went to the hole and took off kind of wrong and Jeremy beat my shot, Rose said. I thought I was going to take off but I couldnt get up that high. I just felt a pull. I thought it was like a charley horse or something. When I went down, I tried to stretch out but there was pain there. I wanted to play through it and I think I made it worse.

After the game, I remember walking back into the locker room and I told the trainers immediately that I wasnt feeling right, that my leg was really messed up.

Rose said he had never had a groin injury and remains frustrated he keeps missing games. Monday marked the 14th game Rose missed this season. He missed six games total in his first three seasons.

Its definitely been frustrating, Rose said. This is the most Ive ever been injured in my life. The biggest thing is just staying strong mentally. Were playing good right now. Its definitely hurting me, but Im keeping a positive attitude.

Rose said he agreed with the conservative approach to the injury.

Oh yeah, for sure, he said. You dont want this to linger where I cant move. Every day its definitely getting better, but I havent been able to run.

Given that Thibodeau wouldnt officially rule him out for Monday until just before tipoff, he also wouldnt guess when Rose might return.

It could be a few days. It could be who knows? Thibodeau said. We just want him to make progress. When hes healthy, hes healthy. Were not going to rush him back. We want him to be completely healthy. We think thats important.

Rose also addressed the $25,000 fine he received for critical comments about the officiating following the Knicks game.

I thought they were facts, Rose said. Losing 25K definitely hurts. I dont care who you are. I was just frustrated at the time. I couldnt hold myself back from saying what I said.

Its not going to stop the way I play, where I continue to attack, play hard and hopefully Ill get the calls.

kcjohnson@tribune.com

Twitter @kcjhoop

Tags : Game

If theres anyone out there who at this point is honestly and truly undecided about Sarah Palin, please raise your lonely hand.

Also, watch “Game Change” Saturday night on HBO, because it needs all the “undecided” demographic it can find.

In case you hadn’t heard, the real-life Palin has denounced “Game Change,” which director Jay Roach and writer Danny Strong created from the book by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann about the 2008 John McCain presidential campaign.

She maintains it’s fiction, a hatchet job designed to discredit the Republicans and conservatives the liberal media despises. In that spirit she

Tags : Game

Knicks-SpursGame Review

San Antonio, TX (Sports Network) – Tony Parker netted 32 points and handed out six assists, and six other Spurs scored in double figures in San Antonios 118-105 dismantling of the New York Knicks.

Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili both finished with 17 points, while Gary Neal had 12 for the Spurs, who improved to 2-2 on a seven-game homestand. DeJuan Blair, Kawhi Leonard and Tiago Splitter rounded out the double-digits scorers with 10 apiece.

He (Parker) owns the team, said Ginobili. He knows, and we know, that almost every possession goes through him.

Carmelo Anthony scored 27 points on 24 shots as the Knicks fell to 0-3 on four-game road trip. Jeremy Lin had 20 points, while Amare Stoudemire and JR Smith both scored 18 in a losing effort.

Parker is one of the best in the league, surmised Knicks head coach Mike DAntoni. We didnt have our guys who could slow it a little bit.

New York center Tyson Chandler sat out with strained hamstring, leaving a hole in the middle that allowed the Spurs to own the paint, 60-38.

In the final minute of the opening quarter, Ginobili found Splitter for a dunk with a bounce pass through the legs of Chandlers replacement in the starting lineup — Josh Harrellson.

New York went on a 7-0 run to start the second and go in front 30-28. It proved to be the last time the visitors led.

Ginobili hit a three-pointer to counter the run, and Parker scored all but three points during an 11-0 run later in the second, pushing the margin to 47-35. The All-Star guard finished with 23 points in the first half, which ended with Ginobili nailing a fadeaway for a 58-41 cushion.

The Spurs led by as many as 24 in the third and went into the final stanza holding a healthy 93-73 advantage.

It was a double-digit game the entire fourth quarter.

Tags : Game

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Claude Noel hopes the Winnipeg Jets loss to the Carolina Hurricanes doesnt come back to haunt them.

The Jets were leading 3-2 after two periods, but Carolina put on the pressure in the third, firing 19 shots at Ondrej Pavelec in the games final 20 minutes to win it 4-3.

Eric Staal scored his second of the night to tie it at 10:24, and Chad LaRose had the winner with 1:22 left.

This one will stick in there for a long time, Noel said. To me, the bottom line with this game is that if we dont make the playoffs, we dont deserve to make the playoffs. Thats the bottom line. We dont deserve it.

You can go down the road record all you want, you can go down all the other areas you want, but if we dont make it, its because we dont deserve to make it.

Winnipeg remains two back of the Washington Capitals for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Jets have 76 points this season, tied with the Buffalo Sabres. However, Winnipeg has a game in hand.

Theres a price to pay to win games and theres a price to pay to get in the playoffs. And its not a sometimes thing, Noel said.

Jussi Jokinen had a short-handed goal and added a pair of assists for Carolina. Cam Ward made 30 saves for the win.

Antti Miettinen had back-to-back goals for Winnipeg in the second period, while Nik Antropov had his 13th goal of the season. Pavelec stopped 21 shots for the Jets.

The goals were Miettinens first and second of the season, and came in his 35th game.

Its pretty irrelevant right now, Miettinen said of his new-found scoring touch.

He wasnt sure if the loss was due to his teams bad play or Carolinas strong effort.

I dont know if it was because of them or because of us, Miettinen said. I dont know if it was a lack of energy with too long of shifts or something, but the third period, I think, it was more about us going down than going up.

Winnipeg fans kept up their jeering chants of the visiting teams best player, this time yelling to Staal, Jordans Better! in reference to his brother, who plays for Pittsburgh.

That was fun, said Staal, who scored his 20th and 21st goal of the season. I mean, Jordans good, but I dont know if hes better. It was fun to hear that, and it was fun to score a few and get the apple on the game winner.

I think they probably regret the chants they were making as the game went on, started to hesitate and we stuck with it and were rewarded with a big win.

Carolina was coming off a 5-2 win over Minnesota on Saturday afternoon.

Its a gutsy effort, back-to-back games coming into a really tough building, Hurricanes coach Kirk Muller said. This is the way our guys have been playing since Christmas. They go, give it everything they got. We had a short bench, had injuries there tonight and everything, but theyve been finding a way to pick up points and Im really proud of the group. Everybodys really stepped up.

The teams were tied at 1 after the first period, but Winnipeg went up 3-2 after the second on Miettinens second goal of the game.

LaRose scored the winner with a wristshot after Carolina won the faceoff in its own end and rushed down the ice. He has a goal in each of his past three games.

Staals second goal came on a breakaway at 10:24 of the third period and tied it at 3.

Jokinen sent Staal a long pass that he picked up just before the blue line. He finished the play with a shot that went over Pavelecs stick.

The problem was, you couldnt stop the bleeding, Noel said. That was the problem. Thats sad. Thats sad because we came so far. And to do this to each other and to disrespect each other like this was silly.

Carolina had a five-minute power play in the second period after Jets defenseman Zach Bogosian was tossed from the game for charging after he left his feet and knocked Andreas Nodl to the ice, who didnt return.

Bogosian had missed the previous five games with a lower-body injury.

The Jets killed off 3:43 of the penalty before the Hurricanes Tuomo Ruutu shortened the advantage when he was sent to the box for interference.

Miettinen made it 3-2 with 1:06 left in the second on a quick passing play with Spencer Machacek, who was called up from St. Johns of the American Hockey League earlier in the day.

After crossing the blue line, Miettinen sent a close pass to Machacek, who passed it back to him and Miettinen then fired a low shot by Ward.

Notes

• Kanes assist extended his points streak to five games with two goals and three assists.
• Tim Brent assisted on Staals goal and now has two goals and two assists in his past four games.
• This was the fifth of six meetings between the teams. Their last game is March 30 in Carolina. The Jets have won three of the five.
• The Jets head out for a three-game road trip, starting with Pittsburgh on Tuesday, Washington on Friday and Nashville on Saturday.
• Carolina heads home to host Florida on Wednesday.

Tags : Game

NY RANGERS 4, NJ DEVILS 2 When John Tortorella saw the Devils’ starting lineup before Monday night’s clash at the Garden, the Rangers coach received the message from Peter DeBoer and the cross-river rivals loud and clear — it was time to spill the bad blood. “We were pretty fired up — he got us going pretty good in here,” Henrik Lundqvist said of Tortorella’s pregame speech prior to a 4-2 Rangers win that clinched a playoff berth. “When Torts saw their starting lineup, he changed a little bit of our starting lineup. We knew what was coming, and it just set the tone for this game.” PHOTOS: RANGERS WIN MAIN EVENT UNDERCARD Tortorella was caught on camera cursing out DeBoer across the benches before the opening faceoff. At the puckdrop, six players engaged in three simultaneous fights, with Rangers rookie Stu Bickel opening a huge gash on Ryan Carter’s nose that caused a delay as arena workers scraped blood from the ice. BONDY: RANGERS FIGHT FOR HOME ICE, LITERALLY Mike Rupp took on Eric Boulton and Brandon Prust dueled with Cam Janssen. “It just feels like you’re fighting for territory,” Rupp said of the Ranger-Devil rivalry. WITH RIVALRY, RANGERS-DEVILS BRAWL WAS INEVITABLE The coaches’ war of words spilled into the postgame. DeBoer, who said Sunday he thinks “there’s a genuine dislike” between the teams, took exception to Tortorella’s reprimand for starting his brawlers. “I guess, in John’s world you can come into our building and start your tough guys, but we can’t do the same here,” the Devils coach said, referring to Tortorella starting Rupp and Prust in the teams’ first meeting of the season, Dec. 20 in Newark. In that game, Rupp and Janssen scrapped three seconds in. “He either has short-term memory loss or he’s a hypocrite. It’s one or the other.” Tortorella said afterwards: “I do what I have to do with my team. I don’t coach his team, so its none of my business.” The frustrated Devils even left one of the locker stalls in the visiting team room damaged following the emotional contest. In the hockey game that broke out following the fisticuffs, the line of Ryan Callahan, Brandon Dubinsky and Derek Stepan carried the Blueshirts (45-20-7, 97 points) at the start and the finish, snapping a two-game losing streak and improving the Rangers’ conference lead over the Penguins to three points with 10 games to play, though idle Pittsburgh now has a game in hand. Dubinsky opened the scoring 1:11 into the first period, and with a 3-2 lead and 1:10 to play, Derek Stepan redirected in Dubinsky’s shot off a Carl Hagelin forecheck just as a late power play expired. Callahan had two assists and drew the penalty on Jacob Josefson that gave New York the late man advantage. Dan Girardi snuck a wrist shot past Martin Brodeur in the second period. Patrik Elias got the Devils on the scoreboard 4:30 later. Mats Zuccarello gave the Rangers a 3-1 lead on the power play at 7:33 of the second period. It was his second goal in as many games and snapped an 0-for-9 skid on the man advantage. A softee from Petr Sykora closed the scoring for the Devils (41-27-5, 87 points). All Dubinsky could talk about afterward, though, was Bickel, Rupp and Prust. “We have three tough customers in here, and it takes a lot of (guts) to do that, especially against those guys,” Dubinsky said. “It was nice to score a goal, but I’m not going to take any credit from them for how we started that game.” This is the earliest the Rangers have clinched a playoff berth since the 1991-92 season, when they clinched on March 8. They will head to the playoffs for the second time in Tortorellas three full seasons as coach, but this time, theyve punched their ticket early, as opposed to scratching and clawing until the final days of the regular season. “I like it this way,” Lundqvist said. “Now we can go over details of our game more than just look at points. There’s no stress, no panic.

Tags : Game

Pit is back to battle the underworld in Kid Icarus: Uprising (Nintendo, for the Nintendo 3DS, $39.99). This time, hes doing it in three dimensions while being aided by Palutena, the cheeky Goddess of Light he saved at the end of the first game. That mostly means blasting baddies with various weapons while soaring through the sky and scurrying on the ground.

Pit can only fly for five minutes at a time, so most Uprising levels begin in the air before moving to land. The aerial levels are especially wondrous when viewed on the Nintendo 3DS glasses-free 3-D screen. Its a shame that the heroic Pit cannot keep battling eyeballs while dodging twisters or gliding over erupting volcanoes just a little bit longer.

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Uprising totally falls apart when Pits feet hit the ground. The wonky controls require players to move Pit with the analog stick and control the camera and Pits aim with the stylus. (Lefties either have to deal with using their nondominant hand or purchase the extra Circle Pad Pro analog stick and snap it onto the back of their Nintendo 3DS.)

With such a limiting way to see whats happening while traversing terra firma, Pit is often ambushed off-screen by the games garish enemies shooting him with lasers or poison or whatever. Angels must be immune to whiplash because the only way to overcome the control scheme is to continually tilt the poor little cherub around the graphically dull landscape.

The controls also make Uprising nearly unplayable in 3-D without perching the 3DS on the included black plastic stand. While its completely possible to navigate in 2-D, flipping the 3-D slider up helps gauge just how far away foes are positioned within the sprawling ground levels and also adds gorgeous depth to the flying portions, which look richer than the ground levels.

Throughout the game, Pit and Palutena — and occasionally their adversaries — chat on the bottom screen. Casual players might find their incessant banter annoying, while die-hard Nintendo devotees will no doubt be delighted with the duos 8-bit shoutouts and Nintendogs jokes. Their constant chatter isnt just silly fun, it also drives the story forward.

There are enough twists in the games main plot to keep players engaged as they battle zany mythology-inspired creatures that wouldnt last 1 minute in a God of War game. If thats not enough, theres deep weapon customization as well as a practice range, treasure hunt and idol toss, which turns discovered eggs into virtual goodies with a tap of the 3DS stylus.

The two frantic multiplayer modes — free-for-all and light vs. dark — are a particularly chaotic good time, and the points earned when battling five other players near or far online can be used to upgrade the nine different types of weapons that can be equipped in the solo or multiplayer editions. (I grew quite fond of slashing evildoers with the bear claws.)

While this fast-paced 3-D adventure is certainly a hearty reintroduction of Pit, unless you already own Nintendos latest hand-held gadget or have been anxiously awaiting Pits return for the past 20 years, there are fundamentally too many flaws with the games handling to make Uprising worth sacrificing any money to buy a 3DS.

Two-and-a-half out of four stars.

Tags : Game

Capitals-Red Wings Game Review

Detroit, MI (Sports Network) – Alex Ovechkin netted two of Washingtons three first-period goals and the Capitals continued their playoff push while furthering Detroits slide with a 5-3 win at Joe Louis Arena.

Mike Knuble and Jason Chimera registered a goal and an assist for the Capitals, who snapped a two-game losing streak and won for the fifth time in seven games.

With the win, Washington remained two points ahead of Buffalo for eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings. The Capitals also closed to within three points of first-place Florida in the Southeast Division.

Braden Holtby made 30 saves in his second start of the season with Washington.

Kyle Quincey, Todd Bertuzzi and Danny Cleary lit the lamp for Detroit, which returned home following an 0-3-1 road trip. The Red Wings have dropped seven of eight overall and remained tied with Nashville for fourth in the West.

Jimmy Howard stopped 17 shots.

Down 4-1, Bertuzzi struck 36 seconds into the third period, sweeping in a loose puck in front of Holtby before the goalie was able to get his oversized glove on it.

Cleary made it a one-goal game at 12:52 after Washington failed to clear the puck from its zone.

The Red Wings had a chance to tie it on a power play as Knuble tripped defenseman Niklas Kronwall with 3:15 remaining. However, Detroits Henrik Zetterberg committed a holding penalty one minute later, and Chimera supplied an empty-net goal with 21 seconds to play.

We held on at the end and the guys played good defensive hockey at the end to seal the win, said Washington head coach Dale Hunter.

The first period featured a pair of Ovechkin power-play goals sandwiched around Knubles tally.

Ovechkin opened the scoring by one-timing a pass from Marcus Johansson behind Howard 7:48 into the contest.

The second Washington goal came as the result of a turnover. Detroit rookie Brendan Smith had trouble handling the puck just inside his own blue line and wound up losing it to the Capitals Mathieu Perreault. Chimera gathered a feed from Perreault and dished the puck to Knuble, who was alone in the slot and beat Howard at 11:25.

Detroit appeared to get on the board with 6:56 remaining, but the goal was wiped out and Washington was awarded a power play because Tomas Holmstrom had driven a Capitals player into Holtby, resulting in an interference penalty. Ovechkin buried his 32nd goal of the season on the ensuing man advantage.

I didnt think there was a ton of chances for either team early in the game. They capitalized on their power play, said Detroit head coach Mike Babcock.

The Red Wings broke the shutout at the 5:15 mark of the second period, as Quinceys slap shot from the right point produced Detroits first power-play goal since February 28 at Columbus. The team had been mired in an 0-for-31 slump with the extra skater.

Later in the middle frame, Washington regained its three-goal lead. Keith Aucoin took a feed from Alexander Semin, spun around and beat Howard high to the glove side on a shot from the slot with 2:36 left.

Tags : Game

WASHINGTON — A classified war simulation held this month to assess the repercussions of an Israeli attack on Iran forecasts that the strike would lead to a wider regional war, which could draw in the United States and leave hundreds of Americans dead, according to American officials.

Notes from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and other areas of conflict in the post-9/11 era. Go to the Blog »

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The officials said the so-called war game was not designed as a rehearsal for American military action — and they emphasized that the exercise’s results were not the only possible outcome of a real-world conflict.

But the game has raised fears among top American planners that it may be impossible to preclude American involvement in any escalating confrontation with Iran, the officials said. In the debate among policy makers over the consequences of any Israeli attack, that reaction may give stronger voice to those in the White House, Pentagon and intelligence community who have warned that a strike could prove perilous for the United States.

The results of the war game were particularly troubling to Gen. James N. Mattis, who commands all American forces in the Middle East, Persian Gulf and Southwest Asia, according to officials who either participated in the Central Command exercise or who were briefed on the results and spoke on condition of anonymity because of its classified nature. When the exercise had concluded earlier this month, according to the officials, General Mattis told aides that an Israeli first strike would be likely to have dire consequences across the region and for United States forces there.

The two-week war game, called Internal Look, played out a narrative in which the United States found it was pulled into the conflict after Iranian missiles struck a Navy warship in the Persian Gulf, killing about 200 Americans, according to officials with knowledge of the exercise. The United States then retaliated by carrying out its own strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

The initial Israeli attack was assessed to have set back the Iranian nuclear program by roughly a year, and the subsequent American strikes did not slow the Iranian nuclear program by more than an additional two years. However, other Pentagon planners have said that America’s arsenal of long-range bombers, refueling aircraft and precision missiles could do far more damage to the Iranian nuclear program — if President Obama were to decide on a full-scale retaliation.

The exercise was designed specifically to test internal military communications and coordination among battle staffs in the Pentagon; in Tampa, Fla., where the headquarters of the Central Command is located; and in the Persian Gulf in the aftermath of an Israeli strike. But the exercise was written to assess a pressing, potential, real-world situation.

In the end, the war game reinforced to military officials the unpredictable and uncontrollable nature of a strike by Israel, and a counterstrike by Iran, the officials said.

American and Israeli intelligence services broadly agree on the progress Iran has made to enrich uranium. But they disagree on how much time there would be to prevent Iran from building a weapon if leaders in Tehran decided to go ahead with one.

With the Israelis saying publicly that the window to prevent Iran from building a nuclear bomb is closing,  American officials see an Israeli attack on Iran within the next year as a  possibility. They have said privately that they believe that Israel would probably give the United States little or no warning should Israeli officials make the decision to strike Iranian nuclear sites.

Officials said that, under the chain of events in the war game, Iran believed that Israel and the United States were partners in any strike against Iranian nuclear sites and therefore considered American military forces in the Persian Gulf as complicit in the attack. Iranian jets chased Israeli warplanes after the attack, and Iranians launched missiles at an American warship in the Persian Gulf, viewed as an act of war that allowed an American retaliation.

Internal Look has long been one of Central Command’s most significant planning exercises, and is carried out about twice a year to assess how the headquarters, its staff and command posts in the region would respond to various real-world situations.

Over the years, it has been used to prepare for various wars in the Middle East. According to the defense Web site GlobalSecurity.org, military planners during the cold war used Internal Look to prepare for a move by the Soviet Union to seize Iranian oil fields. The American war plan at the time called for the Pentagon to march nearly six Army divisions north from the Persian Gulf to the Zagros Mountains of Iran to blunt a Soviet attack.

In December 2002, Gen. Tommy R. Franks, who was the top officer at Central Command, used Internal Look to test the readiness of his units for the coming invasion of Iraq.

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Tags : Game

Tennessee held a 28-23 halftime lead on DePaul at Mondays NCAA second-round regional showdown but the Volunteers were anything but dominating.

Afflicted by 11 turnovers and poor (35.7 percent shooting) Tennesse was only able to build a margin thanks to 6-for-8 free throw shooting.

The Blue Demons shot even worse (28.6 percent) as they missed their first three shots and had three turnovers. Yet they shook off the rocky start to open a short-lived 9-8 lead and then stayed with the Volunteers through most of the half.

DePaul guard Anna Martin had a game-high 13 points while Meighan Simmons paced Tennessee with 12.

Mondays crowd at Allstate Arena was split about evenly between DePaul and orange-clad Tennessee fans. An official attendance figure was not available at halftime, but the it looked smaller than Saturdays first round when 4,161 fans were on hand.

The Blue Demons had never beaten powerhouse Tennessee in 19 previous tries. The winner advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 and third round action in Des Moines this weekend.

The Volunteers series may be the most lopsided in the Blue Demons record books, but head coach Doug Bruno said regularly playing teams with that pedigree is by design and helped elevate his program into the nations elite.

We chose to play the best teams in the country, he said. By playing great coaches like (Tennessees) Pat Summitt, you got to learn your craft hellip; In the big picture of how we all go about competing at the Division-I level, theres been a learning curve here thats been helped by the process of being beaten by the University of Tennessee and some of the other great programs weve played as well.

DePaul has played more than 200 ranked teams during Brunos 26-year tenure and regularly meets the nations best since the school joined the Big East in 2005-06.

Tennessee eyes its first Final Four trip since 2008. But its been a bittersweet passage since Summitt revealed shes afflicted with early stage dementia. Winner of eight national championships, she has passed game responsibilities to Volunteers associate head coach Holly Warlick.

An animated Warlick directed action during Saturdays 72-49 win over UT-Martin while Summitt quietly sat on the sidelines with hand on her chin while intently following play.

The Blue Demons (23-10) have played with seven regulars since Keisha Hampton went down in the last of a series of season-ending injuries. And that lack of depth is something Tennessee planned to exploit.

We feel like were the deepest team in the country, Warlick said on Sunday. Theyve had some injuries and so their starters have had to play key roles for them and they cant go very deep. Were definitely going to try to exploit that and use our depth to our advantage.

But Martin warned that seven is plenty.

Were in great shape, she said. Weve been preparing for games like this, so weve just got to come out and play like weve been and hope for the best.

Tags : Game