Overall World Cup leader Ivica Kostelic left the World Championships on Saturday to return home to Croatia for treatment on his injured back.
The 29-year-old Kostelic said after Thursday's downhill training session that he was at 70 percent fitness, then completed another run on Friday.
He will have intensive treatment at a spinal clinic in Daruvar, Croatian ski federation manager Vedran Pavlek …
WASHINGTON A new president should tell his national securityadviser at the start of his administration that the secretary ofstate is his "one principal lieutenant" in foreign policy, a reporton presidential transition recommends.
The report noted that Presidents Reagan, Jimmy Carter andRichard Nixon "all found their administrations involved early ininternal disputes between the national security adviser and the StateDepartment."
The report never mentioned the Iran-contra affair, which came tolight in President Reagan's second term. During the affair, in whichthe United States sold arms to Iran and profits were diverted to theNicaraguan contras, Reagan's …
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Jeremy Hazell somehow got lost in the wild ending surrounding Seton Hall's 84-70 upset of No. 15 St. John's.
It's the way his senior season has gone with the Pirates.
The shooting guard scored 28 points in a win over Alabama early in the season and broke his wrist in the game. In the middle of his rehabilitation, he was grazed by gunfire in a Christmas holdup attempt near his home.
And when Hazell scored a season-high 31 points in the stunning upset of the red-hot Red Storm on Thursday night, he got pushed into the background with the ejection of St. John's coach Steve Lavin in the closing minutes.
Hazell doesn't seem to mind. The lanky 6-foot-5 …
Sprint Nextel Corp. said Monday it has paid off the $1 billion balance on its $4.5 billion credit line, helping the company's stock gain more than 10 percent.
Shares jumped 35 cents to $3.44 in morning trading.
The stock also got a boost Monday from an upgrade at Credit Suisse. In an investor note, Credit Suisse analyst Jonathan Chaplin upgraded Sprint to "Outperform" from "Neutral" and raised his share price target to $6 from $4.
He said the growth of Sprint's cheaper, prepaid …
PENSACOLA, Fla. - When Marine Lt. Alan Zarracina finally did the splits after months of struggling with the difficult pose in yoga class, the limber women around him applauded.
Zarracina, a 24-year-old Naval Academy graduate and flight student, admits he would have a hard time explaining the scene to other Marines.
Each class ends with a chant for peace. Then, instructor Nancy La Nasa hands students incense sticks as a gift for their 90 minutes of back bends, shoulder stands and other challenging positions.
Zarracina has tried to drag some of his military friends to class, but they make fun of him. "It's not necessarily considered masculine," he said.
Still, the popular classes, based on ancient Hindu practices of meditation through controlled breathing, balancing and stretching, are catching on in military circles as a way to improve flexibility, balance and concentration. A former Navy SEAL told Zarracina about the class.
The August edition of Fit Yoga, the nation's second-largest yoga magazine with a circulation of 100,000, features a photo of two Naval aviators doing yoga poses in full combat gear aboard an aircraft carrier.
"At first it seemed a little shocking - soldiers practicing such a peaceful art," writes editor Rita Trieger.
Upon closer inspection, she said, she noticed "a sense of inner calm" on the aviators' faces.
"War is hell, and if yoga can help them find a little solace, that's good," said Trieger, a longtime New York yoga instructor.
Retired Adm. Tom Steffens, who spent 34 years as a Navy SEAL and served as the director of the elite corps' training, regularly practices yoga at his home in Norfolk, Va.
"Once in a while I'll sit in class, and everyone is a 20-something young lady with a 10-inch waist and here I am this old guy," he joked.
Steffens, who said the stretching helped him eliminate the stiffness of a biceps injury after surgery, said the benefits of regular practice can be enormous.
"The yoga cured all kinds of back pains," he said. "Being a SEAL, you beat up your body."
Yoga breathing exercises can help SEALs with their diving, and learning to control the body by remaining in unusual positions can help members stay in confined spaces for long periods, he said.
"The ability to stay focused on something, whether on breathing or on the yoga practice, and not be drawn off course, that has a lot of connection to the military," he said. "In our SEAL basic training, there are many things that are yoga-like in nature."
Zarracina, the Marine, said yoga has helped him improve his posture and become more comfortable while flying.
"Sitting in an airplane for two hours with a harness pulling on you, you will feel a hot spot around your back," he said.
But he said mastering difficult stretches like the splits wasn't easy despite being in top physical condition.
"For the first two weeks, I didn't like (yoga) because it was painful," he said. At Marine training in Quantico, Va., "we did hikes and field training. Yoga taps into those core muscles that people don't really use."
At the Army's Camp Rudder on Eglin Air Force Base outside Pensacola, Army Ranger candidates go through their final and most difficult stage in their grueling training regimen. Capt. Jeremiah Cordovano, a Rudder instructor, said that yoga isn't a part of Ranger training but that some use it to build flexibility.
"It's still something that is sort of catching on, but a lot of guys have done it," he said. "I have done it quite a few times. A friend introduced me to it and I was surprised. At first I was just smiling, but after five or 10 minutes you really start to work out your muscles and stuff."
But the peaceful meditation techniques and chanting taught in yoga classes don't necessarily transfer to the combat zone, Cordovano said.
"I spent 14 months in Iraq, and I didn't see anybody doing yoga while I was over there," he said.
Chicago Symphony Orchestra presents century's last Christmas Spectacular
For the fifth consecutive season, "Welcome Yule!" ushers in the holiday season at Symphony Center. Its five programs are a treat for children and Christmas-spirited adults alike.
Members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Chorus, the Chicago Children's Choir, and Percussion Scholarship Group, all under the baton of CSO Chorus Director Duain Wolfe, will perform traditional Christmas favorites; a sing-along will prompt audience participation as well. Rumor has it that Santa himself will make an appearance!
The Christmas Spectacular will be held at 7:30 p.m. tonight.
Traditional songs will include "We Wish You A Merry Christmas," "O Come, All Ye Faithful," "Deck The Halls," "Christmas Flourish" by Bass, "March of the Kings (Farandole) from "L'arlesienne Suite No. 2" "Fum, Mum, Fum" traditional/arr.
Shaw, "Jordnanas" by Fry, "This Christmastide" by Fraser; "Welcome, Yule!" by Mathias; "Hallelujah" from "Messiah" by Handel, "I's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" Handel, "Skier's Waltz" by Wilson, "Christmas Menace" by Fry, "The Sleigh Ride" by L. Mozart, "Christmas in Chicago" and "Good Night" and "Merry Christmas."
William Eddins, resident conductor for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra will conduct "The Millennium New Year's Eve Gala" with members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra featuring Andrea Marcovicci, vocalist as soloist Friday, Dec. 31 at 9 p.m.
On New Year's Eve 1999, Orchestra Hall audiences will end the year-and the twentieth century-with dinner, music, champagne, and dancing `til dawn. Guest artist and cabaret song stylist Andrea Marcovicci will interpret the history of American popular song.
The Millennium New Year's Eve Gala is sure to showcase Symphony Center at its most festive occasion with music, sing, a balloon drop, party favors and dancing.
Supper club singer extraor-dinaire Marcovicci's appearance marks the second time that she has graced the Orchestra Hall stage. She is among the new generation of singers and pursues an active concert and cabaret schedule throughout the country.
Article Copyright Sengstacke Enterprises, Inc.
Photo (Chicago Symphony Orchestra)
Cricketer Kevin Pietersen has married singer Jessica Taylor in astar-studded wedding ceremony.
But residents of picturesque village Castle Combe were less thanbowled over by one of the celebrity weddings of the year.
England star Pietersen married the Liberty X singer in thevillage's parish church.
But as a host of stars of music and sport made their way to thevillage - best-known as the location for the Dr Dolittle film -local people found themselves confronted by bouncers and bypaparazzi.
Part of the lower village became a no-go area on Saturday.
Vice-chairman of the parish council Adrian Bishop said: "I thinkthis is the most hyped wedding that has taken place there.
"Access to the church was completely cut off to people who livehere.
"I understand several people wanted to lay flowers on graves butwere prevented from doing so by bouncers. It upset some people.
"There were lines and lines of paparazzi but I doubt if they gotanything, there was so much security there.
"No one bothered to tell us about the fireworks display, either."
At the pounds300-a-night, five-star Manor House Hotel, all 48rooms had been booked for the wedding
Flamboyant batsman Pietersen, 27, had tried to keep details ofhis wedding to Taylor, 27, a secret.
But news leaked out as teammates, including England captainMichael Vaughan, and celebrity friends began showing up.
Hair and make-up experts were on hand to ensure the bride, whoarrived at the church in a black Rolls-Royce, looked stunning.
One of the few locals who managed to catch a glimpse of her wasTina Seiler, 41, who said: "She was gorgeous. Her dress was abackless ivory silk chiffon design, tightly crunched at the frontwith sparkling beads hanging like icicles down the pleats."
After the 45-minute ceremony - which included the carol SilentNight - the bridal party and 200 guests walked to the hotel.
Pietersen had spent the night before enjoying a quiet meal withhis family and best man, England colleague Darren Gough, in aprivate room.
Other guests included England one-day captain Paul Collingwood,fast bowler Matthew Hoggard and veteran wicketkeeper Paul Nixon.
