News for today's 2018

Wang Shu Lecture

11:00 AM Tukiyooo 0

On April 2 Wang Shu, the 2012 Pritzker Prize winner and partner at <a href="http://www.world-architects.com/amateur/">Amateur Architecture Studio</a>, is speaking at <a href="http://cooper.edu/events-and-exhibitions/events/lecture-2012-pritzker-prize-laureate-wang-shu">The Cooper Union</a>, in a lecture co-sponsored by the Architectural League of New York. See below for more information.<br /><br /><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPn8BS5v-glQjvXf6TlV0iQa9XSAYsMTgR19OpQQsjfFwYRBMMnTKfsH0_qiv7-pjAMJmHRKXB0IQ4Ar_gfk1gKwA0Rs2DpTy78JsUc0H1YsI0p_NKwEbQ_1o57_eLhWGnYoe6ogOCfqb9/s1600/399.jpg" /><br />[ Ningbo History Museum | Photo: Lv Hengzhong] <br /><blockquote><b>Current Work: Wang Shu / Amateur Architecture Studio</b><br /><br />Wang Shu and his wife, Lu Wenyu, founded Amateur Architecture Studio in 1997 in  Hangzhou, China. The name of the office refers to the approach of an  amateur builder—one based on spontaneity, craft skills, and cultural  traditions. In order to learn traditional skills, Wang Shu spent the  early part of his career working on building sites. Rather than looking  toward the West for inspiration, Wang’s work is rooted firmly in the  context of Chinese history and culture. Today the studio incorporates  Wang’s knowledge of everyday techniques to adapt and transform materials  for contemporary projects. The “unique combination of traditional  understanding, experimental building tactics, and intensive research”  has become fundamental to the office’s architectural projects.<br /><br />Some  of his most important built works include the Library of Wenzheng  College, Suzhou University; Ningbo Contemporary Art Museum; the  Xiangshan Campus of the China Academy of Art; and the Ningbo History  Museum.<br /><br />Wang Shu is the <a href="http://www.pritzkerprize.com/laureates/2012">2012 Pritzker Prize</a>  laureate, the first Chinese citizen to receive that honor. He is  Professor and Head of the Architecture School at China Academy of Art,  Hangzhou. In 2011, he became the first Chinese Kenzo Tange Visiting  Professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Design in Cambridge,  Massachusetts.</blockquote>Tickets can be obtained <a href="http://archleague.org/2013/04/wang-shu/">via the Architectural League</a>. For those unable to make it to NYC for this lecture, Wang Shu is also speaking on <a href="http://www.architecture.yale.edu/drupal/events/lectures">April 3 at the Yale School of Architecture</a>.

Wang Shu Lecture

On April 2 Wang Shu, the 2012 Pritzker Prize winner and partner at Amateur Architecture Studio , is speaking at The Cooper Union , in a lect...

Turning Elementary Computer labs into STEM labs: A welcome change?

8:37 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.theann.com/WMBK/1ErvinJarrett.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.theann.com/WMBK/1ErvinJarrett.gif" /></a></div><h3>Elementary STEM Lab Teacher, Kevin Jarrett</h3>Recently, elementary <a class="zem_slink" href="http://www.stemedcoalition.org/" rel="homepage" target="_blank" title="STEM">STEM</a> lab teacher <a href="http://about.me/kjarrett">Kevin Jarrett</a> (@<a href="https://twitter.com/kjarrett">kjarrett</a>) and researcher Dr. Jeremy Irvin (@<a href="http://www.twitter.com/@dr_jeremy_ervin">dr_jeremy_ervin </a>) spent some time sharing the story of the transformation of an elementary computer lab into a STEM lab at Kevin's school on <a href="http://www.bamradionetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=91&layout=blog&Itemid=259">my podcast</a>.. They are using the curriculum "<a href="http://www.eie.org/eie/">Engineering is Elementary</a>." What he's doing is powerful and important and I wish every school would follow this model.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://blogs.ncs-nj.org/k4stemlab/files/2013/03/Untitled2-500x342.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="218" src="http://blogs.ncs-nj.org/k4stemlab/files/2013/03/Untitled2-500x342.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look at <a href="http://blogs.ncs-nj.org/k4stemlab/">the blog </a>where Kevin documents learning<br />with his students and communicates needs and<br />objectives with parents.</td></tr></tbody></table><h3>Blogging to share Learning and Lead</h3>Take time to review his <a href="http://blogs.ncs-nj.org/k4stemlab/">NCS Stemlab blog</a> where he shares engineering, math, science, and technology with parents and mobilizes everyone to action. (He says he posts what he needs and almost immediately receives it on his desk the next day.)<br /><br /><h3>How you can listen to the show</h3>Listen to the show "Creative Approaches to Teaching STEM at the Elementary School Level" on <a href="http://www.bamradionetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=91&layout=blog&Itemid=259">Every Classroom Matters</a> (BAM Radio Network) <a href="http://www.jackstreet.com/jackstreet/WECM.ErvinJarrettt.cfm">Listen </a> <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/every-classroom-matters-cool/id606677009">Itunes  </a>  <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/BAM-Radio-Network/137305499663569?sk=app_2373072738">Comment</a><br /><br />If you want to subscribe via your podcast app (see my <a href="http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-every-classroom-matters-show-and.html">iCatcher tutorial</a>) here's the <a href="http://www.bamradionetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=91&layout=blog&Itemid=259&format=feed&type=rss">RSS link</a> to the show.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8382/8489076936_d1e7c9ba77.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8382/8489076936_d1e7c9ba77.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kevin uses the <a href="http://www.eie.org/eie/">Engineering is Elementary </a>STEM curriculum.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><h3>How much money did they spend?</h3>They use Google chromebooks and money from a $3,000 grant to get things set up, but besides that, they didn't really spend much money.<br /><br /><h3>Essential Questions</h3>As you take time to <a href="http://www.bamradionetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=91&layout=blog&Itemid=259">listen to the show</a>, ask these guiding questions.<br /><br /><ul><li>Does the name "computer lab" restrict what we think we should do in it? </li><li>Is a STEM lab core or enrichment?</li><li>How would implementing a STEM lab at the elementary level impact a school? How did it impact Kevins?</li></ul><br /><br />We need STEM labs not computer labs but remember that the technology is an important component. His kindergartners are using <a class="zem_slink" href="http://docs.google.com/" rel="homepage" target="_blank" title="Google Docs">Google Docs</a> and all kinds of technology. If your students transferred to his school, could they keep up? Would they want to go back to your classroom after spending time there? If you're worried with your answers, then, perhaps you should consider being part of the vision of moving forward with STEM in your school.<br /><br />I talked with my curriculum director, headmaster, and a few board members and said if I had one wish for our elementary, it would be a STEM lab for the elementary school.<br />  <div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://www.zemanta.com/?px" title="Enhanced by Zemanta"><img alt="Enhanced by Zemanta" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_e.png?x-id=0181e6e0-d19a-4018-a4ee-ba32613cb923" style="border: none; float: right;" /></a></div>

Turning Elementary Computer labs into STEM labs: A welcome change?

Elementary STEM Lab Teacher, Kevin Jarrett Recently, elementary STEM lab teacher Kevin Jarrett (@ kjarrett ) and researcher Dr. Jeremy Irv...

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 03/26/2013

2:30 AM Tukiyooo 0

<ul class="diigo-linkroll">      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="https://www.diigo.com/list/dgburris/common-core-curriculum-resources">Common Core Curriculum Resources - List | Diigo</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">Darren Burris, a math teacher at Boston Collegiate Charter School, has a list of 186 items for Common Core Resources on his Diigo list. He's someone you'll want to follow on Diigo.</p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a>            <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/math">math</a>            <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/commoncore">commoncore</a>            <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a>            <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/bestpractices">bestpractices</a>            <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/edu_trends">edu_trends</a></p>                                        </li>      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/teach-plus/the-quantified-student_b_1975052.html?mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRonvqXMZKXonjHpfsX56+wlUKO0lMI/0ER3fOvrPUfGjI4DTcNnI/qLAzICFpZo2FFMH+6YfZJL6Q==">Teach Plus: The Quantified Student</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">Fascinating article from a teacher thriving in the standardized testing environment. Fascinating.  "Last year, working with the same cohort of students (by then fifth graders), I tried to find more learning opportunities that focused on data. We used math websites like TenMarks that enable students to learn about their own learning even as they practice new skills. We analyzed information graphics and dove into ways of presenting numerical information. We explored how numbers shape our understanding of ourselves and the world. And much of their enthusiasm and curiosity for these tasks came out of their interest in numbers from standardized testing.  I've thus come to believe there's a role for standardized testing within education. As a limited portion of a multiple measure evaluation system, it helps teachers understand how well we've taught over the course of a year. It also helps students understand how much they mastered over that year and makes them agents in their own learning."</p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a>            <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a>            <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/testing">testing</a>            <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/data">data</a>            <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/math">math</a></p>                                        </li>  </ul><p class="diigo-ps">Posted from <a href='https://www.diigo.com'>Diigo</a>. The rest of my favorite links are <a href='https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher'>here</a>.</p>

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 03/26/2013

Common Core Curriculum Resources - List | Diigo Darren Burris, a math teacher at Boston Collegiate C...

Easter is coming!

2:02 AM Tukiyooo 0

Easter is coming and I have 4 blissful days off work over the holiday.  Ciaran is heading to Galway for a tournament. My twin sister is coming to stay with me over the weekend.  We plan to relax in the hot tub, go out for a nice meal and chill out! <br/><br/><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi73frES7a_W8ARtaKzne7Oxl9q1aDtoH1vuBKGb58a8EnjOVuVr5jb0XboS5vPbgnSbPuZnUvGwpnsarfOETvOjB0NMUDTlZ-V3wlUMz2sOofGmEIYXnt5hO4DeiHYHa35kFhH10RxiVzc/s640/blogger-image-604714540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi73frES7a_W8ARtaKzne7Oxl9q1aDtoH1vuBKGb58a8EnjOVuVr5jb0XboS5vPbgnSbPuZnUvGwpnsarfOETvOjB0NMUDTlZ-V3wlUMz2sOofGmEIYXnt5hO4DeiHYHa35kFhH10RxiVzc/s640/blogger-image-604714540.jpg" /></a></div> <br/><br/><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO-WKJhsHSbnY8fF9g31fJ08vZvBoL8aMmurMDBC_Ffis2KwifhtfvCfw_IX0utXT0j21hvE4OXssgTe5b3v5foiPSCXrk6DueqHRAfNTJQzOZKdr-TcVG9fnKh5VbNQuIMrMDb5aD8pVu/s640/blogger-image-48097066.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO-WKJhsHSbnY8fF9g31fJ08vZvBoL8aMmurMDBC_Ffis2KwifhtfvCfw_IX0utXT0j21hvE4OXssgTe5b3v5foiPSCXrk6DueqHRAfNTJQzOZKdr-TcVG9fnKh5VbNQuIMrMDb5aD8pVu/s640/blogger-image-48097066.jpg" /></a></div>

Easter is coming!

Easter is coming and I have 4 blissful days off work over the holiday. Ciaran is heading to Galway for a tournament. My twin sister is comi...

Florida Gulf Coast University Coach Andy Enfield Has Basketball Success, Supermodel Wife

9:57 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><iframe height="221" id="kaltura_player_1364273784" src="http://cdnapi.kaltura.com/index.php/kwidget/wid/0_c8r2mcrq/uiconf_id/3775332/st_cache/41432?referer=http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/place-bets-march-madness-lottery-lunacy-18794556&autoPlay=false&addThis.playerSize=392x221&freeWheel.siteSectionId=nws_offsite&closedCaptionActive=true&" style="border: 0px solid #ffffff;" width="392">Unfortunately your browser does not support IFrames.</iframe> <div style="font-size: x-small; margin-top: 0; text-align: left;"><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/video">Watch More News Videos at ABC</a>  |   <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/technology">Technology News</a>  |   <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/entertainment">Celebrity News</a><br /><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Florida Gulf Coast head coach, Andy Enfield, and his wife, Amanda Marcum Enfield, a former Maxim model, have gained notoriety during Florida Gulf Coast's cinderally run during the NCAA basketball tournament. </span><span class="caption_credit" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #888888; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">(Rob Carr; Elsa/Getty Images)</span><br /><span class="caption_credit" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #888888; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span><br /><div id="date_partner" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; height: 32px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 150px; min-height: 30px; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: 490px;"></div><div class="byline_date" style="float: left; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 490px;"><div class="byline_date_inner" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 485px;"><div class="byline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">By <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/author/alyssa_newcomb" rel="author" style="color: #336699; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">ALYSSA NEWCOMB</a> (<a href="http://twitter.com/alyssanewcomb" style="color: #336699; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">@alyssanewcomb</a>)</div><div class="date" style="margin: 0px; padding: 4px 0px 0px;">March 25, 2013</div></div></div><br /><div id="sponsoredByAd" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; left: 430px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: 0px; text-align: right; top: 434px;"><span id="sponsoredbylogo1" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span id="_fw_container_sponsoredbylogo1" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">Florida Gulf Coast University basketball coach Andy Enfield's team has risen from oblivion to become the darlings of the NCAA tournament while his supermodel wife cheers them on from the stands.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">As if that wasn't enough, the 43-year-old coach of the South Florida school has spent time in the NBA and is a former basketball star at Johns Hopkins University.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">Oh, and he's a self-made millionaire, too.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">"I aim for the stars," Enfield told reporters Friday, the same day<a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/florida-gulf-coast-stuns-georgetown-78-68-18794978" style="color: #336699; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"> his team routed Georgetown</a>, which had come into the tournament as the No. 2 seed and boasted the league's coach and player of the year.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">On Sunday, the Cinderella story continued when the Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles beat San Diego State 81-71, becoming the first No. 15 seed in the 75-year history of the <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2013/03/21/march-madness-signals-more-vasectomies/" style="color: #336699; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament</a> to score a coveted spot in the Sweet 16.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">For a school of 13,000 students in its second year of eligibility for the NCAA tournament, some may call it a stroke of luck. For Enfield, it was all part of the plan.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">"We don't take ourselves too seriously,'' Enfield told reporters after Friday's game. "We try to have fun, get serious when we have to."</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">"Our goal was to make history and we did it," he said.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Enfield's Supermodel Wife</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">Not only has Enfield's team turning heads, but so is his wife, supermodel Amanda Marcum, who has graced the covers of Maxim and Vogue, to name a few, and has walked runways for Chanel and Jean Paul Gaultier.</div><div class="rel_container g_4" id="rel_image_feature" style="background-color: white; clear: left; color: #333333; float: left; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin: 20px 50px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: 200px;"><div class="rel_content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="rel_thumb" style="line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8896966065785019252" name="lpos=widget[Left_Rail_Image]&lid=view[Image]" style="color: #336699; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="PHOTO: Florida Gulf Coast head coach, Andy Enfield, and his wife, Amanda Marcum Enfield, a former Maxim model, have gained notoriety during Florida Gulf Coast's cinderally run during the NCAA basketball tournament." border="0" height="112" src="http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/gty_andy_amanda_enfield_mi_130325_wg.jpg" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.5px; padding: 0px;" title="" width="199" /><span class="image_icon" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(http://a.abcnews.com/assets/images/icons/image_icon_35x35.png); background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; height: 35px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: 5px; top: 73px; width: 35px;"></span></a></div><div class="rel_headline" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin: 3px 0px 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="photo_credit" style="color: #aaaaaa; font-size: 11px; line-height: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: right;">Rob Carr; Elsa/Getty Images</div><div class="photo_caption" style="margin: 5px 0px 0px; padding: 0px;">Florida Gulf Coast head coach, Andy Enfield,... <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8896966065785019252" name="lpos=widget[Left_Rail_Image]&lid=view[Image]" style="color: #336699; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">View Full Size</a></div></div></div></div><div class="rel_container g_4" id="rel_1" style="background-color: white; clear: left; color: #333333; float: left; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin: 20px 50px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: 200px;"><div class="rel_content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="rel_thumb" style="line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8896966065785019252" name="lpos=widget[Left_Rail_Video_1]&lid=view[Video]" style="color: #336699; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="112" src="http://a.abcnews.com/images/WNT/abc_wn_benitez_130322_wa.jpg" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="200" /><span class="image_icon" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(http://a.abcnews.com/assets/images/icons/play_icon_35x35.png); background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; height: 35px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: 5px; top: 73px; width: 35px;"></span></a></div><div class="rel_headline" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin: 3px 0px 0px; padding: 0px;">Place Your Bets: March Madness vs. Lottery Lunacy <a class="open" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8896966065785019252" style="color: #336699; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Watch Video</a></div></div></div><div class="rel_container g_4" id="rel_2" style="background-color: white; clear: left; color: #333333; float: left; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin: 20px 50px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: 200px;"><div class="rel_content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="rel_thumb" style="line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8896966065785019252" name="lpos=widget[Left_Rail_Video_2]&lid=view[Video]" style="color: #336699; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="112" src="http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/abc_lotto_130325_wa.jpg" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="200" /><span class="image_icon" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(http://a.abcnews.com/assets/images/icons/play_icon_35x35.png); background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; height: 35px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: 5px; top: 73px; width: 35px;"></span></a></div><div class="rel_headline" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin: 3px 0px 0px; padding: 0px;">Who Won That Giant Powerball Jackpot? <a class="open" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8896966065785019252" style="color: #336699; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Watch Video</a></div></div></div><div class="rel_container g_4" id="rel_3" style="background-color: white; clear: left; color: #333333; float: left; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin: 20px 50px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: 200px;"><div class="rel_content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="rel_thumb" style="line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8896966065785019252" name="lpos=widget[Left_Rail_Video_3]&lid=view[Video]" style="color: #336699; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="112" src="http://a.abcnews.com/images/WNN/wnn_mix_130325_wa.jpg" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="200" /><span class="image_icon" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(http://a.abcnews.com/assets/images/icons/play_icon_35x35.png); background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; height: 35px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: 5px; top: 73px; width: 35px;"></span></a></div><div class="rel_headline" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin: 3px 0px 0px; padding: 0px;">Bill Gates' New Challenge: Build a Better Condom <a class="open" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8896966065785019252" style="color: #336699; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Watch Video</a></div></div></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">Introduced by a friend, the 5-foot-10, blonde haired, green-eyed Marcum hitched a ride with Enfield from Manhattan to Boston in 2003 to watch her beloved Oklahoma State Cowboys play in a second-round NCAA game.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">"I thought he looked like a great driver that would give me a free ride," she told the <a href="http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2011/apr/29/fgcu-basketball-coach-enfield-model-amanda-marcum/" style="color: #336699; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="external"">Naples Daily News</a> in 2011 after her husband was named head coach at Florida Gulf Coast University.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">The two hit it off, and on their first date, Enfield, who is nine years older than Marcum, took her to a St. John's National Invitation Tournament game. Unfamiliar with restaurants in the Queens area, Enfield took his date to Taco Bell in the student union.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">"I got her a nice burrito, and we sat behind the bench," Enfield told<a href="http://www.newsday.com/sports/columnists/greg-logan/florida-gulf-coast-coach-andy-enfield-a-model-for-optimism-1.4883030" style="color: #336699; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"> Newsday</a>. "I figured if she still likes me after Taco Bell and a basketball game ..."</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">Six months later, the couple was engaged.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Making Millions in Manhattan</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">After a college basketball career at Johns Hopkins, Enfield earned a master of business administration degree from Maryland and began working as a shooting consultant for NBA players, capitalizing on his record as one of the best free throw shooters in NCAA history.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">Enfield's roster and expertise got him jobs in the NBA with the Milwaukee Bucks and the Boston Celtics.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">But in 2000, Enfield decided to shift gears.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">He moved to Manhattan and developed AllNetShooting.com, which offers shooting consultations, camps and training materials.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">He also pursued an entrepreneurship opportunity alongside two partners that he felt was too good to pass up.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">Together, they built Tractmanager, an information management system for health care contracts, and made millions.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">The private company is now mostly based in Chattanooga, Tenn., and employees between 100 and 250 people, according to Zoom Info.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">Tractmanager has not released its profits, but Enfield, a minority owner, told the Naples Daily News in 2012 that the company is a "market leader, by far."</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">When Enfield, a millionaire, married his supermodel bride in 2004, it may have seemed as though he had it all. But the kid who grew up shooting hoops with his dad, a junior high school and high school coach, in Shippensburg, Pa., just couldn't shake his desire to be around basketball full-time.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">So he went back to the sport he loves.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">Enfield and Marcum had a young daughter, Aila, when he joined the staff at Florida State in 2006 as an assistant coach. He found college hoops more conducive to family life and he quickly made his mark.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">During his five-year tenure , Enfield helped lead Florida State University to three consecutive NCAA tournaments, including a run in the Sweet 16 in 2011.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">ESPN Magazine took notice, naming him one of "Five Super Assistant Coaches in College Basketball."</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">He also added to his family with a daughter, Lily, and, later, a son, Marcum.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;"></div><div class="rel_container g_4" id="rel_1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin: 20px 50px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: 200px;"><div class="rel_content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="rel_thumb" style="line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8896966065785019252" name="lpos=widget[Left_Rail_Video_1]&lid=view[Video]" style="color: #336699; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="112" src="http://a.abcnews.com/images/WNT/abc_wn_benitez_130322_wa.jpg" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="200" /><span class="image_icon" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(http://a.abcnews.com/assets/images/icons/play_icon_35x35.png); background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; height: 35px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: 5px; top: 73px; width: 35px;"></span></a></div><div class="rel_headline" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin: 3px 0px 0px; padding: 0px;">Place Your Bets: March Madness vs. Lottery Lunacy <a class="open" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8896966065785019252" style="color: #336699; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Watch Video</a></div></div></div><div class="rel_container g_4" id="rel_2" style="clear: left; float: left; margin: 20px 50px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: 200px;"><div class="rel_content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="rel_thumb" style="line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8896966065785019252" name="lpos=widget[Left_Rail_Video_2]&lid=view[Video]" style="color: #336699; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="112" src="http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/abc_lotto_130325_wa.jpg" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="200" /><span class="image_icon" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(http://a.abcnews.com/assets/images/icons/play_icon_35x35.png); background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; height: 35px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: 5px; top: 73px; width: 35px;"></span></a></div><div class="rel_headline" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin: 3px 0px 0px; padding: 0px;">Who Won That Giant Powerball Jackpot? <a class="open" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8896966065785019252" style="color: #336699; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Watch Video</a></div></div></div><div class="rel_container g_4" id="rel_3" style="clear: left; float: left; margin: 20px 50px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: 200px;"><div class="rel_content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="rel_thumb" style="line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8896966065785019252" name="lpos=widget[Left_Rail_Video_3]&lid=view[Video]" style="color: #336699; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="112" src="http://a.abcnews.com/images/WNN/wnn_mix_130325_wa.jpg" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="200" /><span class="image_icon" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(http://a.abcnews.com/assets/images/icons/play_icon_35x35.png); background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; height: 35px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: 5px; top: 73px; width: 35px;"></span></a></div><div class="rel_headline" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin: 3px 0px 0px; padding: 0px;">Bill Gates' New Challenge: Build a Better Condom <a class="open" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8896966065785019252" style="color: #336699; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Watch Video</a></div></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">Enfield's youth, experience and success was noticed by Florida Gulf Coast University athletic director Ken Kavanagh.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">On March 31, 2011, days after Marcum was born, Enfield was named the second basketball coach ever at the university, which was established in 1991 but didn't hold its first classes until 1997.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">"We look forward to him providing energized daily leadership to our student athletes, quickly getting engaged with our growing fan base and rapidly putting us in pursuit of the upper echelon of the Atlantic Sun Conference and beyond," Kavanagh said at the time.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">It's only his second season, but it's fair to say Enfield has done that and more -- taking Florida Gulf Coast University from an unknown and turning it into a household name and the biggest Cinderella story the NCAA has ever seen.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">The Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles will face off next against the University of Florida Gators on March 29.</div><br /></div></div>

Florida Gulf Coast University Florida Gulf Coast University Coach Andy Enfield Has Basketball Success, Supermodel Wife

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Minnesota fires Tubby Smith after six seasons

9:52 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div class="asset-metabar-wrap" style="clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin: 20px 0px 23px 70px;"><div class="asset-metabar" itemprop="author" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" style="border-bottom-left-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border: 1px solid rgb(230, 230, 230); display: table-cell; margin: 20px 0px 0px; width: 888px;"><span class="asset-metabar-time asset-metabar-item nobyline" style="border: 0px; color: #999999; float: left; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 14px; margin: 6px 0px 5px; padding: 2px 10px; position: relative;">7:21p.m. EDT March 25, 2013</span></div></div><div class="asset-double-wide double-wide" itemprop="articleBody" role="main" style="color: #222222; float: left; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative; width: 600px;"><div class="article-metadata-wrap" style="float: left; height: auto; margin: 0px 30px 0px 60px; position: relative; z-index: 1;"><aside class="single-photo expandable-collapsed" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 20px; position: relative; width: 180px; z-index: 100;"><div class="image-wrap" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; box-shadow: rgb(200, 200, 200) 1px 1px 5px; cursor: pointer; padding: 3px; position: relative;"><img alt="tubby-smith-3-25" class="expand-img-horiz" itemprop="url" src="http://www.gannett-cdn.com/media/USATODAY/USATODAY/2013/03/25/ap-ncaa-minnesota-florida-basketball-4_3_r536_c534.jpg?1b79b3da202957124496e3768cfb7b67cdb10c81" style="border: 0px; max-width: 100%; min-height: 131px; vertical-align: middle;" /><span class="toggle" style="background-image: url(http://www.gannett-cdn.com/static/images/sprites/asset-sprite.png?1362424877); background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; bottom: 0px; height: 21px; position: absolute; right: 0px; width: 21px; z-index: 200;"></span></div><div class="image-credit-wrap" style="color: #646464; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 6px; padding: 0px 5px 0px 0px;"><span class="credit" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: 400;">(Photo: Eric Gay, AP)</span></div></aside><div class="article-metadata" style="position: relative;"><aside class="comp story-highlights " style="clear: left; float: left; margin: 0px 0px 20px; min-height: 60px; position: relative; width: 180px; z-index: 1;"><h3 class="hlts" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(212, 212, 212); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #999999; font-family: 'Futura Today Bold', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 25px; margin: 0px auto; text-transform: uppercase;">STORY HIGHLIGHTS</h3><ul class="hlt" style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; left: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"><li class="hlt-item" style="background-image: url(http://www.gannett-cdn.com/static/images/components/story_highlights_bullets.png?1362424877); background-position: 0px 17px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-color: rgb(212, 212, 212); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #646464; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 16px; padding: 12px 0px 12px 15px;">Smith led Minnesota to the NCAA tournament three times in his six seasons</li><li class="hlt-item" style="background-image: url(http://www.gannett-cdn.com/static/images/components/story_highlights_bullets.png?1362424877); background-position: 0px 17px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-color: rgb(212, 212, 212); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #646464; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 16px; padding: 12px 0px 12px 15px;">He won the 1998 national championship as the head coach at Kentucky</li><li class="hlt-item" style="background-image: url(http://www.gannett-cdn.com/static/images/components/story_highlights_bullets.png?1362424877); background-position: 0px 17px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; color: #646464; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 16px; padding: 12px 0px 12px 15px;">Minnesota's athletic director said it was time for a "fresh set of eyes" on the program</li></ul></aside></div></div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;">MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota fired Tubby Smith on Monday, cutting ties with the veteran coach one day after the Golden Gophers lost to Florida in the NCAA tournament.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;">Athletics director Norwood Teague announced the decision Monday and said it was time for a "fresh set of eyes" on the program.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;">Smith was 124-81 (.610) in six seasons at Minnesota, helping to bring the program back to respectability and ramping up expectations for a team hit hard by an academic cheating scandal.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;"><b>GOLDEN GOPHERS: </b><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/tourney/2013/03/24/florida-gators-minnesota-gophers-mike-rosario-march-madness-ncaa-tournament/2016085/" style="color: #1990e5; text-decoration: none;" title="http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/tourney/2013/03/24/florida-gators-minnesota-gophers-mike-rosario-march-madness-ncaa-tournament/2016085/">Knocked out by Florida</a></div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;"><b>BRACKET: </b><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/sports/ncaab/bracket/2013/" style="color: #1990e5; text-decoration: none;" title="http://www.usatoday.com/sports/ncaab/bracket/2013/">Full NCAA tournament bracket</a></div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;">Smith won 20 games five times. But he went just 46-62 in Big Ten play and never finished higher than sixth in the conference. The Gophers made three NCAA tournament appearances under Smith. They beat UCLA this year before losing on Sunday.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;">"Tubby has had a long and distinguished career and we feel it's time for a fresh set of eyes for our student-athletes and our program in general," Teague said. "We are grateful to Tubby and his entire staff for their hard work and dedication to this university, our students and the entire Minnesota community."</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;"><b>ALSO FIRED: </b><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2013/03/24/ucla-fires-coach-ben-howland-after-tumultuous-tenure/2014125/" style="color: #1990e5; text-decoration: none;" title="http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2013/03/24/ucla-fires-coach-ben-howland-after-tumultuous-tenure/2014125/">UCLA breaks up with Ben Howland</a></div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;">Smith, 61, was welcomed with wild enthusiasm when he left powerhouse Kentucky in 2007, hailed as the savior to a program that Dan Monson was never able to raise back out of the abyss created from a the academic fraud that ended up wiping out the team's Final Four appearance in 1997.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;">Smith won 20 games his first season and took the team to the NCAA tournament the following year, restoring some sense of pride to a team that at one time was the most popular draw in the Twin Cities.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;">But the success seemed to level off after that. The Gophers made the tournament again in 2010, missed it in 2011 and settled for an NIT bid last year as fans started to grow impatient.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;">"I want to thank the University of Minnesota and the people of Minnesota for giving me the opportunity to lead the Golden Gopher basketball program for six years," Smith said in a statement provided by the school. "Our staff did things the right way and will leave knowing that the program is in far better shape than when we arrived."</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;">This year's team started off 15-1 and rose as high as No. 8, with wins over Michigan State, Illinois and Memphis during that run. But they quickly came back down to earth, losing seven of 10 games in Big Ten play and squeaking into the tournament as a No. 11 seed thanks in large part to a late-season win over then-No. 1 Indiana at home.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;">The Gophers handled UCLA in the second round of the tournament only to be thumped by Florida in the next round. A common refrain from fans was that the players, and the team, never seemed to improve as the season went on, instead either stagnating or regressing. The Gophers never finished with a Big Ten record above .500 and finished in seventh place or worse four times in his six seasons.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;">Undaunted, Smith always pointed to his reputation for running a clean program and the empty cupboard he inherited when he arrived. He has long been lobbying for a practice facility and improvements to historic, but outdated, Williams Arena and has said the lack of investment in the facilities have led to some setbacks in recruiting.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;">"I don't apologize or I don't defend anything," Smith said last week. "We do the best we can. We do a good job. That's why we're NCAA bound."</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;">The decision to part with a big-name coach after a rare tournament victory for the program is a bold one for Teague, who is in his second year on the job. It requires a cash-strapped athletic department to raise $2.5 million for Smith's buyout.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;">With a bevy of highly touted recruits in the state, Teague is acting quickly partially to give a replacement time to forge relationships with high school players including Apple Valley point guard Tyus Jones, one of the most sought-after juniors in the country.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;">Teague and his top assistant, Mike Ellis, are considered to be plugged in to the college basketball world and are believed to have a strong list of candidates to replace Smith at the ready.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;">Teague came to Minnesota from Virginia Commonwealth, and it has been speculated almost since his arrival that he would eventually bring Shaka Smart with him. But Smart may have higher profile suitors waiting for him as well with openings already at UCLA and USC.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;">Other names that could come up are former Timberwolves coach and Golden Gopher alumnus Flip Saunders, Villanova's Jay Wright and Marquette's Buzz Williams.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;"><b>VIDEO: PREVIEWING SOUTH REGIONAL GAMES</b></div><aside class="video comp" style="clear: left; float: left; height: 304px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 60px; overflow: hidden; position: relative; width: 540px; z-index: 1;"><img alt="" class="videoStill" height="304" src="http://www.gannett-cdn.com/media/v2/brightcove/videos.usatoday.net/Brightcove2/29906170001/2013/03/29906170001_2253060986001_video-still-for-video-2253032642001_r542_c540x304.jpg?436a289f03cde4e0ed45f12ec0d66270cf41bc9a" style="border: 0px; cursor: pointer; max-width: 100%; position: absolute; vertical-align: middle; z-index: 0;" width="540" /><em style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</em></aside></div></div>

Tubby Smith Minnesota fires Tubby Smith after six seasons

7:21p.m. EDT March 25, 2013 (Photo: Eric Gay, AP) STORY HIGHLIGHTS Smith led Minnesota to the NCAA tournament three times in his six seasons...

Uganda: Kazinda Holds PAC Report On OPM Scam

9:51 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, 'Liberation Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">After interviewing over 100 witnesses including the Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi and First Lady Janet Museveni over the financial impropriety in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), the Public Accounts Committee is uncertain on how to proceed without the testimony of the principal witness Geoffrey Kazinda.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, 'Liberation Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">According to the committee chairman Kassiano Wadri, the committee is still waiting for the Speaker Rebecca Kadaga's advice on how to proceed with the report.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, 'Liberation Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In a letter to the Speaker, Kassiano complained that the committee's report to parliament will be incomplete if Kazinda does not testify and give his side of the story.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, 'Liberation Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"The course of interface with the witnesses, many pointed accusing fingers at the embattled principal accountant (Kazinda) now being prosecuted before court. Madam Speaker, it will be unfair for the committee to submit its report to parliament without giving him an opportunity to hear his side of the story as the last witness," Kassiano said.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, 'Liberation Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"This is therefore to seek your guidance on how the committee can access Mr. Kazinda and also seek your guidance on how to proceed without hearing from Kazinda," Kassiano added.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, 'Liberation Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Several witnesses who have appeared before the committee claimed that Kazinda masterminded the scam in which up to sh50b was mismanaged.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, 'Liberation Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Kazinda, now facing fraud and embezzlement charges at the Anti- Corruption Court, has on several occasions been blocked from appearing before PAC following a request by Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). The DPP Richard Buteera asked the Speaker to stop Kazinda's appearance or that of witnesses lined to testify in court. He said their appearance would be prejudicial to ongoing criminal cases.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, 'Liberation Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In December, when the Committee wrote to the Commissioner General of Prisons Johnson Byabashaija to bring Kazinda, OPM permanent secretary Pius Bigirimana also wrote to the Attorney General seeking his advice on the matter.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, 'Liberation Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Attorney General then wrote to Parliament and Prisons service objecting the proposal to produce Kazinda before the probe saying the matter was already in Court.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, 'Liberation Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It has since become a battle between parliament and Government to have Kazinda produced before the committee. Kadaga, at one time stopped the probe following the DPP's request, but later gave them a go ahead. By yesterday, she had not responded as she was reportedly out of the country.</div></div>

OPM Uganda: Kazinda Holds PAC Report On OPM Scam

After interviewing over 100 witnesses including the Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi and First Lady Janet Museveni over the financial impropriet...

Jesse James marries racer Alexis DeJoria

9:50 PM Tukiyooo 0

Alexis DeJoria Jesse James marries racer Alexis DeJoria

Ann Oldenburg, USA TODAY 11:31a.m. EDT March 25, 2013 It's his fourth marriage. (Photo: Mark J. Rebilas, US Presswire) It has been almos...

Italian Supreme Court ruling on Amanda Knox retrial expected within hours

9:45 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><img alt="American college student <a href='http://topics.cnn.com/topics/amanda_knox'>Amanda Knox</a> spent four years in jail because of murder charges in the death of her roommate Meredith Kercher while studying abroad in Perugia, Italy. She and her former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were convicted in 2009 to 25 years in prison (Sollecito got 26 years). The conviction was overturned in 2011. Here's a look at the characters in Knox's trial:" src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130325124258-amanda-knox-looking-down-horizontal-gallery.jpg" /><br /><img alt="Meredith Kercher, a 21-year-old British exchange student, was found dead with her throat slit in an apartment she shared with Knox on November 2, 2007. The police initially brought Knox, her former boyfriend and another man into custody for questioning." src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130325102838-01-knox-trial-characters-horizontal-gallery.jpg" />v<img alt="When Knox was detained for questioning in 2007, she implicated Patrick Lumumba, the owner of a bar where Knox worked. Lumumba was taken into custody and released after two weeks in prison when his alibi is corroborated. He later won a libel suit against Knox." src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130325110621-07-knox-trial-characters-horizontal-gallery.jpg" /><img alt="<a href='http://articles.cnn.com/2011-09-28/world/world_europe_italy-raffaele-sollecito-profile_1_rudy-guede-bra-clasp-amanda-knox?_s=PM:EUROPE'>Raffaele Sollecito</a>, Knox's boyfriend at the time of the murder, was convicted in December 2009 with Knox and released when their cases were overturned. Prosecutors testified that police scientists found Sollecito's genetic material on a bra clasp of Kercher's found in her room, while his defense claimed there wasn't enough DNA for a positive ID. " src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130325102835-02-knox-trial-characters-horizontal-gallery.jpg" /><img alt="Rudy Hermann Guede, an Ivory Coast native raised in Perugia, was convicted separately from Knox and Sollecito and is now serving 16 years. Guede admitted to being with Kercher on the night she died but said he didn't kill her. Both Knox and Sollecito argued that he was the killer, and Guede suggested the couple took Kercher's life." src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130325102833-03-knox-trial-characters-horizontal-gallery.jpg" /><img alt="Meredith Kercher's family lawyer Francesco Maresca, left, argued in court in 2011 that the multiple stab wounds implied that there was more than one aggressor who killed Kercher. Pictured from left are Maresca, Kercher's father John, sister Stephanie, brother Lyle and brother John at a press conference in 2008." src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130325112645-09-knox-trial-characters-horizontal-gallery.jpg" /><img alt="Carlo Dalla Vedova, one lawyer on Knox's defense team, argued in court that "the only possible decision to take is that of absolving Amanda Knox" in his closing argument for her appeal hearing." src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130325112423-08-knox-trial-characters-horizontal-gallery.jpg" /><img alt="<a href='http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/27/world/europe/italy-knox-appeal'>Carlo Pacelli</a> represented Patrick Lumumba in his civil suit case. He called Knox two-faced and a "she-devil." " src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130325102828-05-knox-trial-characters-horizontal-gallery.jpg" /><img alt="Giulia Bongiorno, the lead lawyer on Raffaele Sollecito's defense team, compared Knox to Jessica Rabbit on the movie "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" Knox is not bad, just "drawn that way," Bongiorno said in her closing statements in the 2011 trial." src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130325102825-06-knox-trial-characters-horizontal-gallery.jpg" /><br /><br /><div class="cnn_strylftcntnt" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; clear: left; float: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Utkal, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 10px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="cnn_strylctcntr" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 166px;"><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">STORY HIGHLIGHTS</strong></div><ul class="cnn_bulletbin cnnStryHghLght" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 9px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><li style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.e/img/3.0/global/red_bull.gif); background-position: 0px 5px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 9px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">A decision on retrying Amanda Knox is expected soon</li><li style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.e/img/3.0/global/red_bull.gif); background-position: 0px 5px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 9px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">HLN analyst: Even if the Italian court orders a retrial, the U.S. could refuse to extradite Knox</li><li style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.e/img/3.0/global/red_bull.gif); background-position: 0px 5px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 9px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Knox and Raffaele Sollecito were cleared of murdering a British student</li><li style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.e/img/3.0/global/red_bull.gif); background-position: 0px 5px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 9px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sollecito's father says his son has been trying to rebuild a normal life</li></ul></div></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Rome (CNN)</strong> -- Italian Supreme Court judges have heard the arguments, now they must decide whether to order American Amanda Knox to stand trial for a second time in the death of her former roommate.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph2" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">The judges concluded a hearing into the question early Monday afternoon, and were expected to announce their decision soon.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph3" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Knox spent four years in jail before an appellate court overturned her murder conviction in the 2007 death of <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/29/world/europe/kercher-profile/index.html" style="border: 0px; color: #004276; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Meredith Kercher</a>. She returned to the United States in 2011. Prosecutors say that despite the appellate decision, they still believe Knox and her former boyfriend, <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/28/world/europe/italy-raffaele-sollecito-profile/index.html" style="border: 0px; color: #004276; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Raffaele Sollecito</a>, are responsible for the death.</div><a href="" name="em1" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Utkal, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Utkal, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"></span><div class="cnn_strylftcntnt cnn_strylftcexpbx" id="expand14" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; clear: left; float: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Utkal, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 27px 0px 10px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="clickToPlay" id="clickToPlayvideoContainerexpand14" style="background-image: url(http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.e/img/3.0/video/416_player_Click_to_play_off.png); border: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; height: 42px; left: 45px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 27px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 136px; zoom: 1;"></div><img alt="" border="0" class="box-image" height="120" src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/111013022137-knox-tv-interview-poll-1013-story-body.jpg" style="border: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="214" /><cite class="expCaption" style="background-color: black; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; bottom: 0px; height: 20px; left: 10px; margin: 0px; opacity: 0.85; padding: 0px; position: absolute; width: 214px;"><span style="border: 0px; color: white; display: block; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; left: 4px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: 2px; vertical-align: baseline;">Prosecution plans to appeal Knox case</span></cite></div><a href="" name="em2" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Utkal, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Utkal, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"></span><div class="cnn_strylftcntnt cnn_strylftcexpbx" id="expand24" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; clear: left; float: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Utkal, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 27px 0px 10px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="clickToPlay" id="clickToPlayvideoContainerexpand24" style="background-image: url(http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.e/img/3.0/video/416_player_Click_to_play_off.png); border: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; height: 42px; left: 45px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 27px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 136px; zoom: 1;"></div><img alt="" border="0" class="box-image" height="120" src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/120920022214-ac-knox-boyfriend-interview-00000000-story-top.jpg" style="border: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="214" /><cite class="expCaption" style="background-color: black; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; bottom: 0px; height: 20px; left: 10px; margin: 0px; opacity: 0.85; padding: 0px; position: absolute; width: 214px;"><span style="border: 0px; color: white; display: block; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; left: 4px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: 2px; vertical-align: baseline;">Knox's ex: We're like brother, sister</span></cite></div><a href="" name="em3" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Utkal, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Utkal, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"></span><div class="cnn_strylftcntnt cnn_strylftcexpbx" id="expand34" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; clear: left; float: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Utkal, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 27px 0px 10px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="clickToPlay" id="clickToPlayvideoContainerexpand34" style="background-image: url(http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.e/img/3.0/video/416_player_Click_to_play_off.png); border: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; height: 42px; left: 45px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 27px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 136px; zoom: 1;"></div><img alt="" border="0" class="box-image" height="120" src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/120106112341-sr-amanda-knox-new-life-00021411-story-body.jpg" style="border: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="214" /><cite class="expCaption" style="background-color: black; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; bottom: 0px; height: 20px; left: 10px; margin: 0px; opacity: 0.85; padding: 0px; position: absolute; width: 214px;"><span style="border: 0px; color: white; display: block; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; left: 4px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: 2px; vertical-align: baseline;">2012: Knox's life as a free woman</span></cite></div><a href="" name="em4" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Utkal, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Utkal, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"></span><div class="cnn_strylftcntnt cnn_strylftcexpbx" id="expand44" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; clear: left; float: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Utkal, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 27px 0px 10px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="clickToPlay" id="clickToPlayvideoContainerexpand44" style="background-image: url(http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.e/img/3.0/video/416_player_Click_to_play_off.png); border: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; height: 42px; left: 45px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 27px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 136px; zoom: 1;"></div><img alt="" border="0" class="box-image" height="120" src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/111005121508-mxp-drew-knox-tears-00002001-story-body.jpg" style="border: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="214" /><cite class="expCaption" style="background-color: black; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; bottom: 0px; height: 20px; left: 10px; margin: 0px; opacity: 0.85; padding: 0px; position: absolute; width: 214px;"><span style="border: 0px; color: white; display: block; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; left: 4px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: 2px; vertical-align: baseline;">Knox: It's 'like everything isn't real'</span></cite></div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph4" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">"We are still convinced that they are the co-authors of Meredith's homicide," Italian news agency ANSA quoted Perugia, Italy, prosecutor Giovanni Galati as saying.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph5" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Knox, who is not in Italy for the hearing, is confident in the Italian legal system and hopes one day to return to Italy as a free woman, her lawyer, Luciano Ghirga, said Monday.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph6" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">If the acquittal is overturned, the case will go back to an appellate court and Knox might have to return to Italy. If she refuses, the Italian government could appeal to the U.S. government for her extradition.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph7" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">But even if it does, Knox still not might end up before an Italian court.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph8" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">U.S. officials might reject such a request because it violates the U.S. legal principle that a criminal defendant can't be tried twice on the same allegation, said Joey Jackson, a contributor for HLN's "In Session."</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph9" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Italy lacks the absolute prohibition present in U.S. law preventing authorities from retrying a criminal defendant who has been acquitted of a charge.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph10" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">"We have principles that are well-founded within our Constitution, one of which is double jeopardy," he said. "So as a result of that, I think it would be highly objectionable for the United States to surrender someone to another country for which justice has already been administered and meted out. So I don't think or anticipate that that would happen."</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph11" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/15/world/europe/italy-amanda-knox/index.html" style="border: 0px; color: #004276; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">2011: Amanda Knox judge explains murder acquittal</a></div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph12" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">The case began in 2007, after Knox moved to Perugia to study at the University for Foreigners of Perugia for one year</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph13" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Knox, then 20, shared a room with British student Kercher, 21.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph14" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">That November, Kercher's semi-naked body was found at the home, with her throat slashed.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph15" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Police arrested Knox and Sollecito, who was her boyfriend at the time.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph16" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://johnkingusa.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/04/was-italy-fair-to-amanda-knox/" style="border: 0px; color: #004276; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">2011: Was Italy fair to Amanda Knox?</a></div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph17" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Two years later they were convicted of murder, but were cleared when they appealed the verdicts in 2011.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph18" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Another man, Ivorian drifter Rudy Guede, was convicted separately of Kercher's killing.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph19" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Guede admitted having sexual relations with Kercher but denied killing her.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph20" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">In legal paperwork published in December 2011, the judge in the case wrote that the jury had cleared the pair of murder for lack of evidence proving they were guilty.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph21" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Knox's family said last year the appeal was unwelcome, but no cause for concern.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph22" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">"The appeal of Amanda's acquittal by the prosecution was not unexpected as they had indicated from the day of the verdict that they would appeal," a family statement in February 2012 said.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph23" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/05/us/knox-seattle/index.html" style="border: 0px; color: #004276; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">2011: Knox makes emotional return to Seattle</a></div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph24" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Knox has spent the last year and a half trying to resume a normal life, studying at the University of Washington in Seattle, her hometown.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph25" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">She has written a book on her ordeal, titled "<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/17/us/us-italy-knox-book-deal/index.html" style="border: 0px; color: #004276; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Waiting to be Heard</a>," which will be published next month.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph26" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Francesco Sollecito, father of Raffaele, told CNN in a phone interview last year that the family was "not happy about the decision (to appeal). My son is trying to get back to normal life."</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph27" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">"We can do very little in this situation," he said, but as Italian citizens, they would have to accept the court's decision.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph28" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">"We hope that the high court will finally put the words 'the end' to this story."</div></div>

Amanda Knox Italian Supreme Court ruling on Amanda Knox retrial expected within hours

v STORY HIGHLIGHTS A decision on retrying Amanda Knox is expected soon HLN analyst: Even if the Italian court orders a retrial, the U.S. cou...

BioShock’s Latest: Civil War in a City in the Sky

9:43 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><img src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/03/25/arts/bioshock/bioshock-articleLarge.jpg" /><br /><br /><div class="articleSpanImage" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 8px; width: 600px;"><span itemid="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/03/25/arts/bioshock/bioshock-articleLarge.jpg" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject"><div class="caption" itemprop="description" style="color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.2727em;">An image from BioShock Infinite, by Irrational Games.</div></span></div><nyt_byline style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><h6 class="byline" style="color: grey; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1em; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.2em; margin: 2px 0px;">By <span itemprop="author creator" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person">CHRIS SUELLENTROP</span></h6></nyt_byline><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"></span><h6 class="dateline" style="background-color: white; color: grey; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1em; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.2em; margin: 0px;">Published: March 25, 2013</h6><h6 class="dateline" style="background-color: white; color: grey; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1em; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.2em; margin: 0px;"><div class="articleBody" style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.7em; margin-top: 1.5em;"><nyt_text><div data-key="DtlDtl" data-num="0" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.467em;"><span class="emInfo" style="background-color: transparent !important; font-size: 10px; margin: -1px 0px 0px -8px; padding: 0px; position: absolute;"><a class="emAnchor" data-key="DtlDtl" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/arts/video-games/bioshock-infinite-irrationals-new-video-game.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0#p[DtlDtl]" style="color: #666699; text-decoration: none;" title="Link to 1st paragraph">¶</a></span>During the long development of BioShock Infinite — the first release by the Massachusetts studio <a href="http://irrationalgames.com/" style="color: #666699;" title="Studio Web site">Irrational Games</a> since the original BioShock transfixed players more than five years ago — there were open fears on blogs, in discussion forums and in conversations among video game journalists that the new BioShock game just wouldn’t be any good.</div></nyt_text></div><div class="articleInline runaroundLeft" style="clear: left; color: #333333; display: inline; float: left; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 6px 15px 10px 0px !important; width: 190px;"><div class="columnGroup doubleRule" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/global/borders/doubleRule.gif); background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat no-repeat; border-width: 0px !important; clear: both; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 7px; padding-top: 12px; width: auto !important;"><h3 class="sectionHeader" style="color: black; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.2857em; margin: 0px 0px 8px;">Related</h3><ul class="headlinesOnly multiline flush" style="list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px;"><li style="background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;"><h6 style="color: black; font-size: 1em; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.25em; margin: 0px;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/24/arts/video-games/the-nerd-as-auteur-in-bioshock-infinite.html?ref=video-games" style="color: #666699; font-size: 1em; text-decoration: none;">The Nerd as Auteur in BioShock Infinite</a> (March 24, 2013)</h6></li><li style="background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0px; padding: 0px;"><h6 style="color: black; font-size: 1em; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.25em; margin: 0px;"><a href="http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/21/bioshock-infinite-ken-levine-talks-about-his-new-video-game/?ref=video-games" style="color: #666699; font-size: 1em; text-decoration: none;">ArtsBeat: Ken Levine Talks About His New Video Game</a>(March 21, 2013)</h6></li></ul></div><div class="doubleRule" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/global/borders/doubleRule.gif); background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat no-repeat; border-width: 0px !important; clear: both; margin-bottom: 12px; padding-top: 12px;"><div class="story" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 8px;"><div class="runaroundRight" style="clear: right; display: inline; float: right; margin: 2px 0px 6px 6px;"><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/nytimesarts" style="color: #666699; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Arts Twitter Logo." height="75" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/images/arts/nytimesarts-twitter75.png" style="border: none;" width="75" /></a></div><h4 style="color: black; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.1429em; margin: 0px;"><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/nytimesarts" style="color: #666699; text-decoration: none;">Connect With Us on Twitter</a></h4><div class="summary" style="font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 5px;">Follow<a href="http://twitter.com/#!/nytimesarts" style="color: #666699; text-decoration: none;">@nytimesarts</a> for arts and entertainment news.</div><div class="summary" style="font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.25em;"><a href="https://twitter.com/nytimesarts/nyt-culture/members" style="color: #666699; text-decoration: none;">Arts Twitter List: Critics, Reporters and Editors</a></div></div><div class="doubleRuleDivider" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/global/borders/doubleRule.gif); background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat no-repeat; border-width: 0px !important; clear: both; height: 4px; line-height: 0; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-top: 12px; overflow: hidden;"></div><div class="story" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px;"><div style="padding-bottom: 5px;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/events/index.html" style="color: #666699; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Arts & Entertainment Guide" border="0" height="41" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/images/arts/events/events190.png" style="border: none;" width="190" /></a></div><div class="summary" style="font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 5px;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/events/index.html" style="color: #666699; text-decoration: none;">A sortable calendar</a> of noteworthy cultural events in the New York region, selected by Times critics.</div><ul class="refer" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; list-style: none; margin: 2px 0px 0px; padding-left: 0px;"><li style="background-image: url(http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/misc/bullet4x4.gif); background-position: 0% 0.45em; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.182em; margin-bottom: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 8px;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/events/index.html" style="color: #666699; font-size: 1em; text-decoration: none;">Go to Event Listings »</a></li></ul></div></div></div><div class="articleBody" style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.7em; margin-top: 1.5em;"><div data-key="StwSpe" data-num="1" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.467em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><span class="emInfo" style="background-color: transparent !important; font-size: 10px; margin: -1px 0px 0px -8px; padding: 0px; position: absolute;"><a class="emAnchor" data-key="StwSpe" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/arts/video-games/bioshock-infinite-irrationals-new-video-game.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0#p[StwSpe]" style="color: #666699; text-decoration: none;" title="Link to 2nd paragraph">¶</a></span>Surely that was why it was taking so long to make it, why its release was twice delayed, why the studio seemed to be bleeding personnel. Some people even asked themselves if <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/24/arts/video-games/the-nerd-as-auteur-in-bioshock-infinite.html" style="color: #666699;" title="Times profile of Mr. Levine">the impeccable reputation of Ken Levine</a>, the mercurial creative director at Irrational, was perhaps undeserved, given that it was largely dependent on only two games, System Shock 2 (1999) and BioShock (2007), made almost a decade apart.</div><div data-key="EcsTem" data-num="2" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.467em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><span class="emInfo" style="background-color: transparent !important; font-size: 10px; margin: -1px 0px 0px -8px; padding: 0px; position: absolute;"><a class="emAnchor" data-key="EcsTem" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/arts/video-games/bioshock-infinite-irrationals-new-video-game.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0#p[EcsTem]" style="color: #666699; text-decoration: none;" title="Link to 3rd paragraph">¶</a></span>Everyone can stop worrying. With <a href="http://www.bioshockinfinite.com/home" style="color: #666699;" title="The Web site">BioShock Infinite</a>, which goes on sale on Tuesday, Mr. Levine and his colleagues at Irrational have produced yet another video game that is a model of what the medium can achieve. This world — an alternate history with a dollop of science fiction that is set in the United States of 1912 — is dense, fascinating and inventive. The combat is exhilarating. The ending manages to be both mind-bending and moving.</div><div data-key="TgbCht" data-num="3" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.467em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><span class="emInfo" style="background-color: transparent !important; font-size: 10px; margin: -1px 0px 0px -8px; padding: 0px; position: absolute;"><a class="emAnchor" data-key="TgbCht" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/arts/video-games/bioshock-infinite-irrationals-new-video-game.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0#p[TgbCht]" style="color: #666699; text-decoration: none;" title="Link to 4th paragraph">¶</a></span>The game begins at a lighthouse off the coast of Maine but quickly moves to Columbia, a utopian — or dystopian — city in the sky built by Zachary Hale Comstock, who calls himself an American prophet. Comstock has transformed this country’s secular religion of Constitutionalism into a theocratic system of white supremacy that worships the founders as gods.</div><div data-key="BDtBaE" data-num="4" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.467em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><span class="emInfo" style="background-color: transparent !important; font-size: 10px; margin: -1px 0px 0px -8px; padding: 0px; position: absolute;"><a class="emAnchor" data-key="BDtBaE" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/arts/video-games/bioshock-infinite-irrationals-new-video-game.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0#p[BDtBaE]" style="color: #666699; text-decoration: none;" title="Link to 5th paragraph">¶</a></span>Booker DeWitt, the playable character, is a former Pinkerton agent turned private investigator who was sent to Columbia to find a girl named Elizabeth and bring her to New York City. Booker and Elizabeth are caught in the middle of a civil war between Comstock and the Vox Populi, a violent leftist group modeled partly on the socialists and anarchists of the period.</div><div data-key="PatIae" data-num="5" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.467em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><span class="emInfo" style="background-color: transparent !important; font-size: 10px; margin: -1px 0px 0px -8px; padding: 0px; position: absolute;"><a class="emAnchor" data-key="PatIae" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/arts/video-games/bioshock-infinite-irrationals-new-video-game.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0#p[PatIae]" style="color: #666699; text-decoration: none;" title="Link to 6th paragraph">¶</a></span>Putting aside the obviously fictional element of an airborne religious community that has seceded from the American union, in many ways BioShock Infinite tries to provide an accurate portrait of the period. In particular, the signs in Columbia are saturated with crude racial and ethnic caricatures. In an early scene a mixed-race couple is threatened with violence by a city-sanctioned mob.</div><div data-key="AtsItB" data-num="6" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.467em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><span class="emInfo" style="background-color: transparent !important; font-size: 10px; margin: -1px 0px 0px -8px; padding: 0px; position: absolute;"><a class="emAnchor" data-key="AtsItB" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/arts/video-games/bioshock-infinite-irrationals-new-video-game.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0#p[AtsItB]" style="color: #666699; text-decoration: none;" title="Link to 7th paragraph">¶</a></span>At the same time strange anachronisms — especially musical ones — emerge as Booker and Elizabeth make their way through Columbia. A quartet sings a barbershop cover of “God Only Knows,” by the Beach Boys. A woman in a shantytown delivers Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son” as a spiritual. A calliope plays Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.” There’s a soulful ragtime version of “Tainted Love.” (If the BioShock Infinite soundtrack is not for sale, it should be.)</div><div data-key="WtoTsm" data-num="7" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.467em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><span class="emInfo" style="background-color: transparent !important; font-size: 10px; margin: -1px 0px 0px -8px; padding: 0px; position: absolute;"><a class="emAnchor" data-key="WtoTsm" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/arts/video-games/bioshock-infinite-irrationals-new-video-game.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0#p[WtoTsm]" style="color: #666699; text-decoration: none;" title="Link to 8th paragraph">¶</a></span>Why these odd intrusions from the future are occurring becomes clear — mostly — by the game’s end. An early clue comes when Booker first finds Elizabeth, and she tries to hit him with a book titled “The Principles of Quantum Mechanics.” Elizabeth has the ability to see windows — she calls them “tears” — into other worlds. To say much more would spoil the pleasure of the surprise.</div><div data-key="EtaBhw" data-num="8" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.467em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><span class="emInfo" style="background-color: transparent !important; font-size: 10px; margin: -1px 0px 0px -8px; padding: 0px; position: absolute;"><a class="emAnchor" data-key="EtaBhw" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/arts/video-games/bioshock-infinite-irrationals-new-video-game.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0#p[EtaBhw]" style="color: #666699; text-decoration: none;" title="Link to 9th paragraph">¶</a></span>Elizabeth’s tears (as in rips, not boo-hoos) are handy during combat, when Booker can call on her to bring forth helpful objects: a structure to hide behind, a box of healing bandages, an automated turret and the like. Booker himself wields a relatively standard arsenal of first-person shooter weapons (this being, after all, a first-person shooter game, even if it is an unusually brainy and smartly written one).</div><div data-key="HcaTeh" data-num="9" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.467em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><span class="emInfo" style="background-color: transparent !important; font-size: 10px; margin: -1px 0px 0px -8px; padding: 0px; position: absolute;"><a class="emAnchor" data-key="HcaTeh" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/arts/video-games/bioshock-infinite-irrationals-new-video-game.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0#p[HcaTeh]" style="color: #666699; text-decoration: none;" title="Link to 10th paragraph">¶</a></span>He can also deploy magical powers that the game calls “vigors”: After drinking surprisingly effective snake-oil potions, he can hurl lightning bolts or flames or a flock of murderous crows, among other tricks. The enemies he fights include ordinary human soldiers, as well as mechanical sentries — most notably the Motorized Patriot, a robot George Washington that is best described as something out of a Hall of Presidents run by the National Rifle Association rather than Disney.</div><div data-key="TmeIas" data-num="10" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.467em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><span class="emInfo" style="background-color: transparent !important; font-size: 10px; margin: -1px 0px 0px -8px; padding: 0px; position: absolute;"><a class="emAnchor" data-key="TmeIas" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/arts/video-games/bioshock-infinite-irrationals-new-video-game.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0#p[TmeIas]" style="color: #666699; text-decoration: none;" title="Link to 11th paragraph">¶</a></span>The most exciting aspect of the shooting and killing in BioShock Infinite is the Skyline, a roller-coaster-like system for moving freight in Columbia that Booker and others traverse by using hand-held hooks. When Booker leaps and attaches himself to a Skyline rail, the act adds an element of speed and altitude to the fight that is absent from most shooters. Riding it is a thrilling change of pace from the many current games that emphasize (much more realistically) the importance of hiding behind cover during firefights. It’s a shame that Mr. Levine and Irrational couldn’t develop a multiplayer component of BioShock Infinite that satisfied them: just hanging out online and shooting your friends — or strangers — in these spaces would be joyous.</div><div data-key="NeiWdB" data-num="11" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.467em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><span class="emInfo" style="background-color: transparent !important; font-size: 10px; margin: -1px 0px 0px -8px; padding: 0px; position: absolute;"><a class="emAnchor" data-key="NeiWdB" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/arts/video-games/bioshock-infinite-irrationals-new-video-game.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0#p[NeiWdB]" style="color: #666699; text-decoration: none;" title="Link to 12th paragraph">¶</a></span>Not everything in the game is perfect. The world and the characters are so well drawn that small, video gamy things feel infelicitous. Why does Booker spend so much of his time rather creepily rifling through the pockets of freshly dead corpses, looking for ammunition and spare change? Why do some bodies turn into searchable lockboxes upon death? Why are there vending machines that sell weapons for coins (thus requiring Booker to spend so much of his time corpse robbing)?</div><div data-key="TbfBIi" data-num="12" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.467em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><span class="emInfo" style="background-color: transparent !important; font-size: 10px; margin: -1px 0px 0px -8px; padding: 0px; position: absolute;"><a class="emAnchor" data-key="TbfBIi" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/arts/video-games/bioshock-infinite-irrationals-new-video-game.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0#p[TbfBIi]" style="color: #666699; text-decoration: none;" title="Link to 13th paragraph">¶</a></span>To be fair, in a less ambitious game — and a less fully realized one — these absurd fictions wouldn’t be so objectionable. BioShock Infinite is confirmation that in the hands of the right creators, video games are the most sophisticated form of not just interactive entertainment, but of multimedia storytelling as well.</div><div data-key="BayBay" data-num="13" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.467em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><span class="emInfo" style="background-color: transparent !important; font-size: 10px; margin: -1px 0px 0px -8px; padding: 0px; position: absolute;"><a class="emAnchor" data-key="BayBay" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/arts/video-games/bioshock-infinite-irrationals-new-video-game.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0#p[BayBay]" style="color: #666699; text-decoration: none;" title="Link to 14th paragraph">¶</a></span>Beyond allowing you to shepherd a protagonist and his companion through a captivating world at your own pace, the game tells its story by deftly mixing text (mostly in the form of graffiti and propaganda posters), audio diaries (using a sort of portable phonograph) and moving pictures (through period-appropriate Kinetoscopes).</div><div data-key="AglYjh" data-num="14" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.467em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><span class="emInfo" style="background-color: transparent !important; font-size: 10px; margin: -1px 0px 0px -8px; padding: 0px; position: absolute;"><a class="emAnchor" data-key="AglYjh" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/arts/video-games/bioshock-infinite-irrationals-new-video-game.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0#p[AglYjh]" style="color: #666699; text-decoration: none;" title="Link to 15th paragraph">¶</a></span>A game like this, which demands a deep and focused investment of player time and attention, is powerful evidence that narrative for people with long attention spans is thriving. You just have to know where to look.</div><div class="emActive emReady" data-key="BIdIir" data-num="15" data-sentences="1" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.467em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><span class="emInfo" style="background-color: #f2f4f5; font-size: 10px; margin: -1px 0px 0px -8px; padding: 0px; position: absolute;"><a class="emAnchor" data-key="BIdIir" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/arts/video-games/bioshock-infinite-irrationals-new-video-game.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0#p[BIdIir]" style="color: #666699; text-decoration: none;" title="Link to 16th paragraph">¶</a></span><span data-num="1" style="background-color: #f2f4f5;"><em>BioShock Infinite, developed by Irrational Games, is available for personal computers, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It is rated M (Mature, for players 17 and older) for intense violence.</em></span></div></div></h6></div>

BioShock Infinite BioShock’s Latest: Civil War in a City in the Sky

An image from BioShock Infinite, by Irrational Games. By CHRIS SUELLENTROP Published: March 25, 2013 ¶ During the long development of BioSh...