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Chicago defensive tackle Tommie Harris signed a four-year contract worth $40 million that an NFL source confirmed guarantees him $18 million overall and $27 million the first three years of a deal that will keep him a Bear through 2012.
The Bears have called a news conference today to celebrate a package that will make Harris the league’s highest-paid defensive tackle.
If Chicago and Harris hadn’t come to terms, the Bears were prepared to stick the franchise tag on Harris for 2009. Harris has been a Pro Bowl choice two of the past three seasons.
The Raiders set the bar outrageously high when they signed defensive tackle Tommy Kelly to a seven-year, $50.5 million deal that included $25.125 million in the first three years.
The 49ers signed wide receiver Josh Morgan, a sixth-round draft choice out of Virginia Tech. Terms weren’t announced. Morgan is the first of the 49ers’ six 2008 draft picks to sign.
New York Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw is serving a 30-day jail sentence on a probation violation in Virginia, his legal counsel said. Charles A. Stacy said Bradshaw reported to the Abingdon Regional Jail. Stacy said the underlying charge stems from an offense that occurred while Bradshaw was a juvenile. He declined to release any additional information.
Big Brown’s next start is set for the 11/8-mile Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park (N.J.) on
Aug. 3, co-owner Paul Pompa Jr. said. The colt’s last-place finish in the 11/2-mile Belmont Stakes on June 7 remains a mystery to the owners and trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. “Big Brown is healthy,” Dutrow said of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner. Kent Desormeaux, criticized by some for his ride in the Belmont, is expected to retain the mount. The $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Oct. 25 at Santa Anita is expected to be Big Brown’s final start before he is retired to stud.

insidebayarea.com

David Sedaris’ sixth collection of essays, “When You are Engulfed in Flames,” is funny while serious and deep while light-handed, and Sedaris’ reputation is once again justified as a writer comparable to Mark Twain or James Thurber. You have to go back a ways to find someone to compare David Sedaris with; his talent is so huge it just doesn’t come around that often.
Or you can compare the writer, who grew up in Raleigh, to himself and perhaps wonder if his greatest vulnerability is running out of material. I wonder for about a minute until I recall that this is a man who creates a brilliant piece of writing with nothing more than a toilet that won’t flush. Still, since Sedaris’ last collection, “Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim” (2004), we’ve entered into a hyper fact-checking, post-James-Frey world that might be at least a little constricting on Sedaris’ admitted tendency to exaggerate his nonfiction. Personally, in the debate over how true “true” needs to be, my own criteria for any standard is, “can David Sedaris get by with what he does? If not, I’m against it.” (Note: In the author’s note for “Engulfed,” Sedaris says, of the “events described in these stories,” they are “realish.” In previous books, they were “real.”)
Sedaris, at 51, hasn’t run out of material, though dedicated readers may experience déjà vu with some of the characters in “Engulfed.” There is the politically incorrect, foul-mouthed, older woman neighbor back in New York (”That’s Amore”) who might remind one of the woman he stripped paint for back in “Something for Everyone” or the lunatic in the nursing home in “Get Your Ya-Ya’s Out.” (Both from “Naked.”) Readers will be glad to go on that ride again even as the “realishness” of these characters, as filtered through Sedaris’ perspective, begins to seem dubious.

newsobserver.com

In this May 21, 2008 file photo, David Cook celebrates backstage after being crowned the latest "American Idol" in Los Angeles. Cook said Tuesday, May 27, on "Live With Regis and Kelly" that he recently had a dinner date with former "Idol" contestant Kimberly Caldwell. Cook, 25, said he met Caldwell through the show. When asked if he had a good time, Cook replied: "I did. We'll probably hang out again. So we'll see." (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, file)
NEW YORK (AP) — David Cook says he’s dating an “American Idol” alum.
The newly crowned “Idol” winner said Tuesday on “Live With Regis and Kelly” that he recently had a dinner date with former “Idol” contestant Kimberly Caldwell.
Cook, 25, said he met Caldwell through the show. When asked if he had a good time, Cook replied: “I did. We’ll probably hang out again. So we’ll see.”
Caldwell, 26, appeared on the second season of the top-rated Fox singing competition.
Cook, from Blue Springs, Mo., defeated 17-year-old David Archuleta last week in a landslide victory. The rocker became the heartthrob of the seventh season around the time he restyled his hair and displayed more confidence onstage.
Fox is owned by News Corp.

ap.google.com

INVESTOR’S BUSINESS DAILY
Salesforce.com (CRM) Chief Executive Marc Benioff recently floated an intriguing, albeit unlikely, idea that says a lot about the wrenching changes under way in the software industry.
Benioff’s epiphany came during a recent debate with SAP (SAP) co-founder Hasso Plattner. The event was hosted by Silicon Valley’s Churchill Club in April at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif.
The debate hit on a growing trend called platform-as-a-service. The PaaS provider puts software components on a Web site, which business users can access to develop software applications for their specific needs. PaaS users — businesses and even other software makers — don’t need deep coding skills to benefit from using PaaS.
Benioff’s Salesforce.com is the biggest provider of what’s called software-as-a-service (SaaS), in which software applications are delivered over the Web. His attention lately has turned to Force.com, the Salesforce platform-as-a-service for software development.
SAP is the world’s oldest and largest business applications company, with 36 years in business and $14-billion-plus in revenue last year. Salesforce isn’t yet a decade old, with less than $1 billion in annual sales. Yet during the debate, Benioff urged Plattner to develop SAP software on the Salesforce platform.
Such a plan would mark an implausible switch between these new wave and old-school software rivals — sort of like David loaning his slingshot to Goliath.
“I want to figure out how I’m going to get SAP AG to build, on our platform, their applications. And I’m not kidding,” Benioff said at the event. “They need to write their new apps on our platform — and I need to convince him to do that because there is no way he is going to figure this out.”
Plattner politely, but resolutely, downplayed the offer. He slyly suggested that Benioff was angling to get his company bought by their mutual rival, Oracle. (ORCL)

investors.com

David Archuleta vs. David Cook: Will Dad Make the Difference?
Will dad make the difference? David Cook has more talent than David Archuleta on stage and has delivered several memorable performances. Archuleta has made the safe play every week after an incredible performance early in the season. After he sang John Lennon’s “Imagine”, Randy Jackson said it was “one of the best vocals I’ve ever heard on this show.”
It was a stellar performance but he has had nothing since then. Soon to be rock star David Cook has delivered each week with stellar original performances and last week judge Simon Cowell proclaimed that he had “won the week”.
David’s haunting take on Mariah Carey’s “Always Be My Baby” got Randy’s only standing O of the season. Mariah beamed, “I think it’d be a hit.” So how does the dad factor fit in? The Archuleta fans have vowed to vote, vote and vote some more for David A. They are far more vocal than Cook fans and if they vote early and vote often, the dad factor may rally David Archuleta to victory on American idol.

nationalledger.com

BELLINGHAM — A Skagit County man was stabbed to death during a roadside argument Sunday afternoon, and police are looking for the killer.
Witnesses told police that David Datskiy, 20, of Mount Vernon, and his passenger pulled their vehicle over at about 1 p.m. in the 1500 block of James Street, east of downtown Bellingham.
Another man, who police believe was alone, also pulled over. There was a heated, animated argument between the man and Datskiy, said Lt. Steve Felmley, Bellingham police spokesman.
The argument became physical as the two exchanged punches. Then the man stabbed Datskiy once with a knife and fled the scene.
Datskiy’s passenger, a male friend, drove him to St. Joseph Hospital where he later died, Felmley said.
The stabbing is being investigated as a homicide, Felmley said, adding that police are still looking for the killer.
The suspect is described as a white male, 5 feet 8 inches tall, with a medium build, bald head, no facial hair, wearing a blue shirt and black pants.
Datskiy has several criminal and non-criminal traffic violations on record in several counties, including Whatcom and Skagit counties.
The Bellingham Herald, a media partner of KOMO News, contributed to this report. To read the Bellingham Herald’s complete story, click here.

komotv.com

“He’s not going to sit there and sing ‘Kumbaya’ as the missiles are raining in,” David Axelrod, Obama’s chief strategist, tells Newsweek for its Apr. 28 issue. “I don’t think people should mistake civility for a willingness to deal with the challenges to come.”
The Obama campaign is planning to expand its research and rapid-response outfit to repel planned “Swift-Boat” like attacks, the magazine will report. The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth tooled spurious stories and message points against Sen. John Kerry in 2004.
Obama continues to face heat over his ties to indicted Chicago real estate developer Antoin Rezko. More important in the present, perhaps, are messages from the Clinton campaign that he’s not electable because he hasn’t been tested by Republican attacks.
There are signs that Swift-Boat-like agents are on the horizon.
“Operatives such as David Bossie, whose Citizens United group made the Willie Horton ad that helped sink Michael Dukakis’s 1988 presidential bid, are sharpening knives as expectations mount that Obama will be their target in the fall,” Newsweek’s Mark Hosenball and Michael Isikoff write. “Bossie says he is assembling material for TV spots about Obama’s ties with Ayers, a Chicago professor and unrepentant former member of the Weather Underground, a group that bombed several government buildings to protest the Vietnam War.”
The issue received prominent treatment in last week’s ABC debate. Obama served on a nonprofit with Ayers and attended a campaign event at the professor’s house in 1995. Ayers dismisses the link — at a dinner party, the magazine will report, “Ayers ‘ridiculed’ the notion that Obama shared his left-wing views: “He thought the idea that there was a political connection between them was absurd.’”
Obama, meanwhile, faces concerns on his other flank regarding the trial of Chicago real estate developer Antoin Rezko. A witness testified that Obama had met with an Iraqi mogul convicted of fraud in France who had been barred from entering the United States. Rezko is said to have sought the help of unnamed Illinois officials to help lobby on Auchi’s behalf. An Obama spokesman says he neither recalls the event or ever meeting Auchi.

rawstory.com

Moorpark's trip to the Righetti Spring Classic title was anything but a cakewalk.
Even on Friday. Even after the Musketeers took a commanding 7-0 lead into the final seventh inning.
Facing Rodriguez in the championship game, Moorpark survived a late rally to win 7-5 at Elks Field on Friday, winning the fourth annual event. The Classic kicked off on Tuesday, but Moorpark did not play until Wednesday - defeating Antioch in a marathon game 6-5.
It only got tougher from there, as the defending champion - Deer Valley - took Moorpark into extra innings again on Thursday. Moorpark survived 4-3 in nine innings, but like most of the teams exhausted its pitching staff.
“We had two nine-inning games and threw out a lot of pitchers,” Moorpark coach Scott Fullerton said.
Those pitchers included Justen Gorski, Kevin Delepaz and Luke Swenson.
Come Friday, after six innings of play, it appeared Moorpark had run out of arms.
That is, until Moorpark's all-around star took the mound one more time. Swenson still had something left.
Rodriguez quickly scored four runs in the inning before Moorpark earned an out, a shocking development considering Moorpark had dominated the first 18 outs.
But Swenson came in and - despite giving up a sacrifice fly - closed out the game with a forceout, the sac fly and a strikeout.
Swenson pitches, hits and makes spectacular fielding plays for the Musketeers.
“He made three diving plays in centerfield in this tournament,” Fullerton said.
The third diving catch came in the second inning on Friday, and saved a sure two runs from scoring. Rodriguez had the bases loaded with two outs when Chris Dunphy sent a long drive to the centerfield gap. It was a gap until Swenson got on his motor and dove for the saving play.
Swenson also doubled during Friday's game, showcasing his overall athleticism.

santamariatimes.com

Ever since Cory Whitsett took a life-changing trip to California for the 2000 U.S. Open, he’s dedicated himself to becoming the best golfer in the country
By: Matt Remsberg 3/3/08
Even at 8 years old, Cory Whitsett was able to recognize a life-changing experience.
The event was the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach in California, where Whitsett and his father, Jeff, were guests of competitor and longtime family friend Brandel Chamblee. Chamblee brought Whitsett through the clubhouse and locker room so the wide-eyed youngster could meet top-flight golfers like Davis Love III and David Duval.
Whitsett collected autographs, walked the course and got swallowed up by the massive galleries watching Tiger Woods storm to his first U.S. Open title in the 100th playing of the prestigious tournament. Woods made the historic weekend even more unforgettable by posting a 15-stroke win, breaking a 138-year-old record for largest margin of victory at a Major.
But for Whitsett, that trip to California isn’t memorable for one reason alone. Rather, the entire experience inspired his immediate dedication to pursuing a career as a professional golfer.
“That trip was the turning point in my career,” says Whitsett, who is now a sophomore at Houston Memorial (Houston, Texas). “Seeing the lifestyle and how much fun they all had made me realize on the spot what I wanted to do.”
More than seven years later, Whitsett is the reigning U.S. Junior Amateur champion and is rated the nation’s No. 2 junior golfer in the American Junior Golf Association’s Polo Rankings. A 2007 Rolex Junior All-American, Whitsett is on his way to landing his dream job on the PGA Tour.
“Every time he puts the peg in the ground, he believes he’s going to win,” says Jeff Whitsett, a seven-handicap golfer himself. “He’s got a real quiet confidence about him. I’ve always told him, ‘If you don’t think you can, you can’t.’ It doesn’t make him arrogant, it’s just the attitude you have to have to play at his level.”

risemag.com

Other, smaller schools hold out hope for rockers David Cook and Michael Johns, or fresh-scrubbed folkie Brooke White.
The safest prediction is that the Idol finals (beginning Tuesday night, 8 ET/PT on Fox) will be a wild ride full of unexpected thrills (a surprisingly great performance), chills (will she hit that glory note?) and spills (why did he pick such a lame song?).
It won’t be, as it has been hyped, the most-talented final 12 yet (that distinction still goes to the Taylor/Kat/Elliott/Chris/Paris lineup of 2006). But the cast is stylistically varied enough to make for a good race. Let’s handicap their chances.
•David Archuleta: His soaring vocals and gawky teen appeal combo makes him the one to beat.
•Jason Castro: A sleepy-looking sleeper with a supple folkie style.
•David Cook: Also-ran became front-runner this week when his Lionel Richie cover had the crowd at Hello.
•Kristy Lee Cook: Hasn’t sung well yet but country twang may give her a secure niche for a few weeks.
•Chikezie Eze: Ruben Studdard-type style may be passé these days.
•David Hernandez: Impressive, imaginative singer may be able to weather controversy and reach the top half.
•Michael Johns: Early favorite seems to be coasting; needs to re-establish his early soulfulness.
•Ramiele Malubay: This year’s Paris Bennett-type cute kid with a big voice needs to pick up the pace.
•Syesha Mercado: Strong vocal chops but may be too much of a generic soul diva to reach the top.
•Amanda Overmyer: The designated “rock chick” will fizzle on non-rock theme nights.
•Carly Smithson: Sings like a polished professional (and was one) — a top three contender.
•Brooke White: Underdog has cleverly gone against the diva grain and could stick around quite awhile.

usatoday.com