Chiefs, Panthers to face off day after murder-suicide

Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher fatally shot his girlfriend Saturday, then drove to Arrowhead Stadium and committed suicide in front of his coach and general manager. (Dec. 1)

The Kansas City Chiefs said their game Sunday afternoon against the Carolina Panthers would go on as scheduled, even as the franchise tried to come to grips with the awfulness of the death of linebacker Jovan Belcher and his girlfriend.

A spokesman for the team told The Associated Press that head coach Romeo Crennel plans to coach on Sunday, despite witnessing Belcher's suicide Saturday.

Saturday began like any other for the Kansas City Chiefs during the NFL season, their general manager and coach at work early to put final touches on this weekend's gameplan. Then they got a call to hurry to the parking lot.

The two men rushed through the glass doors of Chiefs headquarters and came face-to-face with linebacker Jovan Belcher, holding a handgun to his head.

Belcher had already killed his girlfriend and sped the short distance to Arrowhead Stadium, right past a security checkpoint guarding the entrance. Upon finding his bosses, Belcher thanked general manager Scott Pioli and Crennel for giving him a chance in the NFL. Then he turned away and pulled the trigger.

The murder-suicide shocked a franchise that has been dealing with controversies now made trivial by comparison: eight consecutive losses, injuries too numerous to count, discontent among fans and the prospect that Pioli and Crennel could be fired at season's end.

Belcher and girlfriend 22-year-old Kasandra Perkins reportedly had a tumultuous relationship and, police said, had been fighting in the hour leading up to the shooting. Perkins had been out late Friday night, attending a Trey Songz concert. Haley said Belcher and Perkins had met through another Chiefs player.

On her Facebook page, Perkins, who is from Dallas, posted several pictures of the couple and their daughter, including one of Belcher gently cradling the baby. That photo's caption reads “My loves.”

Another picture features Belcher leaping over a player to get to Arizona's quarterback and is captioned “In LOVE with SUPERMAN.”

Among the “likes” on Belcher's Facebook page was one for “Male Athletes Against Violence,” a project founded at his alma mater, the University of Maine, aimed at raising awareness about the problem of male violence against women.

The two of them left behind a 3-month-old girl. She was being cared for by family.

"I can tell you that you have absolutely no idea what it's like to see someone kill themselves," said Kansas City Mayor Sly James, who spoke to general manager Pioli shortly after the shootings.

"You can take your worst nightmare and put someone you know and love in that situation, and give them a gun and stand three feet away and watch them kill themselves. That's what it's like," James said. "It's unfathomable."

Chiefs quarterback Brady Quinn told The Kansas City Star that when the team met later Saturday morning, head coach Crennel broke the news to them.

"It was obviously tough for coach to have to tell us that," Quinn said. "He really wasn't able to finish talking to us. We got together and prayed and then we moved on."

But Quinn said the team was so stunned, it was hard to digest what had happened.

"It's hard mostly because I keep thinking about what I could have done to stop this," he said. "I think everyone is wondering whether we would have done something to prevent this from happening."

The 25-year-old Belcher was from West Babylon, N.Y., and played college football at Maine. He signed with the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent, made the team and hung around the past four years, eventually moving into the starting lineup. He played in all 11 games this season.

The NFL released a statement expressing sympathy and pledging "to provide assistance in any way that we can." The players' association has also been in touch with members of the Chiefs.

"We sincerely appreciate the expressions of sympathy and support we have received from so many in the Kansas City and NFL communities, and ask for continued prayers for the loved ones of those impacted," Hunt said. "We will continue to fully cooperate with the authorities and work to ensure that the appropriate counseling resources are available to all members of the organization."

The drama unfolded early Saturday when authorities received a call from a woman who said her daughter had been shot multiple times at a residence about five miles from the Arrowhead complex. The call came from Belcher's mother, who referred to the victim as her daughter.

"She treated Kasandra like a daughter," Kansas City police spokesman Darin Snapp said, adding that the woman had recently moved in with the couple, "probably to help out with the baby."

Police then got a phone call from the Chiefs' training facility, and Belcher's description matched the suspect description from the initial address. Snapp said officers pulled into the practice facility parking lot in a matter of minutes, in time to witness the suicide.

Read More..

German producers plan Pope Benedict biopic

MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) – Two German producers have bought the film rights to an upcoming biography of Pope Benedict by the Bavarian author of three best-selling interview books with the pontiff.

The Odeon Film company said producers Marcus Mende and Peter Weckert planned a film for international release based on a biography by journalist Peter Seewald due to be published in early 2014.

Seewald’s book-length interviews with Benedict – two as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and one as pope – have given readers many insights into the life and thoughts of the shy theologian who now heads the Roman Catholic Church.

Seewald has signed on as a consultant to the scriptwriter, Odeon Film said in a statement on Thursday. It gave no information about the schedule for the film or who might play the main role.

“The producers plan an international film that illustrates all aspects of the extraordinary life and work of Joseph Ratzinger from his birth on Easter night in 1927 in Marktl am Inn in Bavaria to his pontificate today,” it said.

Benedict’s predecessor Pope John Paul was the subject of a dozen documentary films around the world and two major television movies in the United States.

(Reporting by Tom Heneghan; editing by Andrew Roche)

Movies News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Read More..

Opinion: A Health Insurance Detective Story

I’VE had a long career as a business journalist, beginning at Forbes and including eight years as the editor of Money, a personal finance magazine. But I’ve never faced a more confounding reporting challenge than the one I’m engaged in now: What will I pay next year for the pill that controls my blood cancer?

After making more than 70 phone calls to 16 organizations over the past few weeks, I’m still not totally sure what I will owe for my Revlimid, a derivative of thalidomide that is keeping my multiple myeloma in check. The drug is extremely expensive — about $11,000 retail for a four-week supply, $132,000 a year, $524 a pill. Time Warner, my former employer, has covered me for years under its Supplementary Medicare Program, a plan for retirees that included a special Writers Guild benefit capping my out-of-pocket prescription costs at $1,000 a year. That out-of-pocket limit is scheduled to expire on Jan. 1. So what will my Revlimid cost me next year?

The answers I got ranged from $20 a month to $17,000 a year. One of the first people I phoned said that no matter what I heard, I wouldn’t know the cost until I filed a claim in January. Seventy phone calls later, that may still be the most reliable thing anyone has told me.

Like around 47 million other Medicare beneficiaries, I have until this Friday, Dec. 7, when open enrollment ends, to choose my 2013 Medicare coverage, either through traditional Medicare or a private insurer, as well as my drug coverage — or I will risk all sorts of complications and potential late penalties.

But if a seasoned personal-finance journalist can’t get a straight answer to a simple question, what chance do most people have of picking the right health insurance option?

A study published in the journal Health Affairs in October estimated that a mere 5.2 percent of Medicare Part D beneficiaries chose the cheapest coverage that met their needs. All in all, consumers appear to be wasting roughly $11 billion a year on their Part D coverage, partly, I think, because they don’t get reliable answers to straightforward questions.

Here’s a snapshot of my surreal experience:

NOV. 7 A packet from Time Warner informs me that the company’s new 2013 Retiree Health Care Plan has “no out-of-pocket limit on your expenses.” But Erin, the person who answers at the company’s Benefits Service Center, tells me that the new plan will have “no practical effect” on me. What about the $1,000-a-year cap on drug costs? Is that really being eliminated? “Yes,” she says, “there’s no limit on out-of-pocket expenses in 2013.” I tell her I think that could have a major effect on me.

Next I talk to David at CVS/Caremark, Time Warner’s new drug insurance provider. He thinks my out-of-pocket cost for Revlimid next year will be $6,900. He says, “I know I’m scaring you.”

I call back Erin at Time Warner. She mentions something about $10,000 and says she’ll get an estimate for me in two business days.

NOV. 8 I phone Medicare. Jay says that if I switch to Medicare’s Part D prescription coverage, with a new provider, Revlimid’s cost will drive me into Medicare’s “catastrophic coverage.” I’d pay $2,819 the first month, and 5 percent of the cost of the drug thereafter — $563 a month or maybe $561. Anyway, roughly $9,000 for the year. Jay says AARP’s Part D plan may be a good option.

NOV. 9 Erin at Time Warner tells me that the company’s policy bundles United Healthcare medical coverage with CVS/Caremark’s drug coverage. I can’t accept the medical plan and cherry-pick prescription coverage elsewhere. It’s take it or leave it. Then she puts CVS’s Michele on the line to get me a Revlimid quote. Michele says Time Warner hasn’t transferred my insurance information. She can’t give me a quote without it. Erin says she will not call me with an update. I’ll have to call her.

My oncologist’s assistant steers me to Celgene, Revlimid’s manufacturer. Jennifer in “patient support” says premium assistance grants can cut the cost of Revlimid to $20 or $30 a month. She says, “You’re going to be O.K.” If my income is low enough to qualify for assistance.

NOV. 12 I try CVS again. Christine says my insurance records still have not been transferred, but she thinks my Revlimid might cost $17,000 a year.

Adriana at Medicare warns me that AARP and other Part D providers will require “prior authorization” to cover my Revlimid, so it’s probably best to stick with Time Warner no matter what the cost.

But Brooke at AARP insists that I don’t need prior authorization for my Revlimid, and so does her supervisor Brian — until he spots a footnote. Then he assures me that it will be easy to get prior authorization. All I need is a doctor’s note. My out-of-pocket cost for 2013: roughly $7,000.

NOV. 13 Linda at CVS says her company still doesn’t have my file, but from what she can see about Time Warner’s insurance plans my cost will be $60 a month — $720 for the year.

CVS assigns my case to Rebecca. She says she’s “sure all will be fine.” Well, “pretty sure.” She’s excited. She’s been with the company only a few months. This will be her first quote.

NOV. 14 Giddens at Time Warner puts in an “emergency update request” to get my files transferred to CVS.

Frank Lalli is an editorial consultant on retirement issues and a former senior executive editor at Time Warner’s Time Inc.

Read More..

Designer made herself into a manufacturer

Shoemaker Annie Mohaupt nearly closed down a year ago after her move to make sandals in China proved a bust. The sandals could easily be pulled apart.

She looked into what it would cost to make her sandals in another country but returned production to Chicago. The decision, she said, allows her to tap into growing demand for U.S.-made products and to utilize manufacturing technology that makes her company, Mohop Inc., a global competitor.

"I have a factory," Mohaupt said, her statement reflecting her evolution from thinking of herself solely as a designer. As a manufacturer she understands she has control over the quality of her products — a key to sales and growth. "I'm happy but it's also intimidating. There is a lot to manage and wrap my head around."

Mohaupt's tale is illustrative of what manufacturing experts and politicians have been saying for quite some time: American manufacturers can be successful and create jobs by using the latest technology in producing and developing products.

So far this year, Mohaupt has sold about 1,500 pairs of sandals for about $158,000, she said. Mohaupt credits Facebook fans and word-of-mouth recommendations for a 500 percent increase in sales this fall over a year ago, and she expects to sell about 5,000 pairs of sandals in 2013. When she reaches annual sales of 10,000 pairs, Mohaupt said she'll need to invest in more equipment, like a new wood-cutting machine.

"I want for her to be making her shoes in the U.S.," said Greg Kaleel, owner of American Male & Co. a family-owned retail shop in Oswego, adding that his customers will pay more for shoes made here. "That's how important the 'made in America' is."

On a recent evening, the sweet smell of burned walnut filled Mohaupt's basement shop in a three-story building in Chicago's River West neighborhood. The smell emanated from a computerized machine about the size of a pingpong table cutting walnut blocks into triangles with concave curves and arches. Those curves support the heel and arch of a woman's foot and create a sleek, sophisticated look.

An architect by training, Mohaupt, 37, feeds her three-dimensional designs into a program that converts it into letters and numbers and tells the machine where to cut. That was the easy part for her to learn. To operate the machine, Mohaupt relied on a tutorial from the machine-maker and learned the rest via the Internet.

The soft-spoken woman employs three people, including an office manager and a young designer. If sandals sell as planned, she would hire four to six temporary workers in the spring. That's when sales typically ramp up after the winter lull. Mohaupt wants to expand her product line to lessen her dependence on sandal sales. One idea is a moccasin she can sell in the cold months.

Mohaupt has come a long way since 2005, when she cut and glued layers of plywood by hand to make her sandals. Her early versions featured a cylindrical wooden heel and elastic loops on each side of the sole that acted as guides for ties or ribbons that customers could change at will — her signature design.

She sold her first sandals for $70 at a craft fair and appeared to be off and running. The bliss of her success crumbled the following morning when customers complained that the shoes easily came apart. The heels broke off and the loops snapped. In effect, the stumble marked the beginning of her apprenticeship as a manufacturer.

Mohaupt spent the next year quizzing seasoned shoemakers and shoe repairers about how she could improve the quality of her shoes. Ultimately, she decided that her sandals should be able to withstand 100 miles of use. To test her designs, she wore her sandals while taking her dog on five-mile treks.

"I lost some weight," she said. She also test-marketed the evolving sandals by mailing samples to her first customers. Some got up to five pairs as Mohaupt developed — and later patented — a system to keep the elastic loops in place. One problem licked, she then focused on the labor involved.

Cutting the plywood by hand was grueling work in its own right. And then she had to glue together the layers. "I would end up covered in glue," she said.

So Mohaupt began experimenting with wooden blocks, which she'd sculpt with a saw into wedges. That eliminated having to glue together layers of plywood but still was physically draining.

That's when she made a decision that would forever change her business. In 2009 she bought on credit a $70,000 computer-driven machine that could read her 3-D designs and cut heels in minutes, saving hours of labor. The machine also allowed Mohaupt to experiment with new designs. For example, she could for the first time produce curved heel bases and make shoes with added arch support.

Demand grew steadily, which should have been a good problem. But even with the machine she couldn't keep pace with orders. Mohaupt tried training people to make the sandals but found that she couldn't train them and make shoes at the same time.

That's when she first considered outsourcing production. She tested a Canadian shoemaker but severed the relationship after it sent her a shipment of poorly made shoes. Mohaupt also was unsuccessful in lining up production in Argentina.

Then, suddenly, a competitor emerged that jolted her into making a decision that ultimately would nearly bring down her company. The competitor was selling sandals almost identical to hers and nudging her sandals out of local shops she had supplied for years. Its prices also were lower because it was producing its sandals in China. She faced being driven out of business, she said.

Read More..

6 dead, 11 wounded across city overnight

Six people were shot on the South Side of Chicago. Police investigate one of the crime scenes in the 4200 block of S. Wells St. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

Four people were shot and killed Friday night and Saturday morning, and a fifth person who may have been dead for days or weeks was found with gunshot wounds.

In addition to the shootings, a man was stabbed to death on the Southwest Side about 12:45 a.m. Saturday.

At least 11 others were wounded by gunfire in shootings from the Uptown neighborhood on the north to the Chatham neighborhood on the south, police said.  

• Related
























• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Officials: 6 shot, 1 fatally, on South Side
  
  
  




































• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  3 shot, one fatally, in Uptown neighborhood
  
  
  




































• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  One killed in Englewood shooting
  
  
  




































• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Man stabbed to death in Lawndale
  
  
  




































• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Mugs in the news
  
  




• 
  See more stories »
  











• 
  
  Maps
  














• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  6100 S Morgan St, Chicago, IL 60621, USA
  
  



• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  4200 S Wells St, Chicago, IL 60609, USA
  
  



• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  5100 N Winthrop Ave, Chicago, IL 60640, USA
  
  



• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  2900 N Woodard St, Chicago, IL 60618, USA
  
  



• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  8200 S Dobson Ave, Chicago, IL 60619, USA
  
  



• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  5100 S May St, Chicago, IL 60609, USA
  
  



• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  1700 W Roosevelt Rd, Chicago, IL 60608, USA
  
  



• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  4300 S Prairie Ave, Chicago, IL 60653, USA
  
  



• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  3700 S Wells St, Chicago, IL 60609, USA
  
  



• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  1500 N Springfield Ave, Chicago, IL 60651, USA
  
  



• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  1200 S Sawyer Ave, Chicago, IL 60624, USA
  
  

The sixth homicide of the night -- a 29-year-old man found dead inside his car about 2:37 a.m. with a gunshot wound to the head -- drew a crowd from the neighboring Wentworth Gardens apartment complex at 37th and Wells streets, a block south of U.S. Cellular Field.

At one point, cars from the Englewood police district, whose northern border is 18 blocks south of the scene, came north to assist with crime scene security. At least 14 cars, most marked, sat near the crime scene early Saturday morning.

A spokesman for the Cook County medical examiner's office identified the victim as Walter Pate, of the 13900 block of South Dearborn Street in Riverdale. A cousin at the scene said he lived in the Wentworth Gardens housing complex.

Another man was found shot to death about 11:20 p.m. in the 6100 block of South Morgan Street in the Englewood neighborhood, and one man died of gunshot wounds in the Uptown neighborhood after he and two others were shot about 9:27 p.m.

The violence began Friday night with a pair of shootings on the South Side that left five people wounded and one dead. At least two of the five survivors are still in critical condition, police said.

A man was also found dead from gunshot wounds in the 8300 block of South Dobson Avenue in the East Chatham neighborhood. He may have been there for days or weeks, authorities said. He was identified by the Cook County medical examiner's office as Timothy E. Kinds, 32, of the 1100 block of East 81st Street.

According to police, Kinds had been squatting at the Dobson location and was found by an acquaintance who owned the building.

In other shootings:

A 16-year-old girl was grazed in the chest about 7 p.m. Friday near the intersection of Roosevelt Road and Wood Street in the Illinois Medical District, Chicago Police Department News Affairs Officer Amina Greer said. Someone drove her to Loretto Hospital on the West Side, police said.

A 14-year-old boy was shot in the leg about 7:58 p.m. in the 4300 block of South Calumet Avenue in the Bronzeville neighborhood. He was standing on the block when someone inside a passing blue vehicle opened fire, police said.

A man was shot in the leg and treated for the gunshot wound at Swedish Covenant Hospital, police said. Someone shot him about 9:30 p.m. in the 2900 block of North Woodard Street in the Logan Square neighborhood. He is 23, Chicago Police Department News Affairs Officer Laura Kubiak said.

Another man, 30, was shot about 4:10 a.m. in the 1500 block of North Springfield Avenue in the Humboldt Park neighborhood. He was taken to John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County, News Affairs Officer John Mirabelli said.

pnickeas@tribune.com
Twitter: @peternickeas

Read More..

Glen Campbell considering more live shows in 2013

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Glen Campbell may be wrapping up a goodbye tour but that doesn’t mean he’s done with the stage.

Campbell is considering scheduling more shows next year after playing more than 120 dates in 2012.

The 76-year-old singer has Alzheimer’s disease and has begun to lose his memory. He put out his final studio album, “Ghost on the Canvas,” in 2011 and embarked on the tour with family members and close friends serving in his band and staffing the tour.

Campbell’s longtime manager Stan Schneider said in a phone interview from Napa, Calif., where the tour wrapped for the year Friday night, that recent West Coast shows have been some of the singer’s strongest. Campbell will break for the holidays and if he still feels strong he’ll begin scheduling more shows.

___

Online:

http://glencampbellmusic.com

Entertainment News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Read More..

Jewel parent says sale talks proceeding

Exterior of Jewel-Osco's first "Green Store" located at 370 N. Desplaines in Chicago. (Antonio Perez / November 29, 2012)

By Emily Bryson York




Chicago Tribune reporter

6:51 a.m. CST, November 30, 2012

Supervalu, the Minneapolis-based parent of Jewel-Osco said sale talks are proceeding after stock closed down more than 18 percent Thursday, to $2.28.

The beleaguered grocery chain was likely moving to combat reports that sale talks with suitor Cerberus Capital Management had stalled over funding.

"The company continues to be in active discussion with several parties," according to the statement. "There can be no assurance that this process will result in any transaction or any change in the Company's overall structure or its business model."

Supervalu, the third-largest U.S. grocery chain, has acknowledged sale talks since the spring. The company has been closing stores and cutting jobs as it has underperformed competitors like Dominick's parent Safeway and Kroger.

If Supervalu does not sell to Cerberus, it may have to restructure on its own or sell off individual assets, which could have big tax consequences, Bloomberg said.

Reuters reported last month that buyout firm Cerberus was preparing a takeover bid for Supervalu, the third-largest U.S. supermarket chain.

Cerberus officials could not be reached immediately for comment.

-- Reuters contributed to this report

In addition to Jewel, Supervalu owns Albertsons, Cub and other regional grocery chains.

SVU data by YCharts

SVU data by YCharts

Read More..

Missouri Powerball winner verified; Arizona's a mystery

Sometimes it's better to dream, particularly when reality means you're not an instant multimillionaire.

Bob Kangas realized Wednesday night that one of two winning Powerball jackpot tickets — a record $587.5 million — had been bought in Arizona, but he didn't check his numbers.

"I didn't want to look because I just wanted to dream about being rich," Kangas said Thursday while checking his tickets at a 4 Sons Food Store in Fountain Hills, the suburban Phoenix shop where he bought his tickets — and where the winning ticket was sold.

While lottery officials in Missouri verified its state's ticket after it was presented to them late Thursday, the Arizona winner had yet to come forward. They have 180 days to do so.

A news conference is planned for this morning at 11 a.m. in Missouri. Officials declined to provide details of the winner in advance, not even whether the ticket sold at a Trex Mart gas station in Dearborn was purchased by someone from that state.

Kangas just wanted one night to believe he could soon have more money than he'd know what to do with.

"I just wanted to dream all night," he said, breathing a heavy sigh as he realized his tickets were not winners. "I'll try again."

In Missouri, speculation had many of Dearborn's 500 residents buzzing about who had won.

Cashiers Kristi Williams and Kelly Blount greeted customers with big smiles and questions about whether they had bought the winning ticket.

"It's just awesome," Williams said. "It's so exciting. We can't even work."

Karen Meyers, a server at the Cook's Corner Cafe, said she didn't believe it at first when she heard the winning ticket had been sold nearby.

"I think it's wonderful! I hope someone local won it, not someone just passing through," she said. "It's a small town where everyone is really nice."

Kevin Bryan bought his ticket at the Trex Mart and made an extra trip to his mother's home in Dearborn to verify that the ticket he left on her counter wasn't, in fact, the winner.

"When I heard it was sold here in Dearborn I about fell over," Bryan said, as he hung Christmas lights outside his mother's home.

He said the only other local lottery win he could remember was when an area farmer won about $100,000 in scratch-off game years ago "and bought himself a combine."

Baron Hartell, son of the owner of the Missouri store, said if the winner isn't a local resident it might have been a truck driver. Interstate 29 is a busy thoroughfare connecting Kansas City to the Canadian border.

"Even the truck drivers who come around, we see them every day, so they all feel like all locals to us," he said.

Store manager Chris Naurez said business had been "crazy" for Powerball tickets lately and that the store had sold about $27,000 worth of tickets in the last few days.

"This really puts Dearborn on the map," he said.

Trex Mart General Manager Kenny Gilbert suggested his staff would be sharing in the $50,000 bounty that the store will be awarded for selling one of the winning tickets.

Read More..

Producer sues Pythons over ‘Spamalot’ royalties

LONDON (AP) — It’s no joking matter.

A producer of the film “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” is suing the British comedy troupe over royalties from the hit stage musical “Spamalot.”

Producer Mark Forstater wants a bigger share of proceeds from the show, which is based on the Pythons’ 1975 movie spoof of the legend of King Arthur.

Lawyers for Monty Python are contesting Forstater’s claim and will present their arguments later. Python members Eric Idle, Michael Palin and Terry Jones will give evidence during a five-day hearing that began Friday at London’s High Court.

Forstater is suing the trio and the two other surviving Python members, John Cleese and Terry Gilliam. The sixth member of the troupe, Graham Chapman, died in 1989.

Forstater’s lawyer, Tom Weisselberg, said that under an agreement made when the film was produced, “for financial purposes Mr. Forstater was to be treated as the seventh Python” and entitled to the same share of “Holy Grail” merchandising and spin-off income as the other members.

But the lawyer said Forstater had not received his fair share of royalties from the stage show, which has been a hit around the world. It ran on Broadway for almost four years to 2009 and is still playing in London’s West End.

Weisselberg said Forstater, who was declared bankrupt earlier this year, had been forced to go to court because of his “difficult financial circumstances.”

Entertainment News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Read More..

Hockey Coaches Defy Doctors on Concussions, Study Finds

Despite several years of intensive research, coverage and discussion about the dangers of concussions, the idea of playing through head injuries is so deeply rooted in hockey culture that two university teams kept concussed players on the ice even though they were taking part in a major concussion study.

The study, which will be published Friday in a series of articles in the journal Neurosurgical Focus, was conducted during the 2011-12 hockey season by researchers from the University of Western Ontario, the University of Montreal, Harvard and other institutions.

“This culture is entrenched at all levels of hockey, from peewee to university,” said Dr. Paul S. Echlin, a concussion specialist and researcher in Burlington, Ontario, and the lead author of the study. “Concussion is a significant public health issue that requires a generational shift. As with smoking or seat belts, it doesn’t just happen overnight — it takes a massive effort and collective movement.”

The study is believed to be among the most comprehensive analyses of concussions in hockey, which has a rate of head trauma approaching that of football. Researchers followed two Canadian university teams — a men’s team and a women’s team — and scanned every player’s brain before and after the season. Players who sustained head injuries also received scans at three intervals after the injuries, with researchers using advanced magnetic resonance imaging techniques.

The teams were not named in the study, in which an independent specialist physician was present at each game and was empowered to pull any player off the ice for examination if a potential concussion was observed.

The men’s team, with 25 players and an average age of 22, played a 28-game regular season and a 3-game postseason. The women’s team, with 20 players and an average age of 20, played 24 regular-season games and no playoff games. Over the course of the season, there were five observed or self-reported concussions on the men’s team and six on the women’s team.

Researchers noted several instances of coaches, trainers and players avoiding examinations, ignoring medical advice or otherwise obstructing the study, even though the players had signed consent forms to participate and university ethics officials had given institutional consent.

“Unless something is broken, I want them out playing,” one coach said, according to the study.

In one incident, a neurologist observing the men’s team pulled a defenseman during the first period of a game after the player took two hits and was skating slowly. During the intermission the player reported dizziness and was advised to sit out, but the coach suggested he play the second period and “skate it off.” The defenseman stumbled through the rest of the game.

“At the end of the third period, I spoke with the player and the trainer and said that he should not play until he was formally evaluated and underwent the formal return-to-play protocol,” the neurologist said, as reported in the study. “I was dismayed to see that he played the next evening.”

After the team returned from its trip, the neurologist questioned the trainer about overruling his advice and placing the defenseman at risk.

“The trainer responded that he and the player did not understand the decision and that most of the team did not trust the neurologist,” according to the study. “He requested that the physician no longer be used to cover any more games.”

In another episode, a physician observer assessed a minor concussion in a female player and recommended that she miss the next night’s game. Even though the coach’s own playing career had ended because of concussions, she overrode the medical advice and inserted the player the next evening.

According to the report, the coach refused to speak to another physician observer on the second evening. The trainer was reluctant to press the issue with the coach because, the trainer said, the coach did not want the study to interfere with the team.

Read More..