Millions of fans fete victorious Blackhawks

Fans cheer during a rally in Grant Park for the NHL Stanley Cup hockey champion Chicago Blackhawks on Friday, June 28, 2013, in Chicago. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

Fans cheer during a rally in Grant Park for the NHL Stanley Cup hockey champion Chicago Blackhawks on Friday, June 28, 2013, in Chicago. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

The 2013 Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks ride in a victory parade down Washington Street as an elevated train passes by Friday, June 28, 2013 in Chicago. The Blackhawks celebrate the team's second championship in four years. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Chicago Blackhawks' Jonathan Toews holds up the 2013 Stanley Cup during a victory parade down Washington Street Friday, June 28, 2013 in Chicago. The Blackhawks celebrate the team's second championship in four years. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Chicago Blackhawks' Jonathan Toews holds up the 2013 Stanley Cup during a victory parade down Washington Street Friday, June 28, 2013 in Chicago. The Blackhawks celebrate the team's second championship in four years. (AP Photo/Scott Eisen)

Chicago Blackhawks' fans takes pictures as Jonathan Toews and the Stanley Cup pass by during a victory parade down Washington Street Friday, June 28, 2013 in Chicago. The Blackhawks celebrate the team's second championship in four years. (AP Photo/Scott Eisen)

CHICAGO (AP) ? From the jubilant parade all the way to the boisterous rally, millions of excited fans spent a sun-drenched Friday celebrating another Stanley Cup title for the Chicago Blackhawks.

Dressed mostly in red and black, they came out to say thanks for the memories. Turns out, captain Jonathan Toews and Co. wanted to return the favor.

"This shows how unbelievable this city is," Toews said, addressing the rapt crowd at Grant Park. "Unbelievable. Thank you."

The Blackhawks rode to the rally in red, open-topped buses, passing waving and screaming fans of every age as the parade traveled from the United Center to the downtown party. Toews hoisted the Stanley Cup over his head to show it off to the crowd, which was cooled by large water misters placed along the route with temperatures in the low 80s.

One of the many signs read "Thank you, guys" on the top line and "Best 17 seconds of my life" for the second part ? referring to the pair of late goals that lifted the Blackhawks to a 3-2 title-clinching victory over the Boston Bruins on Monday night. And there was at least one expression of love for Andrew Shaw, the hardscrabble forward who required stitches on his face after he was hit by a puck Monday.

It was the second championship in four seasons for the Blackhawks, and authorities thought Friday's crowd was even heartier than the 2 million that came out in 2010.

"What do you say we get back here and do it again next year?" forward Patrick Sharp said to a big cheer at the rally.

The Grant Park crowd also enjoyed a brief but colorful speech by normally reserved goaltender Corey Crawford, who drew wide grins and chuckles from his teammates.

"It's tough to follow that speech by Corey Crawford," Toews said after he carried the Cup onto the stage.

Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said 42 people were taken to hospitals with heat-related health problems. He also said 20 people jumped into a restricted part of Lake Michigan and the fire department made sure that all 20 came out of the water.

The massive crowd at the park grew steadily all morning long, with the most ardent supporters camping out overnight, ready to sprint to the big stage the minute police swung the barriers aside. By the time buses delivered the players and their families, the park was packed.

Some fans brought along homemade versions of the Stanley Cup, including one fashioned from an empty beer keg. Twenty-somethings Courtney Baldwin and Meghan O'Kane, from the city's suburbs, slapped together their tribute from a jumble of jugs and plastic bowls painted grey.

It was empty Friday morning, but Baldwin said they planned to fill it with an adult beverage in the afternoon ? a common occurrence for the actual silver trophy over the past week.

One fan who dashed to the front near the stage was Michael Wilczynski, a 26-year-old sales associate from the suburbs. His father took him to his first game and they partied together downtown after the last Stanley Cup victory.

"My dad died in February. We came to 2010. I'm not going to miss this. I had to be here," he said.

The Blackhawks gave the city something to celebrate as the Cubs and White Sox grind through another lost summer. And fans took note.

"We love the Blackhawks. This is history and this is a championship, unlike the Cubs," O'Kane said, taking a shot at a team that hasn't won a World Series since 1908.

The franchise's fifth Stanley Cup was the culmination of a banner season for the Blackhawks, who set an NHL record when they recorded at least one point in the first 24 games ? half of the lockout-shortened schedule. They finished with the best record in the league.

The dramatic Game 6 victory in Boston sparked a raucous party in parts of Chicago. Fans poured out of bars after the thrilling finish and celebrated in the streets in the several neighborhoods.

Sarah Schmidt, 22, who grew up in Chicago and made the pilgrimage to Friday's celebrations from Milwaukee, told her boss she was taking the day off no matter what. She hoped her bartending gig would still be there when the party was over.

"I can't miss this," she said.

___

Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-06-28-HKN-Blackhawks-Parade/id-f796f6caca01465ea9b35f94c28caeb6

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Microsoft patent filing attempts to lock down games with multiple engines running concurrently

Shortly after Microsoft released its Xbox 360 HD update to Halo: Combat Evolved -- a game which allowed players to seamlessly switch between the original game's graphics and the update -- the company filed a patent for games "having a plurality of game engines." That patent filing just got published today, and it seemingly attempts to specifically lock down the concept of gaming classics being re-released in an updated form while also allowing longtime fans to switch between the original game and the update.

Microsoft-owned Halo developer 343 Industries is at the forefront of the filing, with executive producer Daniel Ayoub's name listed first and two other 343 employees rounding out the list. The description of the patent does allow for some flexibility. "A game having a plurality of engines is described. In one or more implementations, a computing device displays an output of a first engine of a game by a computing device. An input is received by the computing device to switch from the output of the first engine of the game to an output of a second engine of the game, the first and second engines being executed concurrently by the computing device," it reads. However, later on in the filing, it specifically speaks to "remakes of games" that "attempt to captivate their audiences by leveraging emotions associated with the initial game." Certainly a blunt way to put that, eh?

Filed under: Gaming, Software, HD, Microsoft

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Source: Pat2PDF (PDF Link), USPTO

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/27/microsoft-patent-multiple-game-engines/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Pats player Hernandez taken from home in handcuffs

ATTLEBORO, Mass. (AP) ? New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was taken from his home in handcuffs Wednesday morning, more than a week after a Boston semi-pro football player was found dead in an industrial park a mile from Hernandez's house.

Less than two hours later, the Patriots announced they had released Hernandez.

Odin Lloyd, a 27-year-old semi-pro football player for the Boston Bandits, was found slain June 17. Officials ruled the death a homicide but did not say how Lloyd died.

Lloyd's relatives said he was dating the sister of Hernandez's fiancee, that the two men were friends and that the men were out together on the last night of Lloyd's life.

It's unclear why Hernandez was taken into custody Wednesday before 9 a.m. and put into the back of a police cruiser. He was wearing a white V-neck T-shirt, with his arms inside the shirt and behind his back as he was led from his North Attleborough home. He casually spit into some bushes on his way to the car.

Hernandez was arrested on a state police warrant at about 8:45 a.m. and was being booked at the North Attleborough police station, state police said on the agency's Twitter account. State police said they won't discuss the charge against Hernandez until it's presented in Attleboro District Court later Wednesday.

The Associated Press emailed a message to his attorney, Michael Fee, who hasn't discussed the investigation beyond acknowledging media reports about it. A message also was left with the Bristol County district attorney's office.

At about 10:20 a.m., the Patriots announced they had released Hernandez and expressed sympathy to Lloyd's family and friends.

"Words cannot express the disappointment we feel knowing that one of our players was arrested as a result of this investigation," the Patriots said in a statement. "We realize that law enforcement investigations into this matter are ongoing. We support their efforts and respect the process. At this time, we believe this transaction is simply the right thing to do."

Lloyd's mother, Ursula Ward, declined to comment at her Boston home Wednesday morning.

"Nothing to say, please. Thank you," she said, before shutting the door.

State police have searched in and around Hernandez's sprawling home in North Attleborough several times. At least three search warrants have been issued in connection with the investigation.

Reporters have been camped for days outside the home on the Rhode Island line, not far from the stadium where the Patriots play. They reported Tuesday that Hernandez got a visit from Boston defense attorney James Sultan.

The Patriots drafted Hernandez, who is originally from Bristol, Conn., out of the University of Florida in 2010. Last summer, the team gave him a five-year contract worth $40 million.

___

Associated Press writers Bridget Murphy in Boston and Howard Ulman contributed to this story.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pats-player-hernandez-taken-home-handcuffs-131332109.html

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NuForce HP-800 headphone review

Can a headphone ever be too comfortable? Or too smooth sounding? These are unusual questions to consider when reviewing headphones, but that’s how I felt listening to the NuForce HP-800. Maybe NuForce has achieved a near perfect balance between comfort, price, and sound. Or have they? NuForce has created some unique products that fill specific [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2013/06/27/nuforce-hp-800-headphone-review/

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Why Are Guys Afraid to Wear Speedos?

A man prepares to swim on bank of a canal in subzero temperatures in central Beijing, Dec. 7, 2012.

Photot by Petar Kujundzic/Reuters

Summer is here, and again I am seething with frustration. Why? Every year I scan the beaches for men in Speedos and every year I am disappointed. The ridiculous board-shorts trend shows no sign of waning. I had high hopes for change after last year?s Olympics, when the entire nation was gripped by the spectacle of those jackknifing water sprites in their micro-briefs. (Those preposterously teensy swim skivvies worn by Tom Daley et al could only be explained by some kind of harsh polyester-rationing scheme: ?Sorry, boys, but only 1 square inch of fabric per customer. Don?t worry. It is quite stretchy.?) I just assumed that, come this summer, one might see an increased willingness on the part of the U.S. male to embrace a little European savoir-faire. But, yet again, all I see are men in billowing shorts.

My interest is not entirely sordid. My primary motivation is, in fact, safety. Dudes are getting waterlogged, and dudes are sinking. In the course of my far-from-extensive research, I spoke to legendary West Coast swimwear magnate Mr. Turk. He shares my conviction that ?board-shorts aficionados are drowning because their swimsuits are so voluminous.? A California lifeguard pal of Turk?s has been obliged, on more than one occasion, ?to pull guys out of the surf because they get tangled up in huge baggy shorts.?

Drowning is not the only peril: Yes, I?m talking about gender misidentification. This past weekend I spotted two burly figures walking toward me wearing what I assumed were large peasant skirts. ?What made these two beefy, short-haired possibly lesbians decide to go topless?? I asked myself. Upon closer inspection, they turned out to be a couple of dudes with man boobs in garishly printed board shorts, prompting the question: Why do American men insist on concealing their willies ?neath yards of fabric?

If only Freud could have lived long enough to dissect the semiotics of Speedos. What would he have made of the U.S. male?s horror of being caught in a tiny swimsuit? (I use the word ?horror? advisedly. For my straight friends, the most traumatizing moments in HBO?s recent Liberace movie Behind the Candelabra occurred when Matt Damon, Mr. Bourne Identity, was forced to prance about in panty-size swim briefs.) I was raised in the U.K. and grew up thinking sassier swimwear was normal, but I then moved to the U.S. and became indoctrinated into the cult of Speedo shame. So I feel uniquely qualified to address this issue. I have, as it were, a foot in both gussets.

Clearly there is a class issue. WASPs don?t do Speedos?old money has no need to resort to gratuitous flesh exposure to achieve social currency. Butt cracks are banned at the country club. Nobody has ever come upon a cache of old Kennedy family snapshots and found images of Jack, Bobby, and Teddy strutting round Martha?s Vineyard in stretch velour leopard swim briefs (like the ones I once purchased at Frederick?s of Hollywood when I lived up the street in the early 1980s).

Speedo-wearing is also a cultural flashpoint. Revealing men?s swim garments are, for the U.S. consumer, irrevocably associated with ?foreigners? and, most terrifying of all, friends of Dorothy. However, there is something even more mysterious to this issue than the persistent fear of being mistaken for a bisexual Serbian cruise-ship croupier: American dudes are driven by a Wizard of Oz?like desire to ?curtain off? their genitals. They are impelled to gird up their loins with yards of fabric, thereby protecting?symbolically and literally?their reproductive equipment, while sinewy Spaniards, hard-body Greeks, bronzed Aussies, diverse Latin Americans, and pale squishy Brits take a reverse approach. These fellows prefer to wear swimsuits that say, ?In case you wondered, I am the proud possessor of male genitalia, and in case you don?t believe me, here it is!?

I argue that the Puritans who colonized America are to blame. There they go again, spoiling all our European fun with their exaggerated notions of modesty. If I run into any Puritans on Long Island this summer (stranger things have happened), I intend to give them a piece of my mind: ?Why do you persist in making dudes wear dirndl skirts while you allow their girlfriends to dress like vacationing strippers??

As The Soup?s Joel McHale says every week, ?Let?s talk about chicks, man.?

American women have never presented themselves with more over-the-top va-va-voom than they do now, especially on the beach. Bikinis have never been smaller. Hoochies have never been hotter. Tramp stamps have never been trampier. It?s obviously time for men to correct this inequity, join the partaay, and start channeling their inner Magic Mike ? or inner Borat.

Lastly, let me address the elephant in the Vilebrequin. I am talking about lard. Are most American dudes simply too fat to wear a Speedo? Is that what?s inhibiting men from embracing this comfy, functional garment? Does it only work if you are some Tom Daley-esque Adonis? Mr. Turk weighs in: ?Your moobs [man-boobs] and your widening gut are going to be visible either way. I say throw on a pair of groovy ?70s shades?like the guy in those Southern Comfort ads?and learn to strut in a nifty brief or a spiffy square-cut trunk.?

Source: http://www.slate.com/articles/life/doonan/2013/06/men_in_speedos_american_men_need_to_get_over_their_fear_of_wearing_swim.html

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Lutherville-Timonium Crime: Man Robbed of iPhone During Craigslist Sale

The following information was provided by the Baltimore County Police Department. In cases where a criminal charge is noted, the information supplied does not indicate a conviction.

Hartfell Road, 2400 block. Between?11 p.m. June 12 and 8:30 a.m. June 13.?A burglar threw a large rock through a car window and stole a gym bag.?

York Road, 2100 block. At 4:55 p.m. June 7. A man met with two other men who he connected with through Craigslist to sell his iPhone. One of the robbers displayed a handgun and stole the phone.?

Felton Road, 200 block. Between 9 a.m. June 7 and 11:29 a.m. June 11. A burglar broke a door window at a residence and attempted to remove a sliding screen door.?

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Source: http://timonium.patch.com/groups/editors-picks/p/luthervilletimonium-crime-burglar-steals-single-pack-of-candy

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Local residents named to Stonehill College dean's list

Stonehill College recently named the following Waldo County residents to its dean's list for the Spring 2013 semester.

Swanville resident Kaitlyn W. Schweikert, a member of the class of 2015.

Northport resident Emily R. Wiley, a member of the class ...

Source: http://waldo.villagesoup.com/p/local-residents-named-to-stonehill-college-deans-list/1014640?source=rss

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PS4 to require PS Plus membership for multiplayer play

Sony is delivering mixed blessings here at E3: while it's more than willing to avoid DRM on the PlayStation 4, it just echoed Microsoft's approach to multiplayer services. You'll now need a PlayStation Plus subscription to play online. That may be a small price to pay when both Plus and the PS4 itself are cheaper than Xbox Live and the Xbox One, but it's an unfortunate extra cost for those used to getting their multiplayer gaming for free.

Follow all of our E3 2013 coverage at our event hub.

Filed under: Gaming, Sony

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/10/ps4-to-require-ps-plus-membership-for-multiplayer-play/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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