Free Kid Game

Emirates, the Dubai-based multi-award winning airline, and the International Rugby Board have launched the second annual Rugby Photograph of the Year Competition.

A trip for two to the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens at the end of November awaits the winner of the Rugby Photograph of the Year Competition.

The competition, which aims to capture the essence of the Rugby Game, is open to both amateur and professional photographers. The judges will be looking for a striking photograph that best depicts the Game; whether it be from the Test match arena or the domestic rugby scene.

A shortlist of six entries will be made by the IRBs panel of judges and the overall winner will receive a fantastic trip for two to the Dubai Rugby Sevens, courtesy of Emirates, including flights, accommodation and tickets.

Big bucks for a big dance

This is the mud season of the sports calendar. While we await blessed baseball and its promise of renewal, we smack up against the Final Four of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Men's Division I Basketball Championship -- the Big Dance for sportswriters, the Bracket Racket for gamblers, a frat-rat party and a subversion of higher education.

Calling it March Madness slaps lipstick on a pig. But we'll call it March Madness, too, and get down in the mud, too, with a jaundiced eye on that guy on the bench who always seems to be yelling, whistling and waving his arms.

College basketball coaches tend to be big guys with the confident patter of televangelists; just the kind of mouthy jocks who were allowed to dominate the dorks in high school because their personal goals, winning games to advance their careers, complemented the principal's goal, putting the school on the happy map.

Avalanche FanFest Saturday

Salem, VA--The Salem Avalanche, Class-A affiliate of the Houston Astros, will host its annual FanFest on Saturday, March 31 from 10 AM to 2 PM at Lewis-Gale Medical Center Field at Salem Memorial Baseball Stadium. FanFest is a free event and all are encouraged to attend.

Fans will enjoy free food including fresh donuts from Krispy Kreme, hot dogs fresh off the grille compliments of Valleydale and Heiner's Bakery. Fans can wash it all down with a cold drink, compliments of Pepsi.

Kids of all ages that attend FanFest will be the first to try the new interactive inflatable activities at the all-new Avalanche Fun Zone. Plus, face painters and clowns will be at the park to join in on the fun.

"FanFest is all about having fun," said Avalanche VP / General Manager, John Katz. "It's a great opportunity for our staff to have fun cooking hot dogs, giving stadium tours and hosting our first-ever Easter egg hunt."

It's a perfect time to see the sight lines at Lewis-Gale Medical Center Field at Salem Memorial Baseball Stadium.

Violent Video Games Are Mass-Murder Simulators

Lt. Col. David Grossman is the author of Stop Teaching Our Kids To Kill: A Call To Action Against TV, Movie & Video Game Violence, which he co-authored with Gloria DeGaetano, and On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society. The following is his speech to the founding meeting of the Commission Against the New Violence, on May 20, 2000. It is reprinted from EIR, June 2, 2000.

I'd like to talk to you about violent crime and the causations of violent crime. And what I want you to realize is, we have to think of violence like we would think of heart disease. It really is a soul-disease, if you will. And many things cause heart disease. There's obesity, overweight—does that cause heart disease? Yes. Does a high-cholesterol diet, or stress, or lack of exercise, or genetics—do all those things cause heart disease? Yes, we know they do.

Doyle's on the boil - Bruce hails kid keeper

An afternoon of unrelenting drama ended with Birmingham goalkeeper Colin Doyle saving an injury-time penalty to put Steve Bruce's side back on top of the Championship.

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