NEW YORK — He awoke early, munched a light breakfast and a postprandial peppermint and then slipped out a back entrance into the warm New York sunshine for a morning constitutional.
Only months ago, he had been a relative unknown, a young athlete of modest success and largely untested promise. But two races had changed all that, likely forever.
The press tracked him everywhere now, even here, about 30 kilometres from the city, as he ambled down a muddy, tree-lined path, flanked by a dozen security guards. A brood of ill-tempered roosters clucked at him as he passed and he could hear the staccato clicks of the cameras, the photographers whispering his name in a kind of awed reverence, coaxing him to linger an extra second or two for a better shot.
He hadn’t yet learned the celebrity’s aversion to the paparazzi. In fact, he had always been intrigued by the attention. So he obliged, pausing within earshot of a couple of women who loitered at the entrance to the track, tittering over his physique – the sinewy shoulders, the riffle of his legs, the corded neck sloping into a broad sweep of back.
He took it all in his typically liquid stride, sauntering onto the oval, where several of his more skittish rivals had already assembled for a brief workout. Some strolled, others circled in a kind of lazy jog, and a few whirred past in a tangle of limbs and colours. But he preferred, to the chagrin of his newer fans, to stand off to one side for several minutes, surveying the scene.
His “connections,” as they call them in the business, would no doubt say he was scoping the competition and visualizing his upcoming race.
But Big Brown is just a horse. How could he know that he is on the verge of history, that if he reaches the winner’s circle Saturday afternoon at the Belmont Stakes – at a full mile and a half, the most gruelling of thoroughbred contests – he will become the first winner of the Triple Crown (winning the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont) since Affirmed in 1978?

globesports.com

By DENNIS WASZAK Jr. – 7 hours ago
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (AP) — Vernon Gholston heard the crowd chanting his name while the New York Jets were on the clock, deliberating over their first-round draft selection.
A few minutes later, the notoriously critical Jets fans welcomed the Ohio State defensive end to their team with satisfied cheers.
“It was crazy,” Gholston said with a smile Saturday night at the Jets’ headquarters, a few hours after being selected with the No. 6 overall pick. “When they got to the sixth pick and I was still on the board, they started chanting my name and everything. I guess they anticipated it.”
And, the Jets hope Gholston will further improve their pass rush in a big way. The speedy and powerful defensive end is expected to play outside linebacker in New York’s 3-4 defense, which registered just 29 sacks last season.
The 6-foot-4, 264-pound Gholston set an Ohio State record with 14 sacks last season despite facing double teams regularly. In the 3-4, he’ll be asked to stand up as a linebacker more after playing mostly from a three-point stance in college.
“That’s something I’ve done at Ohio State,” said Gholston, wearing a gray, pinstriped suit and a green and white Jets cap. “I’m pretty sure I won’t have problems with it.”
The Jets added another first-round selection when they traded their second-round pick and a fourth-rounder (No. 113) to Green Bay for the No. 30 pick. The fans who cheered a few hours earlier for Gholston at Radio City Music Hall booed loudly when New York took Purdue tight end Dustin Keller, thinking the Jets might take a wide receiver or quarterback.
“I think it’s going to be a really good fit,” Keller said during a conference call from a suite in the press box at Purdue’s Ross-Ade Stadium.

ap.google.com

4 dead in NYC crane collapse…Dextre’s stubborn bolts…New delegate numbers
NEW YORK (AP) A construction company official calls the New York crane collapse “an absolute freak accident.” He says a piece of steel fell and cut one of the ties holding the crane to a building, causing it to come crashing down. The mayor says at least four people were killed and at least 10 others were injured.
international space station (AP) The international space station’s gigantic new robot, Dextre, has risen like the Frankenstein monster from its transport bed. Spacewalking astronauts are attaching the robot’s 11-foot arms. It wasn’t easy getting started. Some anchoring bolts wouldn’t budge at first.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Barack Obama has gained more ground on Hillary CLinton. He’s picked up more than half the 14 delegates allocated to John Edwards on the basis of Iowa caucus night projections. Counting new figures from Iowa and California, an Associated Press delegate tally shows Obama with 1,617 delegates to Clinton’s 1,498.
Washington (AP) House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the Democratic Party will be harmed if its leaders buck the will of national convention delegates picked in primaries and caucuses. The statement to be aired Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” is a boost for Barack Obama, who leads in pledged delegates.

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March 13, 2008 — The woman for whom Gov. Spitzer tossed away his political career, reputation and, perhaps, his family finally has a face.
Ashley Alexandra Dupre, a 22-year-old aspiring singer from the Jersey Shore, is the high-priced hooker at the heart of the sordid, sex-filled drama. Her name was revealed on the same day Spitzer resigned from office.
Until now, she has been publicly known only as "Kristen" - a woman the love gov ordered from the skin peddlers at Emperors Club VIP for a tryst at a Washington hotel on Feb.13.
But a relative said Dupre - born Ashley Youmans and raised in Belmar, NJ - and Kristen are one and the same.
"I love her. I am by her side. I found out from her," her brother, Kyle Youmans, told The Post. "The family is supporting her. She is fine."
He referred all other questions to his sister's lawyer, Don Buchwald, who would not confirm his client's involvement in the scandal.
Dupre earlier told The New York Times - which said she has been subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury - that the stress of being at the heart of the scandal was wearing on her.
"I just don't want to be thought of as a monster," she said. "This has been a very difficult time. It is complicated."

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The fall of New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer holds many lessons, and the press will surely be examining them in coming months. But don’t expect the press corps to delve into the biggest lesson of all — its own role as his enabler.
Journalists have spent the past two days asking how a man of Mr. Spitzer’s stature would allow himself to get involved in a prostitution ring. The answer, in my mind, is clear. The former New York attorney general never believed normal rules applied to him, and his view was validated time and again by an adoring press. “You play hard, you play rough, and hopefully you don’t get caught,” said Mr. Spitzer two years ago. He never did get caught, because most reporters were his accomplices.
Journalism has many functions, but perhaps the most important is keeping tabs on public officials. That duty is even more vital concerning government positions that are subject to few other checks and balances. Chief among those is the prosecutor, who can use his awesome state power to punish, even destroy, private citizens.
Yet from the start, the press corps acted as an adjunct of Spitzer power, rather than a skeptic of it. Many journalists get into this business because they want to see wrongs righted. Mr. Spitzer portrayed himself as the moral avenger. He was the slayer of the big guy, the fat cat, the Wall Street titan — all allegedly on behalf of the little guy. The press ate it up, and came back for more.

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A political bombshell in New York today…
where Governor Eliot Spitzer apologized to his family and the public on a New York Times report that he has been involved in a prostitution ring.
Spitzer did not elaborate…
But a law enforcement official has told The Associated Press that Spitzer’s involvement in a prostitution ring was caught on a federal wiretap.
The official says the New York governor met last month with at least one woman in a Washington hotel. Officials arrested four people last week allegedly connected to a high-end operation called the Emperors Club VIP.Prosecutors say the defendants arranged connections between wealthy men and more than 50 prostitutes in New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Miami, London and Paris.Spitzer’s wife, Silda, stood at his side this afternoon as he made the statement.
The 48-year-old governor and his wife have three daughters.
Posted by Markwest on Mar 11 2008 3:24AM - What do you expect. With the introduction of the Internet, escorts are available everywhere.
It’s not like you have to drive around seedy areas and pick them up on street corners anymore. Just look at sites like Eros Guide (not sure of their web address) and The Verotic Guide www.veroticguide.com. They have their only online communities built for Escorts and their customers with chat rooms, instant messaging, ads etc.

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