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MetroPCS, U.S. Cellular and several other regional carriers have requested that the Federal Communications Commission initiate a “shot clock” for roaming agreements with larger wireless carriers. “Supporters stressed that imposing a shot clock on negotiations is necessary to provide the proper incentive for potential roaming partners to timely respond to inquiries,” a lawyer representing the regional carriers said in a letter to FCC Secretary Marlene H. Dortch. “Although data roaming negotiations may involve complex issues, the Joint Supporters emphasized that other situations that incorporate shot clocks, such as interconnection and siting negotiations, also have the potential to involve complex issues, and yet, a shot clock still has been successfully implemented in those negotiations.” In other words, the smaller wireless carriers want larger carriers to stop stalling when it comes to negotiating roaming deals in areas where regional carriers provide connectivity and to instead “engage in good faith negotiations.”
[Via FierceWireless]
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INDIANAPOLIS — Tom Brady’s sixth-round status in the 2000 NFL Draft is an often-told story, as is the fact that he had to compete for reps with Drew Henson with the Michigan Wolverines. Bill Belichick will be the first to admit that even the New England Patriots had no clue when they were getting from the skinny kid who looked and ran like an accountant at the scouting combine — had Belichick known or even suspected, he certainly wouldn’t have waited until the 199th overall pick to pull the trigger on the man who might just be the greatest quarterback of all time.
One former head coach is still haunted by his proximity to Brady, and the fact that he missed the boat. Steve Mariucci, in Indianapolis for the NFL Network, was the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers when Brady came out of college. Born in Michigan, “Mooch” probably had the connections to know if the kid was something special at the time. Brady was born and raised near the 49ers’ facility, and he was a huge fan of the team growing up, and … well, Mariucci remembers it a torturous example of two ships passing in the night.
“I kill myself every day about that — not having him,” Mariucci told Yahoo! Sports on Tuesday. “And I’ve mentioned that — if he was with the 49ers [back then], I’d probably still be coaching. We’d be talking about other things right now. I’m trying to replay that whole thing in my mind, and start with the measurables, which are … let’s face it, too big in the evaluation process. Bigger than they should be, I suppose — especially for that position. You know, if you’re an offensive tackle, we’re not going to draft a 5-foot-10, 230-pound guy. You’ve gotta be 6-foot-5, and you’ve gotta have a certain height and weight. Arm length, that kind of thing.
“But with a quarterback, is it really important that he ran a 5.24 40, or that he wasn’t really strong in the weight room, or that he really didn’t look the part in his boxer shorts? You’ve seen those pictures of him [from the scouting combine]. We had a local combine with the 49ers, where we would invite all the kids who went to high school around there, and he went to Serra High School, just up the street. He was there with us, just throwing the ball, and he didn’t do anything any better than anybody else. He didn’t stick out. You wouldn’t look him and go, ‘There’s a Hall-of-Famer.’ That just didn’t happen.
“So then, you watch the [college tape, and he was competing for a starting job [at Michigan]. So, what I remember most about [Brady from that time] is that our scouts came back — and he was a local kid — and we asked: Are his coaches standing on the table saying, ‘You have to draft this guy … If you don’t, you’ll all be idiots.’ That didn’t happen. Do we need an endorsement from the coach? I guess, You don’t want a coach to over-exaggerate a player’s talent and sell everyone in the program, but you want someone to say, ‘Hey — this guy can play in the National Football League.’ The reports we got? I don’t remember that taking place.”
“So, that impression may have been given to every team, and nobody drafted him. Even the six guys drafted in front of him [for the Patriots in 2000] — how long did they last in the league?
“It was an interesting process. Did we learn from it? I guess …”
Brady talked about those perceptions during his Tuesday media session.
“I don’t think it’s just that 2000 NFL Draft,” he said, when asked if that snub still drives him. “What you’re always trying to do as an athlete is prove it to yourself. You go through a college career and think you do a decent job — not that you get overlooked, it’s just that there are other guys who they feel can do a better job — so you just keep working hard, you just keep believing in yourself and looking for your opportunity. Unfortunately, I got my opportunity through Drew [Bledsoe] getting injured [in 2001]. At the same time, I wanted to take advantage of that opportunity.
So then, the obvious question: What happened to Brady to make him the player he is now? Beyond the big brain he clearly developed, what happened to him physically, mechanically, and schematically?
“What changed for Tom Brady physically … is he any faster than he was at the combine? I don’t know,” Mariucci said. “Is he a little stronger? He’s been in the weightroom a little bit. Is he any taller? No. Some guys just bloom and blossom at different ages. Sometimes, you see kids that peak in high school, and that’s it. Confidence levels change, too. Kurt Warner, who didn’t get drafted at all, tried out with us in Green Bay, and he was a camp arm. I asked him to go in the huddle one time, and he turned it down — he wasn’t confident.0 Sometimes, it doesn’t kick in until a little bit later.”
Which is exactly how Brady explained it in a different part of the stadium on the same day. “Life is about taking advantage of opportunities, and you never know when you’re going to get them,” he said. “You have to be prepared to take advantage when you get them. You try to go out there and be confident in yourself so you can inspire confidence in others. I always tell young players, ‘How do you expect me to be confident in you when I look at you and see that you’re not confident in yourself?’ You’re always bringing that level of confidence so guys look at you and say, ‘I know he’s going to get it done, so this is how I’m going to prepare myself.’”
And that, among many other reasons, is why art of quarterback evaluation of so very frustrating. It’s just as much about the things you can’t see, and might not even exist, when you get your window into the future.
Just ask “Mooch.” He knows.
View full post on Shutdown Corner – NFL – Yahoo! Sports
The Great Super Bowl commercials for Sunday just keep coming. Today we have the Acura/Jerry Seinfield commercial, which could rival the “Ferris Bueller Day’s Off” one we posted yesterday! Enjoy!
Jerry Seinfeld is so excited about the new Acura NSX that he will stop at nothing to acquire the very first one. Check out the extended version of Acura’s big game commercial. See what else Jerry would do for the first new NSX at www.acura.com. NSX projected debut in next three years. #JerrysNSX
View full post on NFL Gridiron Gab
Dutch researchers are looking to catapult crime scene investigation into the 21st century through the use of augmented reality (AR). The prototype system, designed by the Delft University of Technology, employs a pair of AR goggles, two head-mounted cameras and a portable laptop rig to allow investigators to build virtual crime scenes by tagging evidence and placing objects they are viewing. After mapping an area, additional law enforcement personnel can review the investigator’s work and request additional information — asking the CSI to define or place additional objects. Researchers hope that the 3D renders will be used as court-admissible evidence in the near future; the technology is set to be tried on a real Dutch crime scene later this year. We can see it now: Lieutenant Horatio Caine whips off his shades and tosses on a pair of (equally stylish) crime-fighting goggles… YEAAAAAAAAH!
AR goggles take crime scene technology to CSI: Miami level originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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China Telecom is getting very near to launching Apple’s iPhone 4S on its network, the carrier said in a press release Tuesday obtained by China Daily. China Telecom subsidiary Beijing Telecom said a CDMA version of the iPhone 4S will likely be available to its customers by the end of February or the beginning of March.
Apple has been taking preparatory steps in advance of a launch with China Telecom, China’s third largest mobile network operator. Earlier in January, Apple secured regulatory approval to sell a device in China that operates using the CDMA2000 network standard, which is the technology China Telecom uses for its 3G network. At the time, the only step remaining for Apple was to get a license from China’s Telecommunications Equipment and Certification Center to begin selling the device, which it gained on Monday this week.
Earlier this week, Morgan Stanley’s Katy Huberty predicted that Apple could grow its iPhone sales by as many as 57 million units in China over the next two years if it succeeds in securing partnerships with China Telecom and China Mobile. China Telecom will offer Apple a potential subscriber pool of roughly 15 million high-end subscribers according to Morgan Stanley’s numbers, approximately doubling its current reach through official partner China Unicom.
The deal hasn’t yet been confirmed by Beijing Telecom’s parent company beyond the report from China Daily, and no pricing details have been released, but the pieces are in place, and there’s little reason to suspect Apple wouldn’t want to expand its presence in China as quickly as possible. No doubt a partnership with China Mobile, which reaches 650 million subscribers and has around a 70 percent share of the Chinese mobile market, is also a priority, but technological factors likely precludes official iPhone support until Apple creates a version specifically for China Mobile’s network.
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Doha (CNN) – The building of Doha's new airport began eight years ago, in preparation for the city's rapid growth.
It is being spear-headed by one of Doha's most influential businessmen – Akbar Al Baker. Now, as the airport nears completion, CNN's Richard Quest gets a tour.
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You may not want to mess with Rumer Willis. The daughter of Demi Moore and Bruce Willis was spotted in Hollywood yesterday carrying a purse with the outline of a handgun on it. Personal protection? A message to the paparazzi dogging her on her mom’s 911 call? Or just an edgy fashion statement?
Click for more pics and the full story at X17Online.com.
View full post on Fox 411 – Entertainment Blog
The mayors of New York and Boston are putting a new twist on the traditional Super Bowl mayoral bet. Instead of exchanging goods, meals or souvenirs associated with their respective cities, Michael Bloomberg and Thomas Menino will be betting on behalf of a family from the city they represent.
The New York Post had the details of the wager. If the New York Giants win, a family from New York will receive the following:
• Four tickets on JetBlue to Boston
• Two-night stay at the Ritz Carlton
• Dinner for four at Legal Seafoods Harborside
• Dinner for four at the Top of the Hub restaurant
• Four tickets to a performance at the Citi Performing Arts Center
• Four box seats at a Bruins or Celtics game at the TD Garden
• Behind-the-scenes-tour of the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum
• Duck Tour ride
• VIP tour of the personal diaries of John Adams, which inspired the HBO series, at the Boston Public Library.
• VIP tour of the Samuel Adams Brewery in Jamaica Plain
• Photo with Menino
If New England wins (perhaps by “Varitek splitting the uprights”), a Boston family’s tour of New York will feature:
• Four tickets on the Delta Shuttle to New York
• A two-night stay at the Grand Hyatt
• Dinner for four at the newly reopened Russian Tea Room
• Lunch or dinner for four at B. Smith’s restaurant
• Four club seats at a Rangers or Knicks game
• Four tickets to the “Phantom of the Opera”
• Ride with the captain on Statue Cruises to Liberty and Ellis Islands, with a VIP tour of the Statue of Liberty crown and museum, including lunch.
• VIP tour of the new wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
• VIP tour of the Brooklyn Brewery
• Photo with Bloomberg
Families will be chosen by special lottery.
It’s a solid lineup, though New York couldn’t hook up Bostonians with tickets to “Book of Mormon?” And I don’t know of anyone who would consider going to a Knicks game as a reward.
Other Super Bowl bets in recent years have features Philly cheesesteaks and New York cheesecake and Green Bay cheese wedges. In addition to cheese-related wagers, mayors and governors have also agreed to wear the jerseys of opposing teams, hang team flags from city hall and shovel sidewalks.
The governors of New York and Massachusetts have yet to decide on their wager. Government gridlock, am I right?
View full post on Shutdown Corner – NFL – Yahoo! Sports
Just wanted to drop a quick note during the Pro Bowl half time break to let you know that for the first time in their history the Panthers are changing their logo. Announced today, the changes are mostly to the eye and shading and serve to modernize the Panthers identity. In addition the logo typeface has been updated, sporting a cleaner easier to read look. Head over to the Panthers announcement to read all the details.
“We have one of the finest and most recognizable logos in the NFL and wanted to make it as modern as possible without losing the dramatic essence of the mark,” said Carolina Panthers President Danny Morrison. “It is a cleaner style that is easier to read and should be more applicable to different uses,” Morrison added.
The tweak to the logo coincides with Nike replacing Reebok as the league’s official supplier of uniforms and on-field apparel in 2012.
View full post on NFL Gridiron Gab
