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Senior Democratic officials are expressing serious concerns about the political risks posed by Barack Obama’s acceptance speech at Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium Thursday evening. From the elaborate stagecraft to the teeming crowd of 80,000 cheering partisans, the vagaries of the weather to the unpredictable audience reaction, the optics surrounding the stadium event have heightened worries that the Obama campaign is engaging in a high-risk endeavor in an uncontrollable environment. A common concern: that the stadium appearance plays against Obama’s convention goal of lowering his star wattage and connecting with average Americans and that it gives Republicans a chance...

Traveling Museum Of White House Memorabilia To Visit Colo. DENVER -- Sharon Stewart couldn't believe her good fortune -- two tickets to Sen. Barack Obama's historic night in Denver for $15 apiece. She bought them on Ticketmaster for the American Presidential Experience" at Invesco Field at Mile High and invited a friend to join her as Obama accepts the Democratic Party's presidential nomination. But it turns out her tickets weren't for Obama's presidential experience but for a traveling museum of White House memorabilia. And the tickets are no good anyway because the museum won't be open to the general public...

Al-Qaeda Draws New Recruits Via Internet Al-Qaeda is using the Internet to recruit vulnerable young people to its terrorist network, according to a programme aired on Saudi Arabian TV late on Tuesday. Umm Osama, the founder of al-Qaeda's first women-only website, al-Khansa, joined several others on the programme to discuss how they renounced jihadist ideology. Among those who sought a response to this question was an imam from the Medina mosque, Saleh Ibn Awad al-Mudamsi, and the father of a young al-Qaeda suspect held in an Iraqi prison. Read More Qaeda Targets U.S. Oil Interests in North Africa U.S....

Where the Fans Once Roared, Demolition Crews Now Have Their Day By NICK BUNKLEYNew York TimesJuly 19, 2008 DETROIT — The wake began as soon as bulldozers punched throughthe wall behind Section 501. All month, carfuls of mourners havebeen arriving steadily on an otherwise desolate street in theshadow of the 96-year-old ballpark. Most have digital cameras dangling from their wrists and a D, inOld English lettering, on their shirts. The more prepared pull step ladders from the backs of their vehicles; others climb ontothe roofs of their cars to peer over the eight-foot-tall fenceshrouding workers inside. Across Trumbull Avenue, Greg...

WASHINGTON: Senator Barack Obama will accept his party's nomination in a Denver football stadium that seats more than 75,000 people, campaign officials said Monday, a late change in plans intended to take advantage of the candidate's ability to draw huge crowds. The Obama campaign's decision to hold the convention's headliner event at Invesco stadium, nearly two miles, or about three kilometers, away from the main convention hall at the Pepsi Center, harked back to the decision by John F. Kennedy to accept the Democratic Party nomination at the Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles in 1960. But the announcement came after...

The tree-sit that has been going on for more than 18 months in the oak grove near Memorial Stadium may have reached its end now that UCPD officers are attempting to take the sitters out. In the latest of several developments, an arborist harnessed on the end of a crane was mobilized onto one of the trees where he was attempting to cut down a structure in the tree when a tree-sitter began hitting him with a plastic bottle. The workman was pulled out of the tree by the crane. Two cherry pickers are also on the site, one of...

Once in a while, almost by accident, the California Legislature sets aside pettiness and venality and does the right thing. It happened last week, although you won't find any official record, when legislation that would have changed a city's redevelopment powers in ways that could lead to widespread abuse was quietly killed without a committee hearing. Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, dropped the bill that the City of Industry was promoting after getting an earful of complaints from other local governments, especially Los Angeles County, and redevelopment reformers. Redevelopment, for those who aren't familiar with it, is the process by...

Afghanistan to Ask NATO for Bigger Army Afghan officials will go to the NATO summit in Romania Thursday with a request: pay to increase our national Army by 40 percent. A bigger Army, Afghan officials argue, will allow the US and other coalition members to scale back in the coming years. This appeal comes amid pleas from the US and Canada for other NATO members to commit more to the Afghanistan mission, which many analysts say has floundered over the past year for lack of resources and a coherent strategy. France is expected to contribute another 1,000 forces and...

Kimberly-Clark Wins Cowboys Stadium Name Game VALLEY RANCH — After several months of secret negotiations, the NFL's Dallas Cowboys and Irving, Texas-based Kimberly-Clark Corporation have inked a sponsorship deal for the new billion-dollar Dallas Cowboys stadium, currently under construction in Arlington, Texas, The stadium will be called Kimberly-Clark Depend® Stadium when it opens in 2009. The name was announced at a press conference on Tuesday by Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Kimberly-Clark Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Thomas Falk. "It sounds a little funny at first, I know," a wry Jones told reporters as a ripple of laughter crossed the...

Petraeus: Al Qaida Trying to 'Come Back In' U.S. military officials said there will be no significant reduction in coalition troops in the Baghdad area as part of an effort to stop the Al Qaida offensive in northern Iraq. They said Al Qaida was trying to reenter Baghdad and reverse its losses in 2007. "Al Qaida is trying to come back in," U.S. military commander Gen. David Petraeus said. "We can feel it and see it, and what we're trying to do is rip out any roots before they can get deeply into the ground." Read More Militants Assert...

[Snip] Homeland Security Issues Warning on Sports Arenas As the spring sports season moves into high gear, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI today issued an assessment, called "Potential Threats to Popular Sports and Entertainment Venues," that said arenas and stadiums are attractive "potential targets during events." …..[Snip]   

Still in Control Pervez Musharraf was calm, confident and—despite a flurry of rumors—not about to announce his resignation. Instead, the Pakistani president's "concession" to his troubled nation was an announcement that he would allow Britain's Scotland Yard to help local law enforcement agencies with their investigation into last week's assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. Speaking in a nationally televised address two hours after Pakistan's election commission announced the postponement of the ballot to Feb. 18, six weeks later than had been scheduled, Musharraf was notably deferential in his remarks about Bhutto, often invoking her "martyrdom" and extolling...

Threat Assessment Points Out Vulnerabilities of High-profile Events WASHINGTON, DC, JANUARY 21, 2008 – Security for Super Bowl XLII, to be played at the University of Phoenix Stadium Feb. 3, is being described as “unprecedented,” and will include both covert and overt measures like ATF bomb-sniffing dogs trained to ferret out liquid explosives. But the federal government’s terrorism threat assessment of the upcoming game between the New England Patriots and New York Giants outlines concerns about stolen official law enforcement credentials, uniforms, weapons, and other equipment that could be used to “infiltrate” the stadium complex to carry out an attack.

BAGHDAD — Soldiers from Troop P, 4th Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment (SCR), currently attached to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, found two weapons and explosives caches while on patrol in the Ramaniyah neighborhood, Nov. 5. Buried under the bleachers of a soccer stadium in two locations, the Soldiers found (45) blocks of C-4 explosive, (33) mortars, almost (2000) rounds of ammunition, a rocket-propelled grenade and launcher, (2) sniper rifles, (2) protective vests and (1) grenade. Capt. Marcus Melton, commander of ‘Pale Horse’ Troop of the Vilseck, Germany-based 4-2 SCR, said the cache find was quite uncommon...

Al Qaeda 'Re-Emerging' in Pakistan Sanctuaries The U.S. military said Tuesday it expected Al Qaeda to continue its "re-emergence" in sanctuaries in Pakistan's tribal areas from where it supported attacks in Afghanistan. Sanctuary was provided to Al Qaeda and Taliban rebels after Islamabad signed a peace deal with militants in a desperate attempt to quell the unrest in its federally administered areas in September 2006, a U.S. military official said. The militants called off the deal in July this year after Pakistani security forces raided a radical mosque in Islamabad where rebels had massed. Dozens were killed in those...

My good friend Ms Owl dropped by to share a bit of wine and philosophy.

The requirements were for a modern up to date roofed stadium capable of housing Olympic competitions. The terraces are to be 65% covered. The roof is suspended from larg 65m high Concrete/steel pylons. The steel structure which holds the roof is spanned by nonuniform barrel vaults. These are covered with corrugated steel except for the front part which is poly carbonate.

ST. GEORGE'S, Grenada - A diplomatic gaffe marred Saturday's inauguration of a China-financed stadium on this Caribbean island when a band performed the national anthem of Chinese rival Taiwan. Chinese Ambassador Qian Hongshan and scores of blue-uniformed Chinese laborers who built the $40 million Queen's Park stadium as a gift were visibly uncomfortable as Taiwan's anthem echoed inside the 20,000-seat venue. Describing it as a blunder, Grenada Prime Minister Keith Mitchell pledged an investigation into how the Royal Grenada Police Band could have prepared the anthem of Taiwan instead of China. China and Taiwan split in 1949 amid a civil...

Calling it an "unsafe investment," the mayor of Salt Lake County said Monday that he won't support $30 million in taxes for a professional soccer stadium, a fatal blow to Real Salt Lake's plan to move to the suburbs...

Yet another demand from Muslims for special treatment—special treatment that would be denied to any other religious group: Seeking timeout for prayer. (Hat tip: Ethel.) As the Ohio State Buckeyes pummeled the Northwestern Wildcats on Ryan Field last November, senior Amir Siddiqui and his friends slipped below the bleachers, removed their shoes and knelt on pieces of poster board to pray. As the sea of purple cheered and jeered above, Siddiqui tuned out the world around him to perform salaat, the Islamic ritual prayer that faithful Muslims recite five times daily. Siddiqui will do the same in Welsh-Ryan Arena next...

ASHINGTON -- There's been some talk around town of a plan to bring the Redskins back to RFK Stadium, and D.C. Mayor-elect Adrian Fenty said he'd like to see Washington's football team playing again in the city instead of the suburbs. On Wednesday, News4 first reported that both current D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams and Council Finance Chairman Jack Evans have talked to team owners about building a new, domed stadium on the site of RFK. On Thursday, Fenty agreed the idea was worth pursuing. Officials have said the plans are not specific, but the vision is of a new stadium...

Jerry Jones thinks the new Dallas Cowboys stadium is edgy and technologically hip. Its tab has ballooned to $1 billion from the original $650 million estimate, the team's owner said Friday as he discussed details of the stadium's final design for the first time. Arlington's portion of the project is capped at $325 million, so the team will pay the additional costs."The winners here are our fans. We want to make that investment," Jones said. "This area is deserving of this venue."The team is set to unveil detailed designs of the project at an invitation-only event tonight in Arlington. A...

Team expected to announce plan next week to get rights to land for a baseball-only stadium -- Cisco likely to be big sponsor - The Oakland A's are set to announce a major step forward next week in their plans to move down the Nimitz Freeway and build a 36,000-seat ballpark in Fremont. After months of negotiations, A's officials are ready to declare their intention to acquire the rights to a 143-acre site near the former Baylands racetrack, city-owned land that is now leased to Cisco Systems, sources close to the negotiations said Monday. The A's plan to announce...

Students held on $1 million bond for Heinz Field break-in Two Carnegie Mellon students were arrested early yesterday morning as they tried to break into Heinz Field hours before a Steelers game at the stadium. Police arrested Sudeep Paul, a senior in business administration and economics, and Anand Shankar Durvasula, a junior in economics and social and decision sciences, for attempting to scale a fence at the stadium’s Gate 5 about 2 a.m. yesterday morning. The two are now being held on $1 million straight bond each after being arraigned in front of District Magistrate Gene Riccardi last night. Heinz...

I just heard on my local television station, WTAE, that two Muslim students were arrested breaking into Heinz Field last night. They were caught by surveillance cameras. It was reported that the rest of the teams in the NFL have been apprised of this event. Interesting. More later.

As captains of mock trial teams at Carnegie Mellon University, Anand Shankar Durvasula and Sudeep Paul learned the inner workings of the courts. They'll soon put that knowledge to use firsthand after being arrested on charges of trying to sneak into Heinz Field early Sunday and triggering a warning to NFL officials. SNIP Police found a video camera and tripod inside a silver Lexus sports utility vehicle with New York plates and registered to Kumar Paul, 51, of Woodbury, N.Y. It was parked at Art Rooney Avenue at North Shore Drive. Two bomb dogs were used to check the SUV...

PITTSBURGH -- Investigators said two local college students of Middle Eastern descent were caught trying to break into Heinz Field overnight around 2:30 a.m. According to authorities, the two men tried to climb the walls around the stadium, but were caught on surveillance by two security guards who work at the field. Both men were taken into custody. State police, the local bomb squad and the FBI were all called to the scene. Authorities alerted every NFL team of the break-in attempt. The Steelers are set to take on the Denver Broncos today at 4:15 p.m. Pittsburgh Police Chief Nate...

Karzai Says bin Laden Not in Afghanistan -Full Story- President Hamid Karzai has insisted that Osama bin Laden is not in his country, in the latest installment in a row with the leader of Pakistan who says the Al-Qaeda chief is in Afghanistan.Other militant leaders including Islamist warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar were also not in the country, Karzai told reporters in a briefing about his visit to the United States that was overshadowed by the spat.'I can assure you they are not in Afghanistan,' Karzai said yesterday after being asked for his reaction to comments by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf...

BREAKING ON CNN

New $1 billion Yankee Stadium is on deckBy KAREN MATTHEWS, Associated Press Writer August 16, 2006 NEW YORK (AP) -- No tears were shed Wednesday for the historic stadium where Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio played out their storied careers. Politicians and baseball officials who gathered to break ground on a new Yankee Stadium shared memories of the old ballpark but said the new one would be even better. "Yankee Stadium is an iconic stadium, a place where Ruth and (Lou) Gehrig played, where popes and presidents have spoken," Gov. George Pataki said. "But so, too, will the...

(3/10/06) - With college basketball championships underway around the country, the FBI has warned stadium operators of a possible suicide bomb attack at sporting events. In a directive issued today, obtained by ABC News, the FBI says a posting on an extremist message board "advocated suicide attacks against sporting events as a cost-effective means of killing thousands of Americans." The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security say they cannot confirm the credibility of the threat or whether the message is affiliated with al Qaeda. The FBI says the Internet posting said the suicide attacks would be justified because the...

It has long been noted that in certain parts of the United States, a fine line separates sports from religion. But at a minor league indoor football game last month in Birmingham, Ala., fans may have witnessed as transparent an attempt to merge football and church as had ever been tried. Before kickoff, a Christian band called Audio Adrenaline entertained the crowd. Promoters gave away thousands of Bibles and bobblehead dolls depicting biblical characters like Daniel, Noah and Moses. And when the home team, the Birmingham Steeldogs, took the field, they wore specially made jerseys with the book and number...

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) -- Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor will get luxury boxes and more seats as part of an estimated $226 million renovation to the American sports icon, under a plan given initial approval Friday. The University of Michigan Board of Regents voted 5-3 in favor of the plan, which would increase the stadium's capacity to 108,251. The final design and construction contracts still require board approval. Football and Mental Edge Training Enjoy the mental edge in football. Like a Tiger Woods, program your subconscious with... www.innertalk.com Football Merchandise - HomeTeams.com Football fans are some of the most loyal...

WASHINGTON -- From the half-dozen orange cranes, to the piles of rubble, to the shovels made from baseball bats, all the right props were present Thursday at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Washington Nationals' new ballpark. So, too, were members of the group chosen 24 hours earlier to buy the Nationals from Major League Baseball. And they already have thought of possible changes to the $611 million project the city hopes will revitalize a neighborhood -- and everyone hopes will be ready for Opening Day 2008. "It will take a great deal of work and effort to get done, but...

Iran's hardliners go ballistic over stadium sex threat Iran's hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is coming under heavy fire at home -- and it's not because of the worsening international standoff over the Islamic republic's nuclear programme. Last week the president revealed his seldom-seen softer side by ordering an end to a decades-old ban on women entering stadiums for major sporting events, including football matches. But this directive has not gone down well among religious right-wingers eager to maintain the male-female segregation ushered in by Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution. Furthermore, some members of Iran's left are also sceptical. "It would have...

FBI: No Credible Threat, but Be Vigilant Saturday March 11, 2006 3:01 AM By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - The FBI said Friday there is no specific, credible threat of a terror attack aimed at college basketball arenas or other sports stadiums, but acknowledged alerting law enforcement to a recent Internet posting discussing such attacks. The FBI and Homeland Security Department distributed an intelligence bulletin Friday to state and local law enforcement nationwide describing the online threat against sporting venues, said Special Agent Richard Kolko, an FBI spokesman in Washington. ``We have absolutely no credible intelligence or...

NORMAN - A Norman police bomb expert said Tuesday he does not believe University of Oklahoma student Joel Henry Hinrichs III committed suicide by blowing himself up outside a packed football stadium. "I believe he accidentally blew himself up," Sgt. George Mauldin said. Mauldin said Hinrichs, 21, an engineering student, had two to three pounds of triacetone triperoxide, commonly known as TATP, in a backpack in his lap when it exploded Oct. 1. When asked if he believed Hinrichs meant to enter the stadium with the explosives, Mauldin replied, "I don't believe he intended for an explosion to occur at...

The D.C. Council voted to reject a baseball stadium lease agreement last night, then reconsidered four hours later and approved the deal after a plea from Mayor Anthony A. Williams and a threat from Major League Baseball President Robert A. DuPuy. The dramatic about-face came at 12:40 this morning after the council added its own price cap to the lease, limiting the District's spending to $611 million for the project along the Anacostia River in Southeast Washington. With the cap in place, the council voted 9 to 4 for emergency legislation that approved the lease deal....

The D.C. Council rejected a baseball stadium lease agreement last night after failing to agree on a spending cap, sending the future of the Washington Nationals into doubt and prompting Major League Baseball President Robert A. DuPuy to declare that baseball will pursue arbitration today. After a day of negotiating, the council voted 8 to 5 to turn down the lease deal that had been negotiated between baseball officials and Mayor Anthony A. Williams's administration. Without a lease, the city will be unable to issue bonds to build a stadium along the Anacostia River in Southeast Washington, and baseball will...

MANILA, Philippines A stampede broke out early Saturday outside a stadium near Manila, killing at least 88 people, and injuring 280, the Philippine Red Cross reported. About 30,000 people were waiting to get inside the stadium for the program "Wowowee" when the mayhem erupted, said Vicente Eusebio, the mayor of Pasig, the Manila suburb where the stampede occurred. The mayor said the melee erupted as the crowd pushed and surged toward the gates, thinking they were open, pinning and trampling those in front. One survivor said some people in the crowd became rowdy when they could not enter. "The gates...

Let’s assume for the moment that the latest audiotape of Bin laden is not, as many have opined, simply an attempt to make himself relevant as he sees the methodical dismantling of his Al-Qaeda terrorist network. Instead, let’s assume for the moment that there is something to his bravado. That he isn’t just bluffing. But that the long-feared worst-case scenario has been achieved by his cohorts: that Al-Qaeda now has in its possession a dirty bomb. And more importantly, that this bomb is now in the targeted geographical location awaiting simply the designated hour for its detonation. Is that an...

Norman, Oklahoma (population 100,923), is as American heartland as it gets. So on October 1, 2005, when Joel Hinrichs III, a 21-year-old Colorado Springs, Colorado engineering student at the University of Oklahoma strapped explosives to his body and blew himself up outside the college stadium where 84,000 fans were watching a Saturday-night football game, thus earning the town the distinction as home to America's first suicide bomber, I was, well, curious. Within 24 hours of the event, three players in the unfolding story issued statements aimed at quashing rumors that the bombing was terrorist related. University President David Boren, in...

"I'll be back." That pledge from the Terminator traditionally has had special meaning in Arnold Schwarzenegger's hometown. But now — after the California governor refused to spare two convicted murderers in a row from their death sentences and showed no signs of relenting in another case up next month — the romance is over between Schwarzenegger and Graz, Austria's second-largest city. Acting on Schwarzenegger's orders two weeks after the Dec. 13 execution of former Crips gang leader Stanley Tookie Williams, city leaders Tuesday deleted all references to the bodybuilder-turned-governor on Web sites linked to Graz. Over the weekend, they also...

Arnold Schwarzenegger's name has been expunged from the websites of his Austrian hometown in the latest chapter of the row over the US death penalty. The editing came a day after the California governor's name was removed from Graz's main football stadium. Local politicians berated Mr Schwarzenegger - one of Graz's most famous sons - after he refused to pardon a prominent US death row inmate. The governor subsequently made clear he wanted nothing more to do with Graz. He returned a "ring of honour" the city awarded him in 1999 and demanded his name no longer be used in...

Schwarzenegger Name Removed From Stadium By WILLIAM J. KOLE, Associated Press Writer VIENNA, Austria - Officials in Arnold Schwarzenegger's hometown of Graz quietly and under cover of darkness removed giant metal letters spelling out his name on a soccer stadium. The California governor had asked for his name to be stricken from the 15,300-seat arena after critics in his birthplace, where opposition to capital punishment runs high, scorned him for refusing to block this month's execution of convicted killer Stanley Tookie Williams. Late Sunday night or early Monday, authorities in the southern Austrian city unbolted the 20 letters spelling out...

VIENNA -- Officials in Arnold Schwarzenegger's hometown of Graz quietly and under the cover of darkness removed giant metal letters spelling out his name on a soccer stadium. The California governor had asked for his name to be stricken from the 15,300-seat arena after critics in his birthplace, where opposition to capital punishment runs high, scorned him for refusing to block this month's execution of convicted killer Stanley Tookie Williams.

VIENNA (Reuters) - Californian Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's Austrian home town of Graz removed his name from the city's stadium over Christmas, amid anger over his decision to deny clemency to a death row inmate. Austrian news agency APA showed the stadium's entrance displaying only its historical name, "Graz-Liebenau," and quoted an anonymous city official as saying Schwarzenegger's name had been removed overnight to avoid a public furor. Graz city officials were not reachable on Monday, a holiday in Austria. Left-wing politicians launched a petition drive in Graz to have the town rename the stadium because the Austrian-born governor allowed the...

VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Officials in Arnold Schwarzenegger's hometown quietly removed his name from a soccer stadium overnight, complying with the California governor's demand in a bitter dispute over his death penalty stance. Authorities late Sunday night or early Monday removed the large metal letters spelling out the action star-turned-politician's name from the 15,300-seat stadium in the southern city of Graz, taking advantage of the Christmas lull to avoid attracting attention. Schwarzenegger had written to the mayor of Graz a week ago asking that his name be removed after local activists called for the stadium to be renamed because of...

(CBS) CHICAGO The year is winding down with a jolt for Chicago sports fans. A new football team and a new stadium? CBS 2's Rafael Romo reports the mayor has big plans to lure big sporting events to town. The idea came straight from City Hall, and according to the Chicago Tribune, Mayor Daley himself has been talking about it with key Chicago business leaders. In an effort to attract the 2016 Olympics to Chicago, they mayor would like to build a domed stadium and possibly bring a second NFL team to the city. "I don't know much about that....

Austrian mayor tries to woo Schwarzenegger WILLIAM J. KOLEAssociated PressVIENNA, Austria - The mayor of Arnold Schwarzenegger's Austrian hometown on Tuesday begged the California governor to reconsider his decision to end ties to the city after locals assailed him for his death penalty stance. Siegfried Nagl, mayor of the southern city of Graz, said he dashed off a letter to Schwarzenegger pleading with him not to return a ring of honor bestowed on him by officials in his birthplace in 1999 and reassuring him that most residents still admire him. "I hope that very soon we'll hear you say, 'I'll...