Chicago Makes Final Four in 2016 Olympic Bid

Chicago is still in the mix to host the 2016 Summer Olympics, the Sun-Times reports, as the International Olympic Committee today winnowed the field of candidates to four. Vying against the Windy City are Madrid, Tokyo, and Rio de Janeiro.

The final decision won’t come until October 2009, but Chicago officials say it was an important, if expected, step. “We wanted to make it out of pool play,” said one US Olympic Committee executive. “Then the real race begins.”

Airlines Mull Weighing Passengers

Desperate airliners are doing everything to cut fuel costs, scaling back on water and snacks—and adding a fee for overweight passengers could be next, analysts tell Bloomberg. "Nothing is beyond their imagination," one says of CEOs. "They have already begun to think exotically." Fuel costs, nearly triple since 2000, account for as much as 40% of operating expenses.

"If you look at the air-freight business, that's the way they've always done it,'' one consultant said. "We're getting treated like air freight when we travel by airlines, anyway.''

Starbucks Offers Free Wi-Fi for 2 Hours a Day

Starbucks will offer its customers 2 hours of free Wi-Fi a day starting next week, its latest effort to snap out of a sales slump, USA Today reports. Those eligible need a Starbucks Card and must register online with the company's rewards program. Critics say the move isn’t the severe re-imagining the firm needs, but Starbucks argues the Internet access will pump up the already successful Starbucks Card program

"They are desperate to keep the traffic going in their stores," says a branding expert. "But free Internet access won't get you there. Starbucks needs to fundamentally rethink the environment of its stores."

World oil reserves enough for 50 years

Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi says the world oil reserves are sufficient to satisfy global oil consumption for the next 50 years.

There are still many parts of the world that have plenty of reserves but discovery and exploration of oil in those areas have not taken place yet, Fars News Agency quoted al-Naimi as saying.

Current estimated global oil reserves are more than 4,500 billion barrels and this is enough for the world consumption in the next 50 years.

He noted that utilization of advanced technology increases the possibility of discovering additional oil reserves in the world, adding that shortage of oil does not threaten global economic growth in the near future.

How to Draft a Successful Little League Team

By Bob Rehak

I’ve been a Little League coach for my son’s baseball teams for 8 years, although at this point I really can’t call it Little League any more - the players are high school sophomores now, so the Little League description doesn’t exactly fit. Not when the players start asking me if I want a ride home after the game. Not after some of them come to practice with 5 o’clock shadows. And fiancées.

I started coaching my son’s teams when he was 9. I had two reasons for filling out the application and getting certified by the local Park District: I didn’t want my son to play for a tyrannical, win-at-all-costs coach who would make playing baseball as much fun as training to be a telemarketer and I wanted to watch him grow up on an infield rather than on a couch. So far his team has never won a championship, but they have had fun, which is really the point of the games. The players all understand that they’re playing for sport, not trophies. They understand that, because we were able to teach them that lesson when they were very young. Unfortunately, some of their parents never took the class.

Each year for the past 8 years, we have had a parent meeting, where we explained the rules of the game; how the practices and games are run, and we passed out the team schedule. We also passed out a Parent’s Code of Conduct, which they all signed. The Code of Conduct is their written promise that they won’t turn into mini Bobby Knights and scream and curse and act like, well, little Bobby Knights. It’s heart warming that 98% of the parents get it. It’s the other 2% who embarrass themselves and more importantly, their sons, with their behavior. Parents berate the umpires, the coaches, their sons, other peoples’ sons, and other parents. I can wave that signed Code of Conduct at them from the bench, but it still doesn’t stop them. I’ve had parents banned by the league from coming to the games. How sad.

Let me interject right here that bad fan behavior can also carry onto the Major League level. Any fans who scream profanities at any player for any reason have no business watching the game in public [editors note: the opinions of Mr. Rehak do not reflect those Joboja, who feel it is inappropriate to not yell, curse or berate J.D. Drew wherever and whenever one should be unfortunate enough to encounter him. Yes, your humble editor is a Phillies fan and yes he's still a little bitter. Back to Bob] . Yes, they paid to get into the game, but that ticket is not a license to be ignorant, annoying, drunk, or profane [unless it is directed at Jonathan David Drew. Last time, I promise]. Anyone who acts in such a manner was or is probably a charter member of that 2% of the Little League Parents Gone Wild Club.

So after 8 years of coaching, I finally figured out how to avoid that embarrassing 2%. I draft my team based on the behavior of the parents. I could care less if Scooter can catch a fly ball; if his parents encourage him to try harder next time rather than climb the chain link fence like a hamster gnawing at his cage, he’s a first round draft choice in my book.

If his parents clap for the other players and learn their names, I want that kid playing with us for the next 4 years.

If his parents can remain calm when an umpire makes an error in judgment and costs us a game, not only do I want his son playing on our team, I want to name them as my son’s legal guardians should anything ever happen to me.

I have purposely avoided picking kids with higher talent levels plenty of times at the draft just to get someone else’s parents on the sidelines. Occasionally I’ll get lucky and get a 2-for-1 deal: the parents will come with a matched set of grandparents.

The point of all this is that these kids and young adults are paying to play a game. It’s not a career; it’s a leisure activity. Only one team can win it all, and if we emphasize winning above all else, then all the other kids on all the other teams will feel like the season was a waste of time. And any time that you can spend with your children is never a waste.

INDIANA JONES AND THE MYSTERY OF THE LOS

Indiana Jones and the Mystery of the LOST Island
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Fire Ravages Universal Studios Backlot

Fire broke out early this morning in the Universal Studios backlot, destroying priceless movie memorabilia and damaging at least one sound stage and two outdoor sets, reports the Los Angeles Times. The blaze began during filming on the lot, and consumed the King Kong exhibit that has long been a feature of the backlot tour, say fire department officials.

The 300 firefighters on the case are getting help from helicopters to make an "aggressive attack" on the flames. Part of the reason for the fire's intensity is the timber-rich New York City and New England sets it has been consuming. "It's like a movie set, a disaster film," says an LA city councilman.