TUF 14 openers: Delorme surprises Ferguson with rapid third-round finish, Albert and Siler also winners

LAS VEGAS - Roland Delorme has some pretty nasty jiu-jitsu. It took a while to pay off, but when Josh Ferguson got rocked in the third, Delorme ran roughshod over him. He got the finish at 0:22 of the final round via rear-naked choke in fight No. 3 of the night on the Season 14 "Ultimate Fighter" undercard.

Ferguson, a strong puncher, had a lot of steam taken away in the first when Delorme caught him in a triangle choke predicament. The 5-foot-5 Ferguson used a lot of energy to avoid tapping out as he struggled for nearly two minutes. The second round was basically even with Ferguson scoring a takedown and neither fighter landing any of significance on the feet.

The third opened with Ferguson moving forward and getting caught with a jab. It didn't look like much but Ferguson went down and looked stunned. He jumped forward from his knees to try and grab Delorme's leg. The Canadian threw him to the side and jumped on his back. In a split second, he turned it over, locked on the choke and trapped Ferguson's right arm. He was helpless in the choke and had to tap.

Siler uses thai clinch to bust up Clopton

Steven Siler had a height advantage and he used it tonight against Josh Clopton.

Giving away four inches, Clopton could not stay out of or free himself from Siler's constant efforts to lock on a thai clinch. Siler's big knees allowed him to crush Clopton's nose, get the blood flowing and score with the judges on his way to a unanimous decision win, 29-28 on all three scorecards in fight No. 2 of the night at the TUF 14 Finale.

Siler's fighting style? isn't pretty, but he likes to brawl. His size was simply too much for the diminutive Clopton. You don't often see high level fighters dominated for minutes at a time in the thai clinch (in standing position, hands locked together behind the opponent's head), but that's exactly what happened to Clopton. He blocked a lot of the knees coming from Siler, but way too many got through.

By the middle of the second, Clopton's face was a bloody mess and he was having trouble breathing.

It was an accomplishment just to make it to the TUF 14 Finale for Siler. He was matched up in the featherweight Round of 16 against Micah Miller, one of the pre-show favorites. Siler (19-9, 1-0 UFC) pulled the massive upset and went on to lose to eventual finalist Diego Brandao in just 30 seconds in the next round.

Brimage lands heavier shots in decision win over Bass

Marcus Brimage can slug with the best of them so he was a little surprised Stephen Bass chose to duke it out. Bass didn't leave on a stretcher, but he didn't land enough to counter the nasty kicking game of Brimage. Brimage scored a unanimous decision victory, 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28.

Brimage found a home for left hand throughout the fight, but never landed one that would knock Bass down. His biggest shots came on inside leg kicks. Several of them whipped Bass' leg into the air. One outside leg kick actually dropped Bass in the second.

Albert runs through Pague with quick first-round TKO

John Albert and Dustin Pague went for broke from the opening seconds. Albert landed the first big shot and it spelled doom for Pague.

Albert forced referee Herb Dean to save Pague after he landed seven unanswered rapid fire shots to the downed fighter at the 1:22 mark of the first round.

Pague, one of the strongest strikers on the show, wanted to slug it out and Albert, who's more of a ground specialist, stood with him. An Albert left stunned Pague and a right hook buckled his legs then dropped him. On the ground, Albert showed some brilliance by securing Pague's right arm and trapping it across face. With his free right hand, Albert pounded away. When Dean saved Pague he turned to trying to fight the ref. His head had clearly been scrambled in taking dozens of shots to the arm and dome.

Caraway abuses Neace on the ground for choke victory

Bryan Caraway still has to overcome that confidence bugaboo, but when he's feeling good and on his game, he's a pretty tough fighter at featherweight.

The Team Alpha Male camper opened tonight's card with an easy win over Dustin Neace.

In the first and second, Caraway settled down by trading hands with Neace. As soon as he decided it was time to go to the ground, it did.

Caraway (16-5, 1-0 UFC) scored a double-leg with 2:45 left in the first and controlled Neace on the mat for the remainder of the round. With 2:33 left, he did the same in second. This time, Caraway quickly transitioned to take Neace's back. Caraway slapped on the rear-naked and it took about four seconds for Neace to bail on the fight and submit.

This wasn't Caraway's Zuffa debut. He fought twice for the WEC losing to Fredson Paixao and Mark Hominick. His only other losses have come against solid featherweights like Wilson Reis, Ian Loveland and John Gunderson.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/TUF-14-openers-Delorme-surprises-Ferguson-with-?urn=mma-wp10177

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Joe Peyronnin: Obama's Looking Good

In the words of one long-time Republican, "The Republicans are making President Obama look good." Well, he makes a very good point about the Republican field of presidential candidates.

It appears that former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is very frustrated. Despite his energetic campaign and strong debate performances, Romney cannot score more than 25% in polls of Republican voters. The problem is that he has changed positions on key issues in an effort to win more support in his party. And, just in case some Americans haven't noticed, the Democratic National Committee has been airing a political commercial called "Mitt vs. Mitt" that drives the point home.

Romney's campaign has recently resorted to airing a misleading political ad that shows President Barack Obama saying, "If we keep talking about the economy, we're going to lose." But then candidate Obama was merely quoting a statement that Senator John McCain had made. When the president's campaign cried foul, Romney responded, "We are obviously getting under their skin."

Romney has dutifully avoided doing any press interviews. That is until he agreed to do a Fox News interview on Tuesday. Fox News anchor Brett Baier asked Romney, "You have been on both sides of many issues." He then cited some flip-flops before asking Romney how voters can trust him. Romney responded, "Your list is just not accurate. We're going to have to be better informed about my views on issues." He then looked very defensive for the remainder of the interview.

But if Romney looks uncomfortable, businessman Herman Cain appears under siege. Cain has been repeatedly asked questions about allegations from Ginger White that he had had a thirteen-year affair with her. Cain has already had to defend himself against allegations of sexual harassment involving several other women.

Cain was defiant on Wednesday saying, "They have been trying to do a character assassination on me." He told a crowd of supporters in Ohio, "They are attacking my character, my reputation and my name in order to try and bring me down." Cain has even suggested that Democrats were behind the charges in an effort to help former House Speaker Newt Gingrich win the nomination. Cain has announced he is reevaluating his campaign and he would have an announcement on his future plans next week.

The big winner has been Newt Gingrich. He has surged to the front of the Republican field fueled in part by strong debate performances. But new revelations that Gingrich has earned millions of dollars since leaving office advising health care related companies and the mortgage company Freddie Mac have raised some serious questions. His personal life, a joint appearance with Democratic Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi in a global warming ad and ethics violations while in Congress are among issues that he will have to overcome.

Meanwhile, President Obama has been unrelenting in his campaign effort to get his jobs bill passed. His most recent focus has been on extending and expanding the payroll tax cut, which is set to expire at the end of the year. If the payroll tax cuts are not extended it will cost the average American family $1,000. The president has proposed paying for the tax cut by raising taxes by on Americans earning a million dollars or more. Republicans in Congress oppose him saying they want to fund the extension with budget cuts. A majority of Americans support additional taxes on high-income earners.

The president's stock is rising as he has stepped up his reelection efforts. And, barring another economic set back, his chances of winning a second term are improving. Meanwhile, with a month to go before the Iowa Caucuses, the Republicans are stumbling badly towards the starting gate.

?

Follow Joe Peyronnin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/joepeyronnin

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joe-peyronnin/obamas-looking-good_b_1122379.html

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Herman Cain announcement: Is he staying, or is he going?

Herman Cain said he would announce the future of his presidential bid on Saturday in Atlanta. As bad as things look for him right now, there are no certainties in this campaign season.

Herman Cain announced on Friday that in Atlanta on Saturday he?ll announce the future of his presidential bid.

Skip to next paragraph

So is he staying or is he going? (And yes, the classic Clash song on that subject is running through our heads as we type this.)

Well, it?s hard to see how his campaign goes forward. As we?ve already written, it?s zombie-like at the moment. His polls are plummeting in key states and his money is drying up. He?s acknowledged that he knows Ginger White, the woman who says they had a 13-year affair, though he says they were just friends. He also acknowledges that he?s given her money from time to time, and that he did not tell his wife about that. Isn?t that big marital trouble, right there?

The Washington Post says Cain has invited major supporters to Atlanta for his big announcement, and that at least one of them believes he?s going to drop out.

But this has been a crazy political cycle already, so we?re not prepared to predict that the end comes tomorrow. It?s also possible he?ll announce he?s going on, and that his major news is something like the opening of a new national campaign headquarters in Atlanta.

After all, the campaign announced the formation of a ?Women for Cain? group on Friday. Why bother with that if he?s going to pull out?

Plus, politicians that are about to deliver bad news ? or at least, news that reflects badly on them ? generally underplay it. They usually don?t announce ahead of time they?re going to announce they?ve failed in a quest, in front of an audience of supporters they?ve gathered specially for that occasion. That maximizes the audience for their calamity.

And on Thursday at least, both Cain and his lawyer continued to charge in public appearances that Ginger White was exaggerating her relationship with the ex-Godfather Pizza CEO, had little evidence to back up her assertions, and was possibly just in it for the money.

On CNN, for instance, Cain attorney Lin Wood got into something of a shouting match with Piers Morgan over whether the news media was being too soft on Cain?s accusers.

Mr. Wood said Ms. White so far has produced no receipts of the travel she says Cain paid for, none of the gifts she says Cain gave her, and no photos of her and Cain together.

It is true Cain and White texted each other, Wood said, but that proved little. Of the 70 texts between them in a recent four-week period, 57 were initiated by White, said the attorney.

Wood said his son could sit down to watch a University of Georgia football game and easily send 50 texts to a single friend by the fourth quarter.

?You know, text messages aren?t necessarily the way people communicate in-depth discussion,? Wood said on Piers Morgan?s show.

In fact, White?s texts to Cain represented only about two percent of her total texting traffic for the weeks in question, asserted Wood.

Ginger White, for her part, in an appearance on MSNBC, apologized for any hurt she?s caused Cain?s wife.

?I?m not a cold-hearted person. I?m the mother of two kids,? said White, adding that one of the hardest parts of going public with her claims has been telling her two children, now 19 and 20, what she says happened in the past.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/bIXyGRuZJjw/Herman-Cain-announcement-Is-he-staying-or-is-he-going

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WWE Mobile Alerts

$3.99 per month for the monthly subscription to the WWE Mobile alerts club. Participants must be age 18 or older or have parental permission to participate. By texting in the participant agrees to the Terms and Conditions.Msg&Data Rates May Apply. Msg & Data Rates May Apply. Available on the following carriers: Alltel, AT&T, Boost, Nextel, Sprint, T-Mobile? and Verizon Wireless. See your carrier for details. Participants will be charged for sending, receiving, and responding to short messaging service?according to their carrier rate plan. Charges will be billed to wireless phone bill or deducted from their prepaid balance. Messaging may come from WWE. Participants will be charged $3.99 per month. all purchases must be authorized by account holder. This is an auto renewing subscription service that will continue until cancelled anytime by texting STOP to short code 46993. You must be the owner of this device or have permission from the owner or have the account holders permission do so. 40 + messages per month. Text HELP to 46993 for help with mobile alerts. To end WWE Mobile services, Text STOP to 46993 in the US.?

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Biden: US troop exit marks new beginning with Iraq (AP)

BAGHDAD ? Vice President Joe Biden said Wednesday that his trip to Baghdad ahead of the U.S. military pullout marks a new beginning between Iraq and the United States, but protests in Iraq against his visit demonstrated the difficulties the relationship will face.

Biden landed in Baghdad Tuesday in a surprise visit to Iraq at a pivotal time as the last of the American troops withdraw, and the U.S. must establish a new relationship with a country that is home to billions of barrels of oil reserves and more closely aligned with neighboring Iran than the U.S. would like.

In comments surrounding his meetings with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Biden stressed that the U.S. and Iraq will continue to have a relationship long after the American troops have left the country.

"Our troops are leaving Iraq, and we are working on a new path together, a new face of this partnership," he added. "This is marking a new beginning of the relationship that will not only benefit the United States of America and Iraq. I believe it will benefit the region and will benefit the world."

Biden said that people in both countries have had to overcome misperceptions about the relationship. He said people in the U.S. still ask whether it is worth it to spend so much energy and money in Iraq, a country where 4,485 American military personnel have died and tens of thousands of Iraqis have been killed.

"We have jointly demonstrated, it is worth it, it is worth it ? as costly and as difficult and sometimes as controversial as it is," he said.

Many Iraqis, suspicious of American intentions in the region, have wondered why the U.S. is keeping such a large presence here, while Americans have questioned the prudence of spending money in Iraq while the U.S. is experiencing financial problems of its own.

Biden said the U.S. needs to have experts in a wide range of areas "on hand, in country." The U.S. will also have thousands of security contractors to protect the embassy's facilities in Baghdad, Kirkuk, Irbil and Basra, as well as diplomatic personnel.

Iraq's development, Biden said, "will bring stability to the region. That is our sole interest in Iraq. Period. End of story."

Biden also stressed that the new relationship with Iraq will include a robust security relationship, although few details of that were given.

Baghdad and Washington failed earlier this year to come to an agreement on keeping a small American military presence in Iraq next year, meaning all U.S. forces must be out of the country by Dec. 31. The talks faltered on Baghdad's insistence that the U.S. troops be subject to Iraq's legal system, something that Washington adamantly rejected.

Some 13,000 U.S. troops remain, down from a one-time high of about 170,000.

Al-Maliki said the meetings Wednesday were designed to lay the ground for future cooperation and partnership.

"We've passed a very difficult page of confronting al-Qaida and terrorism in Iraq during which we achieved joint success ... We made many sacrifices from both sides," al-Maliki said.

Alluding to the turmoil going on in the Middle East, al-Maliki also said the region is "sensitive" and that as changes occur, there should be cooperation between the U.S. and Iraq.

One area in which Baghdad and Washington have been on different sides of the argument is Syria. While Washington has harshly criticized Syrian President Bashar Assad's bloody crackdown on protests that has killed more than 3,500 people so far, Baghdad has taken a more conservative approach and did not support Arab League sanctions against its western neighbor.

Biden met later with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Parliament Speaker Osama al-Nujaifi, during his eighth visit to Iraq since being elected.

The White House said he was also scheduled to take part in a ceremony commemorating the sacrifices of U.S. and Iraqi troops during the eight-year war.

There were no meetings with some of al-Maliki's key allies, government leaders loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Al-Maliki is navigating a tough position of trying to maintain a relationship with the U.S., from whom Iraq is buying billions of dollars in weapons in the coming years, and al-Sadr, whose backing last year ensured al-Maliki a second term.

Followers of al-Sadr rallied in Basra and Baghdad on Wednesday, chanting "Biden get out of Iraq," and "No to America."

Security was tight for Biden's visit, which was not announced in advance.

In the week leading up to the vice president's trip, Iraq has seen an increase in violence that has renewed concerns about the capabilities of the country's security forces.

Late Wednesday, gunmen stormed the house of a anti-al-Qaida cleric in Samarra, 60 miles (95 kilometers) north of Baghdad, an Iraqi security official said. The gunmen killed five people inside, including the cleric.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.

___

Associated Press writers Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111130/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq

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As nomination voting nears, TV ad wars get intense

NEW YORK (AP) ? The crush of presidential campaign ads is here.

Less than five weeks before voting begins in the 2012 presidential contest, the Republican candidates are stepping up their presence over the TV airwaves and online. Super PACs have been running ads, and the Democratic National Committee is doing its best to try to weaken a leading GOP contender, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

President Barack Obama has even tiptoed into the fray with a limited ad buy soliciting volunteers for his campaign.

"We've been waiting for it to start, and it's been a little slower in Iowa and New Hampshire than we expected. But that doesn't say anything about what's going to happen next, and in the coming year," said Ken Goldstein, president of the Campaign Media Analysis Group, which tracks ad spending.

The new, more aggressive advertising phase comes as the Republican field remains deeply unsettled before the Iowa caucuses Jan. 3. The New Hampshire primary follows on Jan. 10.

The field may become more volatile still. After months of training their attacks primarily on Obama, a Democrat seeking his second term, the Republicans are beginning to assail one another.

This emerging ad crush poses particular challenges for Romney, who polls at or near the top of the field in the early states but has failed to consolidate support behind his candidacy. While he's tried to run a general election strategy focused on beating Obama, he's been the target of attacks from both his GOP rivals and the DNC.

Romney's campaign began running its first TV ad just last week, in New Hampshire, and it immediately drew criticism.

The ad criticizes Obama's handling of the economy and appears to quote the president from the 2008 campaign saying, "If we keep talking about the economy, we're going to lose." But the quote is misleading ? Obama was paraphrasing a comment from an aide to then-Republican rival John McCain. Romney has stood by the ad, saying the quote is fair game.

Romney's campaign announced Thursday it would begin running ads in Iowa, signaling he has decided to compete fully in the state after steering clear of it for much of the campaign. Romney spent about $10 million in Iowa in 2008 only to lose the caucuses to former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

Romney's rivals, meanwhile, have sharpened their attacks on him.

Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman has launched a tough web ad against Romney, using a tense interview Romney gave with Fox News earlier this week as a pretext to renew criticism of Romney as a flip-flopper on key issues. Our Destiny, a super PAC supporting Huntsman, has spent $650,000 on an ad in New Hampshire indirectly hitting Romney. Huntsman, the ad promises, won't be a "phony who tells me one thing and you another."

The DNC has also gotten in the game, producing a TV spot likening Romney's shifting positions to "two men trapped in one body." The ad is being aired in a handful of swing states, and it garnered considerable publicity in national news outlets.

But Romney isn't the only target.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who has surged to the top of many recent polls, has come under withering attack from rival Ron Paul. The Texas congressman released a scathing web video painting Gingrich as a shape-shifting mercenary who has changed position on key issues because of lucrative consulting contracts with the housing giant Freddie Mac, the health care industry and others.

Romney gently pokes Gingrich in his new Iowa ad, which closes with a shot of Romney and his wife of 42 years, Ann, walking through a corn field and holding hands. It's a not-so-subtle contrast with Gingrich, who has been married 3 times and has acknowledged infidelity in his first two marriages.

Gingrich hasn't aired commercials yet but his rising popularity has fueled a burst of fundraising success that could fund some advertising in the coming weeks, campaign officials said.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry has devoted more resources to TV advertising than anyone in the field. His campaign took the unusual step of buying ads on the national Fox News network, an expensive gamble aimed at boosting his credibility with conservatives following several weak debate performances. The campaign has also spent more than $2 million on television in Iowa, including a special "one time only" ad making light of Perry's recent flub of which Cabinet departments he'd eliminate. The ad was paired with Perry's appearance Thursday on NBC's "The Tonight Show."

A pro-Perry super PAC, Make Us Great Again, has spent nearly $900,000 to run ads in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, another early voting state.

The ad blitz hasn't done much to boost Perry's standing in the race. Most polls show him trailing many rivals in the early states, including Romney, Gingrich, Paul and businessman Herman Cain.

Cain, who briefly topped many polls until he was hit with sexual harassment allegations last month, released a new ad promoting his business credentials Thursday in part to insist his campaign remains on track. But it's unclear whether the ad is actually airing anywhere. A Georgia woman came forward this week claiming to have had a 13-year affair with Cain, and while he has denied the allegations he has said campaign contributions have dried up and he's reassessing whether to stay in the race.

Obama, meanwhile, has appeared in two new re-election ads urging people to volunteer for his campaign. "Don't sit this one out," the president says, apparently trying to counter the expectation that the intense grassroots interest in his candidacy in 2008 has abated this time. Campaign aides said the ad is airing lightly on satellite television and only as a test to see whether TV is an effective way to recruit volunteers.

___

Follow Beth Fouhy on Twitter at www.twitter.com/bfouhy

Associated Press writers Steve Peoples in New Hampshire, and Jim Davenport and Philip Elliott in South Carolina contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2011-12-02-Campaign-Ad%20Crush/id-6360b787589e42a4b041821a8151f1bd

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Country Star Mindy McCready & Her Son Reported Missing

Country star Mindy McCready is being sought by Florida police after she and her son Zander went missing Tuesday night. The "Ten Thousand Angels" singer seems to have disappeared in an attempt to take illegal custody of the 5-year-old boy.

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/country-star-mindy-mccready-5-year-old-son-are-missing-say-police/1-a-406864?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Acountry-star-mindy-mccready-5-year-old-son-are-missing-say-police-406864

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