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Remember all that buzz about MLS participating in the South American Copa Libertadores tournament last week? Not happening.

The chatter, which originated with an article from Brazilian outlet Lance, was shot down from every direction by Friday.

First, there were the comments by MLS Commissioner Don Garber at a press conference held in Columbus, where he said: "There's always this buzz about Copa Lib every now and again as if we're engaged in conversations with Conmebol about it, and we're not at all.We've got to get more engaged with getting better in our regional tournament."

Then came the kibosh from South American headquarters at CONMEBOL, where they denied there were any talks as claimed by Lance.

"There is no possibility that MLS teams participate in CONMEBOL tournaments," CONMEBOL spokesperson Nestor Bentez told FutbolMLS.com. "Not even a Panamerican Cup. That's the reality today although I don't know about the future."

Sources close to CONCACAF also confirmed to FutbolMLS.com that there have been no discussions with CONMEBOL about MLS teams in Copa Libertadores.

The last time an MLS team participated in an official CONMEBOL tournament was in 2007 when D.C. United were involved in the Copa Sudamericana and suffered elimination at the hands of Mexican side Chivas Guadalajara.

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MLS in Copa Libertadores? CONMEBOL chimes in with the official word

Miami Heat's LeBron James dunks the ball with little trouble. Picture: Jeffrey Phelps. Source: AP

LEBRON James is getting his fourth Most Valuable Player award - and the only mystery left is whether the vote was unanimous.

The Miami Heat star will be introduced Sunday as the award winner, according to a person familiar with the results and who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the league has not publicly announced this year's recipient. James will become the fifth player with at least four MVP awards, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain.

No one has ever swept every first-place vote in the NBA's MVP balloting. After the season he had, James could be the first.

"I don't know who else you'd vote for," Heat forward Chris Bosh said Friday. "No offense to everybody else, but that's just how good he has played this year."

James averaged 26.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.3 assists this season, shooting a career-best 56 percent. It was absolutely no surprise that he won the award, and given the timetable for Miami's next game - the Heat don't open Eastern Conference semifinal play until Monday night against Brooklyn or Chicago - it had been widely assumed for several days that Sunday would be the day.

If tradition holds, NBA Commissioner David Stern will then present James with the trophy again Monday night in front of the Miami fans.

"I absolutely have not even thought about it," James said earlier this week when asked if he considered the weight of winning the award four times in five years. "I have not thought about it, until you just brought it up. I know the history. It would be a unique, unbelievable class I would be a part of, so we'll see."

Only Russell had won four MVPs in five years, and only Abdul-Jabbar had gone back-to-back on the award twice. Abdul-Jabbar has six MVPs in all, Jordan and Russell have five apiece and Chamberlain won four.

James won the award in 2009 and 2010, only got four first-place votes in 2011 - his first season with the Heat - then reclaimed the award last season.

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Word's out, LeBron wins MVP again

No sooner than the word was out that the Department of Interior and Local Government has ordered the removal of re-electionist Board Member Eugene Alzate from office, Rep. Manny Pacquiao and Sarangani Vice Gov. Steve Solon immediately called for a press conference to defend their controversial party mate.

Pacquiao coming to the rescue of the beleaguered Alzate is expected as they have been allies since Day 1.

Solon however reportedly went out of his way to call a television station and demanded why it did not cover their press conference.

Assured of being the next governor of the province as he is running unopposed, Solon looks like he is already throwing his weight around.

Solon should not begrudge the press if it will not give anyone the mileage they are expecting just because they think they should.

The press is both an advertiser and consumer of a product that is news. If your product stinks, it wont buy it.

Alzate already had his fair side of coverage when he was first convicted. He was given air time when he claimed innocence and cried political harassment. His claim to an appeal was duly covered by the press.

But the press can only take so much of the charade.

Alzate is a convicted felon as he was also sentenced by the Sandiganbayan to 10 to 11 years in prison for siphoning P300,000 from the countryside development fund of former Rep. Erwin Chiongbian. And unless the court says so otherwise, he will be a convicted felon hiding behind the cloak of his elective position. True, he still has a pending appeal before the Supreme Court and there is a chance his conviction will be reversed.

But Alzate only has himself to blame if the Ombudsman recently ordered his removal from office. Alzate was remiss in his defense and did not file his appeal when the Ombudsman convicted him for grave misconduct and dishonesty in the administrative case filed against him in 2004. The decision, then issued by former Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo, was recently upheld by the Court of Appeals. It carried with it the penalty of perpetual disqualification from public office.

Originally posted here:
SOUTHERN COMFORT: Steve’s short memory

Published: Wednesday, May 1, 2013 at 4:55 p.m. Last Modified: Wednesday, May 1, 2013 at 10:45 p.m.

ORMOND BEACH Despite a report that the Obama administration will keep 149 contract air traffic control towers open, officials in Ormond Beach and New Smyrna have yet to receive any word of that.

"I guess no news is good news," said Steve Brockett, manager of the control tower at Ormond Beach Municipal Airport.

In this case, however, Brockett and others were hoping for more.

For now, 149 contract towers across the nation are slated for closure June 15 as part of the Federal Aviation Administration cuts mandated by federal sequestration. But the Associated Press reported Tuesday that Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood had assured Washington lawmakers that the contract towers would remain open.

Congress last week passed a bill that would end furloughs at control towers manned by the FAA by allowing the federal agency to shift $253 million from an airport improvement fund. An earlier version of the bill had specified a portion of the money be used to keep the smaller control towers open, but that language was taken out at the last minute.

The furloughs have since been suspended, but the FAA as of Wednesday had not made an announcement about the contract towers.

Senators have recently sought signatures for a letter to be sent to LaHood saying their support of the legislation "was based on the understanding that the contract towers would be fully funded," the Associated Press reported.

The towers are "a vital public safety and economic development asset for dozens of communities many of them rural in every corner of the country," the letter reads.

Messages left with Washington offices for Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Ponte Vedra Beach, and Sen. Bill Nelson, were not returned.

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Airport towers still waiting for official word

After spending over 25 years putting down roots in a state-owned building on South Dickinson Street, the UW's Tandem Press received word that its digs were being sold. This was a few months ago, which meant moving approximately 8,000 prints in a very short time period.

Director Paula Panczenko was daunted but didn't wilt under pressure.

"I imagined myself on the crest of a wave," she says, "with the entire university behind me offering help."

The UW helped Panczenko's team find a new home for the press on Commercial Avenue. At more than 9,000 square feet, it has enough room for printing, art displays, offices and classrooms.

Last weekend, Tandem hosted a moving sale to lighten their load and raise money for the trip. Hundreds of people lined up on Saturday morning to scope out prints from Richard Bosman, Robert Cottingham, David Lynch, Judy Pfaff and other notable artists.

The move is the beginning of an exciting trajectory for the press.

"We are planning to move onto campus in three years, which will be huge for us," Panczenko says. "Being on campus will enable us to reach out to the existing Madison community while attracting more students and visiting alumni to our programming."

The three-year layover on Commercial Avenue shouldn't slow Tandem down. With artists such as T.L. Solien, Cameron Martin, Jos Lerma, Sam Gilliam and Suzanne Caporael hard at work, and a team of dedicated students observing them, the press is poised to make a mark.

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UW's Tandem Press to relocate twice