Spond cherishing chance at BCS title

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Notre Dame linebacker Danny Spond values every chance he gets to be on the football field.That might sound trivial. After all, doesn't every player feel that way?Probably so, but then again, few players have seen what Spond has seen.The native of Littleton, Colo., was a star quarterback at Columbine High, where a school shooting took the lives of 13 people in 1999. Now...

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Can BCS title game challenge TV ratings record?

NEW YORK (AP) — Two undefeated teams, three Heisman Trophy finalists, five lead changes and 19 seconds left when the winning touchdown was scored.No other BCS title game has come close to matching that perfect formula for broad appeal. The 2006 tilt between Texas and Southern California was on in nearly 22 percent of American homes with televisions; the second-best number is under 18 percent.Now,...

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Johnny "Football" Manziel favorite for Heisman

MIAMI (Reuters) - Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel is in line to become the first 'freshman' winner of the Heisman Trophy when the annual award for the top player in college football is made on Saturday.Manziel, nicknamed "Johnny Football", is one of three players to be invited to Saturday's ceremony, along with Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o and Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein.Wednesday's...

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Bahrain extends activist custody on Twitter charge

MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — A defense lawyer in Bahrain says a court has refused a request to free a prominent human rights campaigner charged with posting false reports on Twitter.The arrest last month of Yousef al-Muhafedha marked the latest crackdown on Bahrain activists and is part of wider pressures on social media across the Gulf Arab states.Bahrain has been gripped by nearly two years of unrest...

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Social media masters, ninjas, and gurus: How Twitter pros describe themselves

What we talk about when we talk about social mediaIs it weird for you to see your name without an @ symbol in front of it? Do you ever wake up in a cold sweat after dreaming about your Klout score? Does the mere thought of losing your iPhone make your hands tremble? If you answered yes to any of these questions, read on. FollowerWonk, an analytics tool that allows you to keep tabs on your Twitter...

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Rumors suggesting Facebook (FB) is working on a smartphone have resurfaced a number of times over the past year. Each time, Facebook denied the various claims. Facebook may indeed still be working on its own phone but as a new report from market research firm NPD Group shows, it probably doesn’t need to.[More from BGR: Is Samsung the new Apple?]Facebook makes money by gathering information about...

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French government says will propose a rejigged 75 percent tax plan

PARIS (Reuters) - The French government will redraft a proposal for a 75 percent upper income tax band and resubmit it, the prime minister's office said on Saturday, after the Constitutional Council rejected the measure included in the 2013 budget."It will be presented as part of the next budget law," Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault's office said in a statement, without giving a time frame. The...

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French court rejects 75 percent millionaires' tax

PARIS (Reuters) - France's Constitutional Council on Saturday rejected a 75 percent upper income tax rate to be introduced in 2013 in a setback to Socialist President Francois Hollande's push to make the rich contribute more to cutting the public deficit.The Council ruled that the planned 75 percent tax on annual income above 1 million euros ($1.32 million) - a flagship measure of Hollande's election...

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Rejected French tax measures worth 300-500 million euros: finance minister

PARIS (Reuters) - The French Constitutional Council's rejection on Saturday of a 75 percent upper income tax rate and other minor measures in the 2013 budget will affect some 300-500 million euros worth of tax revenues, Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici said."The rejected measures represent 300 to 500 million euros. Our deficit-cutting path will not be affected," Moscovici told BFM television.He...

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Bama starts with bang at BCS championship game

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — No. 2 Alabama was halfway to stamping itself a dynasty, scoring touchdowns on its first three drives and taking a 28-0 lead at halftime of a BCS championship game that wasn't living up to the hype Monday night.In a matchup of programs tied for the most AP national championships with eight, Alabama was rolling toward becoming the first team to win consecutive BCS titles...

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Bama bashing Notre Dame 35-7 at BCS title game

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — No. 2 Alabama was a quarter away from stamping itself a dynasty.The Crimson Tide scored touchdowns on its first three drives against No. 1 Notre Dame and rolled to a 35-7 lead heading into the fourth quarter of a BCS championship game that wasn't living up to the hype Monday night.In a matchup of programs tied for the most AP national championships with eight, Alabama was...

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Dynasty: No. 2 Alabama bashes No. 1 Notre Dame 42-14 to win second straight BCS championship

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. - The coach no longer wears houndstooth. The result is the same. Another Alabama dynasty.Quieting the Irish by the first play of the second quarter, Eddie Lacy, AJ McCarron and the No. 2 Crimson Tide rolled top-ranked Notre Dame 42-14 for the BCS championship Monday night, locking up a second straight national title and third in four years with another laugher of a title game.The...

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French actor Depardieu in Russia to meet Putin

MOSCOW (Reuters) - French film star Gerard Depardieu arrived in Russia on Saturday to meet President Vladimir Putin, who granted him citizenship after a public spat in France over his efforts to avoid a potential 75 percent income tax.Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the two would meet in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, where Putin was spending part of the 10-day New Year and Russian Orthodox...

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Italy's Monti says change property tax as polls improve

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's outgoing prime minister, Mario Monti, said on Sunday he would alter an unpopular property tax imposed by his own government, as a poll showed his centrist bloc gaining in popularity ahead of next month's election. Monti's new centrist formation was third in a survey published on Sunday ahead of the February 24-25 parliamentary vote, behind a centre-left...

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Republican Sen. McConnell rules out more taxes in U.S. fiscal fight

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Sunday ruled out raising tax revenues on top of the tax hike on the wealthy in the "fiscal cliff" deal, and said the full focus must now be on spending cuts to curb U.S. deficits.But Democrats said they would push for a "balanced" approach of more tax revenue from the rich as well as spending reductions as Congress headed toward another...

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Google executive chairman and ex-New Mexico Gov. Richardson heading to North Korea

BEIJING, China - The executive chairman of U.S.-based Google, one of the world's largest Internet companies, was travelling Monday to North Korea, a nation with notoriously restrictive online policies.Eric Schmidt, the most high profile U.S. business executive to visit North Korea since young leader Kim Jong Un took power a year ago, was in Beijing and scheduled to depart for Pyongyang aboard a commercial...

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Analysts see slow adoption for 'ultra-HD' TVs as makers prepare new models

LAS VEGAS, Nev. - "Ultra-HD" TVs are set to be the talk of International CES, the gadget show kicking off this week in Las Vegas. But the televisions aren't likely to account for much of the market even four years down the road.That is the conclusion of analysts of the show's host, a day before TV makers such as Samsung, LG and Sony attempt to wow conference attendees with their latest models.Ultra...

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Clinton scheduled to return to work Monday after hospitalization for blood clot

WASHINGTON - The State Department says Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will return to work Monday, a little over a week after she was hospitalized with a blood clot in her head.The department on Sunday released a schedule which has Clinton meeting with assistant secretaries Monday morning. The most significant items on her agenda are meetings in Washington on Thursday and Friday with visiting...

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McIlroy says he may skip 2016 Rio Olympics

LONDON (AP) — Rory McIlroy may skip the 2016 Olympics because of a problem over which country to represent.The No. 1-ranked player from Northern Ireland is eligible to compete for either Britain or Ireland when golf returns to the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. He said he may miss the games to avoid having to choose between the two."I just think being from where we're from, we're placed in a very difficult...

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INTERVIEW-Golf-Monty would be mad to captain again - Harrington

LONDON, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Colin Montgomerie would be mad to entertain the thought of returning as Europe's captain for the 2014 Ryder Cup, according to triple major winner Padraig Harrington.The players committee will meet during the Jan. 17-20 Abu Dhabi Championship to decide on the successor to Spain's Jose Maria Olazabal at the biennial team event, with 2011 British Open champion Darren Clarke...

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Monty would be mad to captain again: Harrington

LONDON (Reuters) - Colin Montgomerie would be mad to entertain the thought of returning as Europe's captain for the 2014 Ryder Cup, according to triple major winner Padraig Harrington.The players committee will meet during the January 17-20 Abu Dhabi Championship to decide on the successor to Spain's Jose Maria Olazabal at the biennial team event, with 2011 British Open champion Darren Clarke and...

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