Christie Says NJ Will Appeal Sports Betting Ruling - ABC News

By DAVID PORTER Associated Press NEWARK, N.J. March 1, 2013 (AP)

Gov. Chris Christie indicated Friday he would appeal a judge's decision upholding a ban on sports gambling in New Jersey, a ruling that dealt a setback to the state's efforts to save its struggling casino industry by tapping into a multibillion-dollar market.

In a ruling published late Thursday night, U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp sided with the four major pro sports leagues and the NCAA in rejecting the state's constitutional challenge to the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, a law that prohibits legal sports gambling in all but Nevada and three other states.

In December, Shipp denied New Jersey's claim that the leagues and NCAA didn't have standing to sue the state because they couldn't demonstrate tangible harm to their products if New Jersey were to allow sports betting.

"We believe firmly in the principles of our position on sports betting and that the federal ban is inequitable, violates New Jersey's rights as a state and is unconstitutional," Christie said through a spokesman Friday. "Even the trial judge has noted that he was not likely the final arbiter in the matter. We are confident that the federal court of appeals will conclude that New Jersey should be treated equally with other states."

New Jersey's casino industry has seen revenues decline steadily over the last several years in the face of competition from neighboring states. Atlantic City's newest casino, Revel, announced last week that it will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this month, about a year after it opened. Earlier in February, the Trump Plaza casino was sold for $20 million, the lowest price ever paid for an Atlantic City casino.

The industry could get a lift from legislation signed by Christie this week that made New Jersey the third in the nation to allow gambling over the Internet.

Billions of dollars are bet legally each year on sports in Nevada, and experts estimate tens or even hundreds of billions are wagered illegally through bookmakers. In oral arguments before Shipp last month, former U.S. Solicitor General Theodore Olson, arguing for New Jersey, decried the loss of sports gambling revenue to Nevada's "permanent monopoly."

State Sen. Ray Lesniak, the prime sponsor of the sports betting bill, called Shipp's ruling a "patent misinterpretation of the Constitution" and said sports betting would provide immediate and long-term economic benefits.

New Jersey voters passed a sports betting referendum in 2011, and last year the Legislature enacted a law that limited bets to the Atlantic City casinos and the state's horse racing tracks. Bets wouldn't be taken on games involving New Jersey colleges or college games played in the state. Christie said at the time that he hoped to grant sports betting licenses by early this year, but those plans were put on hold.

The NFL, NBA, NHL, Major League Baseball and the NCAA sued the state last year, and the NCAA has moved several of its championship events out of New Jersey because of the sports betting law. In a court deposition, MLB commissioner Bud Selig said he was "appalled" by Christie's actions.

In a statement Friday, the NCAA said "the spread of legalized sports wagering is a threat to the integrity of athletic competition and student-athlete well-being. We hope the decision in this case is a step in the direction of preventing that from happening."

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the ruling "speaks for itself."

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Top Picks : Showtime's special on Dick Cheney, Slate's Hang Up and Listen podcast, and more

Acrobatic opera

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“Great Performances at the Met,” on PBS, brings The Tempest, written and conducted by Thomas Adès, widely considered the new Benjamin Britten. This version is conjured up by Robert Lepage, who made his name with his extravagant production of Wagner’s “Ring Cycle.” With Ariel imagined as an acrobatic coloratura soprano and vivid staging effects, this English-language production, based on Shakespeare’s final, magical play, is equally engaging to watch as listen to. It airs on March 17 at noon; check local listings.

Cheney profile

Just how much influence did Vice President Dick Cheney actually have in the White House? Speculate no more. Showtime’s The World According to Dick Cheney, which airs March 15 at 9 p.m., follows his four-decade rise to his time as the most powerful nonpresidential figure in US history, framed with interviews and commentary. This is part of Showtime’s new documentary series highlighting provocative public figures.

Short and sweet

If you haven’t seen Paperman, which won the 2013 Oscar for Best Animated Short, head over to Hulu.com. The six-minute video tells a charming tale of love and missed connections in midcentury New York. Disney created the animation with 3-D models, but you’d never know it. Through skilled use of penlike lines and paperesque filters, the characters look hand-drawn. Check it out at http://bit.ly/papermandisney.

Cruise control

Going on a cruise? Travel writer Paul Allen recommends books, movies, and music relating to your destination on Cruisereader.com. Groove to hits from Swedish pop band ABBA before you float through the Baltic Sea. Graze a literary anthology about Denali National Park as you embark on an Alaskan cruise. Watch “The King and I” before traveling around Southeast Asia. Whichever corner of the world you are heading to, Cruisereader.com will get you there faster.

Sports fix

Slate’s Hang Up and Listen podcast takes an intelligent and often funny look at the week’s sports news, without the bluster and bombast that often spoil sports radio shows. Make sure to listen to the “Afterball” segment that concludes each episode, in which each host presents a short and fascinating peek at an overlooked corner of the sports universe. It’s available on iTunes or at slate.com/podcast.

Maestro Bell

Violin virtuoso Joshua Bell’s first recording as music director of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields was described as dazzling and mesmerizing by foreign press outlets. He is the first director since it was founded by violinist-conductor Neville Marinner in 1958. ASMF chose Beethoven’s Symphonies No. 4 and 7, which pack a great punch. Mr. Bell is not new to the orchestra: His first concerto recording occurred under Marinner’s baton when he was 21.

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Cat Fancy picks S.A.'s Gorgeous for August

Anne Morris is one proud pet owner these days.

She's beaming because her cat, Gorgeous, was chosen as one of the cats featured in the 365 Cats 2013 calendar published by Cat Fancy Magazine. Gorgeous' photo is displayed on the page for Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 in the year-in-a-box calendar.

“I was very happy when we got the notice that he was chosen,” Morris said. “He can't help it, he's pretty. All he has to do is be, he has that regal way about him. He thinks the world will adore him — that's my cat!”

Susan Logan, editor of Cat Fancy Magazine, said her staff enjoys interacting with readers and contest participants. Logan said they receive a wide variety of snapshots and artwork for contests open to children and adults. She said they get regular feedback from respondents who have shown a range of emotions after they've received word their pets' picture will be published.

“I know someone who actually screamed,” Logan said. “That scream of excitement is a testimonial that says it all. People love to get their pets' pictures in the magazine; it's a big exciting thing for them.”

She said they've also learned a lot about their readers, such as how long their cats are living and how far people will go to provide their pets a good quality of life.

“It's a long commitment to take care of a cat as part of your family,” Logan said. “But you get a lot of years of joy.”

Gorgeous is Morris' second cat to be included in a calendar. She had another cat, named Oreo, featured in a page-a-day calendar three years ago. Oreo died earlier this year.

Her friend, Pete Romero, took the photo of Gorgeous with green eyes, looking away from the camera.

Gorgeous, one of Morris' five cats, is polydactyl, meaning many digits; he has six toes on each front paw. They're also called Hemingway cats, after a ship captain stopped in Key West, Fla. where Ernest Hemingway lived and gave the famous writer a polydactyl as a gift. Hemingway's house, now a museum, still has a colony of six-toed cats.

Morris calls her photo-winning cat and her other felines her foundlings because they all found their way to her home.

She said Gorgeous showed up under a low-hanging loquat tree three years ago. After eating the food she'd left out for him, he joined the family.

“It means a lot to me to have them and enjoy them,” Morris said. “They bring me great pleasure.”

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Veteran picks the right day to be superman

Morgan Foster turned back time and joined a pantheon of legendary lifeguards at the State New Zealand surf lifesaving nationals in Mt Maunganui yesterday.

The 37-year-old Hamilton fireman picked up his 10th national beach flags crown on a scorching Main Beach, edging Midway's Connor O'Loughlin in the final.

Foster (South Brighton) won his first title in 1995 and had nine by 2006 but has lived largely in the shadows of Fitzroy's five-time winner Paul Cracroft-Wilson since.

Cracroft-Wilson had knee surgery six weeks ago, however, and stumbled when it came down to the final four, letting third-placed Toby Harris (Wainui) sneak through. The crowd, sensing Foster's relentless pursuit of history, then got behind the ageing warrior.

"This is as big as my first one in 1995 when I was 18," a jubilant Foster said. "You take a few for granted when you're at your peak and you don't remember how much they mean to you until they become harder to get."

Foster's 10th title ranks him among the likes of Cory Hutchings, who collected 11 national ironman crowns, and John Creighton's eight ski race titles.

"There's a lot of guys who've trained just as hard as me and been just as competitive who haven't been lucky enough to win and I can really appreciate that now," Foster said. "The thing about being 37 is I wake up some days and I'm superman. I wake up other days and I'm not - luckily today was on."

Mt Maunganui beach sprinter Holly Moczydlowski is also eyeing a similar slice of history tomorrow - her club has won the last nine open women's beach relay titles, and the 2006 world champion has been involved in every one.

With heavy 2.5m surf rolling into the Main Beach, the water events were switched to the relatively sheltered Shark Alley along the coast, where Australian Eliza Smith grabbed her second gold of the carnival, pairing with Danielle O'Connor to win the open women's tube rescue.

Red Beach ironman Chris Moors, fresh from a season on the lucrative Australian professional circuit, grabbed the men's gold with AJ Maney, heading off St Clair's Olympic swimmer Andy McMillan and Adam Simpson.

Piha's Kirsty Wannan displayed outstanding versatility, finishing third in the tube rescue with clubmate Lisa Blakemore and then going out and winning the open women's 2km beach run. Her clubmate Nick Berry won the men's title, while Mt Maunganui's Andrew Newton and Julien Lalanne won the board rescue final.

Today's finals will feature Olympians Lisa Carrington, Darryl Fitzgerald and Steve Ferguson in the ski finals, while Moors, Cory Taylor and defending champion Max Beattie will be chasing ironman glory.

 

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2 Winning Picks in Oil & Gas

Bill is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network -- entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited.

When it comes to commodity companies, I try to be very picky. These companies are price takers, and unlike so many firms that peddle differentiated products, they are often subject to the whims of commodity markets. Worse yet, many of these companies spend heavily on new refineries or new oil field prospects.

Fortunately, investors have many attractively-priced stocks to choose from. Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) and Chevron (NYSE: CVX) are particularly attractive based on price multiples.

Investment Projects

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) expects to utilize cash, asset and debt sales to fund its spending and dividends while waiting for production to increase. From 2013 to 2017, the company is expected to spend about $16 billion a year. The company spent over $3 billion during the last year over its dividend and it is planning to increase dividends. The company’s spending may outstrip its cash flow. In 2012, COP ended its year with a total cash of $4.4 billion. The company is expected to generate $9.6 billion from the sale of assets.

Management intends to exploit balance sheet strength to fund its growth program. According to Jeff Sheets, the CFO of the company, “We got cash from operations, we got asset sales proceeds, we got cash on the balance sheet already, and we got debt capacity. So there really shouldn’t be any doubt that through a series of price environments that we can fund the capital and fund the dividend.” He also said that assets would be a part of the continuing operations and will generate approximately $15 billion in cash flow. The company’s investment would generate $6 billion to $7 billion of cash flow in future. By 2017, the cash flow would be about $22 billion if energy prices are similar to the previous year.

ConocoPhillips is looking for annual production and margin growth of 3-5% in next few years. In 2017, the company’s output may increase up to 1.9 million barrels of oil equivalent a day as compared to 1.5 million barrels a day from continuing operations during the previous year. Post the spinoff of the refining, pipeline and chemical business to form a separate company, Phillips 66, the company became an independent producer. According to Ryan Lance, the Chairman and CEO of the company, “We have a compelling dividend, and the growth in production and margin is coming and we’re focused on returns.” The company is focusing on reducing its stake in the Australia Pacific liquefied natural gas project and in Canadian oil-sands holdings as they increased their cost estimates by 7% in AUD.

The company, which was planning to sell its stake in Canada’s oil sands, said that it is more difficult for certain buyers as Ottawa has restricted foreign investment in Canada’s resources. The changes were introduced after the contentious takeovers of Nexen and Progress Energy Resources, energy producers in Canada, by Chinese and Malaysian state-owned companies.

The Houston-based oil manufacturer is making special efforts to find the right partner based on the complexity and size of ConocoPhillips' oil sands projects in Western Canada. The country’s new rules have changed the background for investment. Certain types of decisions and deals in the country have a more difficult time due to an investment decision that progressed as they came through the Progress deal with Petronas and through the CNOOC deal with Nexen.

The company has a 50% interest in various oil-sands projects across Alberta. These projects include Surmont, Foster Creek and Christina Lake. According to Lance, planned sale of the oil sands stake is part of the company’s strategy to decrease exposure to high cost projects to create idle funds for shale development. The company is spending a huge sum of funds to increase crude oil output from basins that are of low-cost across North America and the rest of the world. The company has also promised that its cash flow, dividend, margins and production will increase over five years, which is assisted by the high output of crude from places such as the Eagle Ford formation in South Texas.

Of course, there are expenditures in energy projects outside of North America. Chevron and Genel Energy are looking for new oil fields across Morocco. According to Citigroup, the oil companies are planning approximately 10 wells in Moroccan waters through 2014. This represents the quickest pace at which wells would be established since 2000, and it is twice what has been drilled in the past. Cairn Energy has planned to start drilling the Foum Draa prospect during the fourth quarter. According to Laura Loppacher, an analyst at Jefferies Group, “Morocco has seen a huge explosion of interest in the last six months. It’s an area with several plays for people to target, but it’s still frontier and risky.”

Valuation

The good news is that many oil and gas companies are trading at low valuations:

Phillips 66 is particularly cheap on a price-to-sales basis. It is also cash flow positive. Similarly, Chevron is attractive based on its low price-to-sales multiple and is also cash flow positive. Both firms have solid balance sheets.

Conclusion

Value investors should make some time to look at large energy companies in today’s markets because they are trading at attractive price multiples. Phillips 66 and Chevron should top their lists for further research.

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Movies inspire Oscar- winning hors d'oeuvres

Let's face it. Theme parties are fun.

And Sunday's 85th Academy Awards show gives us good reason to indulge -- it's the Super Bowl of show business.

For a food presentation your guests won't forget, we have the perfect cast of award-winning snacks. Our food party picks will keep your guests satisfied as they watch all the glitz and glamour of the Oscars.

For inspiration, we took a cue from some of this year's film nominees.

"Silver Linings Playbook," a best picture nominee, is set in Philadelphia so we opted for a version of the iconic Philly cheese steak sandwich. The main character of the sandwich is thinly sliced and lightly seasoned beef, typically rib-eye, which is chopped using two metal spatulas while cooking. Grilled onions and a mess of cheese are added, all served on a roll. Our adaptation is a slider that features sweet caramelized onions and peppers, topped with provolone served on slider buns.

Two other recipes were developed with "Les Mis?rables" in mind. This film is set in France, where pastries, baguettes and Brie are popular. In our Brie Bites recipe, Brie is tucked in buttery puff pastry and topped with candied walnuts. Our crostini selection is simply lightly toasted French baguette slices topped with seasoned ricotta and crunchy apple with a drizzle of honey and chopped walnuts.

So go ahead and let our recipes set the stage for a memorable evening -- on the sofa, enjoying Oscar-worthy fare.

 

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CODER Crew's Picks of the Week: Little Freaky Things, Iggy Azealia and More

CODER Crew's Picks of the Week: Little Freaky Things, Iggy Azealia and More | Billboard var _comscore = _comscore || []; _comscore.push({ c1: "2", c2: "7395269" }); (function() { var s = document.createElement("script"), el = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.async = true; s.src = (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? "https://sb" : "http://b") + ".scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js"; el.parentNode.insertBefore(s, el); })(); Billboard Follow @twitter !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); VideosPhotosArticlesArtists Search form Search Subscribe Hot 100Billboard 200GenresPopBreaking and EnteringRockR&B/Hip-HopCountryLatinDance/ElectronicChristian/GospelAdditional GenresInternationalCanadian Hot 100Canadian AlbumsFrance SongsGermany AlbumsGermany SongsJapan Hot 100K-Pop Hot 100All Charts

CODER Crew's Picks of the Week: Little Freaky Things, Iggy Azealia and More ArticlesColumnsCode

By Billboard Staff | March 08, 2013 1:33 PM EST

Courtesy of 11 Heads Records

Little Freaky Things

0 23 0 0 Each Friday, the CODE crew will review their favorite dance tracks of the week. Listen to the cuts below, and see what Kerri, Zel, Jacob, Lauren and Elissa have to say. Today CODE premieres an exclusive stream from Little Freaky Things.

Little Freaky Things, “Nightfall” (Donovan's Remix) (11Heads Records)

Parisian duo Little Freaky Things delivers a proper house tune that looks forward while respecting the roots of its culture. On this remix from their forthcoming debut EP, LFT's own Donovans bring pulses ready to have you rinsed and a hypnotic bass line that sneaks up on you. When it drops (and there is a drop), it's so smooth and deep you won't know what just happened. Complementing all these dirty house tricks is an emotional vocal by Maï-Lan Chapiron that should find equal footing in sets by everyone from A-Trak to Annie Mac. The original tune was far more electro and deserves a listen, especially for Chapiron's assuredly diaphanous performance, but it's this pounding re-work that will get the peak-hour spins. Get your little freaky things on! Pre-order their EP here. -Zel

Iggy Azealia, "Work” (Jacob Plant Mix) (Mercury)

Australian bombshell Iggy Azealia proved her EDM chops with her utterly badass verses on Steve Aoki's "Beatdown," but it looks like she's back for more bass. By recruiting Jacob Plant to add a hard-hitting, dubstep-meets-trap (are we saying "trapstep" yet?") backbone to the track, Azealia chose wisely: her rhymes have even more weight when paired with the heavy beat and screeching synths. Now, it's an eminently danceable tune that will have ladies flocking to the dance floor to imitate Azealia's famed ponytail flip. -Lauren

Bones & Money, "Black Diamond” (Chrissy Murderbot Remix) (Tuff Wax)
In 2009 and 2010, Chicago producer and Loose Squares label boss Murderbot created a handful of jungle sets as part of a project that involved uploading a new mixtape to his blog every week. His offering for this Bones & Money remix EP translates that extensive knowledge of and love for jungle into beatmaking chops. Murderbot cradles the original's chunky hip-hop sample in a dry, clattering breakbeat and sinkholes of low end that soon burst into a dangerously catchy and energetic bassline. -Elissa

Various Artists, “Springbreakers: Music From The Motion Picture” (Big Beat/Atlantic)

Hitting at just the right cultural moment, soundtracks can capture the zeitgeist in a bottle. “Singles,” “Trainspotting,” even “Spawn” and “Reality Bites” are time capsules now, containing more than just the music.

“Springbreakers” is one such collection, a soundtrack-score combination dotted with Skrillex songs we all know already and love, completely redefined by their usage in the film. Will viewers of this Harmony Korine polemic against amoral consumer culture ever be able to listen to the aggressive smudge-bass of Grammy-winning “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites” without thinking of the film’s half-naked, beer-soaked, slow-mo' opening beach sequence? In a way, it captures what the world did with the strange laptop creations a sincere kid named Sonny released into it.

There are also tracks from Waka Flocka Flame and Gucci Mane, showing the shrinking delta between electronic and hip-hop; and great pieces of scoring from Skrillex and Cliff Martinez (Drive, Contagion), all with the half-stoned, all-neon feel of the film. Instant classic. -Kerri

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Women's Lacrosse picks up second win, 23-7, over Old Dominion - The Collegian — University of Richmond

Despite the cold weather and rain, the University of Richmond women’s lacrosse team picked up its second win of the season against Old Dominion University, 23-7, Tuesday in Robins Stadium.

After ODU scored two goals in the first five minutes of the game, the Spiders responded with a 9-0 run. At the end of the half, Richmond was winning, 13-5.

The temperature dropped and it started to rain at the beginning of the second half, but that did not stop the Spiders from scoring 10 more points and winning the game. The Spiders were one goal shy of tying the school record for most points scored in a game.

Head coach Allison Evans said that before the start of the game, the team had talked about staying disciplined, consistent and focused.

The way the team responded to ODU’s first two goals and continued on to a 9-0 run stood out in the game, Evans said.  The offense took advantage of the fast breaks and second breaks, she said.

Senior Kara Moschetti led the team with five goals and four assists.

“Both the offense and defense came out strong,” Moschetti said. “We were connecting on both sides.”

The offense executed on every play and many different players scored, Moschetti said.

Seniors Sam Stevenson and Jennifer Zoltoski were also lead scorers with four goals each. Overall, 10 Richmond players scored at least one goal against ODU.

The game was supposed to be played Wednesday, but was rescheduled earlier to avoid the expected inclement weather, leaving the Spiders with one less day to practice and prepare.

Although the change came as a surprise to both the coaches and the team, they were able to adapt and focus on the game, Evans said.

“It was great to win at home and protect our turf,” Evans said.

The women’s lacrosse team will play James Madison University at the Robins Stadium next Wednesday.

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