Welcome to the game beamed into 600 million households around the world, the summit meeting of the Premier League's finest and the game that could end with Alex Ferguson on the brink of making history with Manchester United. Welcome to El Climactico, the deciding game of the season.

Playing with heavy hearts with their head coach laid up in a hospital bed, the Hialeah T-Breds — thanks to the heroics of senior catcher Robert Llerna — rallied for a 6-4 victory over American in a Class 6A regional semifinal contest on Friday night at Alex Fernandez Field.

ALEX SALMOND vowed last night to "make the nation proud" after the SNP completed a crushing election victory over Labour.

Welcome to El Climactico, the deciding game of the season, as Sir Alex Ferguson chases a record 19th league title.

It only took four minutes for the expansion team from Women's Professional Soccer's smallest market to score on the defensively strong former league champions Sky Blue FC from New Jersey.

Swedish international Caroline Seger tallied her second goal of the season, fed by rookie sensation, Alex Morgan. Later in the half, it was Morgan who would score on a pass by Brazilian superstar, Marta. Late in the second half, the same combination would reverse roles and Morgan got the goal, taking the Western New York Flash into half time with a 2-0 lead.

In fact, the Marta Morgan combination has become very effective in the past two-and-a-half games they've played together. On Sunday, at the Flash home opener, Morgan scored her first WPS goal assisted by Marta.

The two make an interesting tandem in that 25-year-old Marta is well established as the world’s best woman ever to play the game, while Morgan is just beginning to look like she could be the next Marta, or at least the next Mia Hamm, as the best U.S. player to come along since Hamm dominated the world and the women’s game.

The visitors made the game interesting for a few minutes by closing to within one goal after substitute Adriana scored on a spectacular high arching shot within a minute of entering the pitch. But it wasn't long before the M & M attack returned the game to a safe lead for the home team. 

So after two and a half games, Marta stands with three goals and four assists. Caroline Seger has scored twice, Morgan twice, Gemma Davison once and WPS Player of the Week (last week) Christine Sinclair has two.

Speaking of Sinclair, the 3-1 drubbing of defensive Sky Blue is even more impressive when Sinclair's absence is factored in. The most prolific scorer in Canadian national team history was in Montreal with her national side and thus unable to join the Flash for this match. 

Attendance was noticeably less than the home opener on Sunday. This might be a concern to the Flash front office since several of their home games are Friday evening contests. Fortunately, team owner Joe  Sahlen doesn't need the team to pay for itself. He has costed it out as part of the marketing budget for his company, Sahlen Packing Company.

Still, it seems to be a well-kept secret in Western and Central New York that the world's best women's soccer Still, it seems to be a well-kept secret in Western and Central New York that the world's best women's soccer team is within a 90 minute drive or less of any place in the region it claims to represent.

They put on an impressive and entertaining show, not only in terms of individual soccer skills on display, but also a well-coached team effort that seems to do what many coaches in all major sports fail to do more often than not: get their numerous stars to coordinate their efforts and play unselfishly.

Gio Gonzalez pitched seven effective innings and the Oakland Athletics ruined Eric Hosmer's much-anticipated major league debut with a 3-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Friday night.

Kansas City Royals' Eric Hosmer (35) slides safely into second for a steal past the tag of Oakland Athletics second baseman Mark Ellis during the fourth inning of a baseball game on Friday, May 6, 2011, in Kansas City, Mo.

Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer smiles as he warms up before a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics, Friday, May 6, 2011, in Kansas City, Mo. Hosmer made his major league debut at first base.

Kansas City Royals' Alex Gordon (4) rounds second after hitting a home run in the first inning during a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics, Friday, May 6, 2011, in Kansas City, Mo.

Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Sean O'Sullivan throws in the first inning during a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics, Friday, May 6, 2011, in Kansas City, Mo.

Gio Gonzalez pitched seven effective innings and the Oakland Athletics ruined Eric Hosmer's much-anticipated major league debut with a 3-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Friday night.

Kansas City Royals' Eric Hosmer (35) slides safely into second for a steal past the tag of Oakland Athletics second baseman Mark Ellis during the fourth inning of a baseball game on Friday, May 6, 2011, in Kansas City, Mo.

Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer smiles as he warms up before a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics, Friday, May 6, 2011, in Kansas City, Mo. Hosmer made his major league debut at first base.

Kansas City Royals' Alex Gordon (4) rounds second after hitting a home run in the first inning during a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics, Friday, May 6, 2011, in Kansas City, Mo.

Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Sean O'Sullivan throws in the first inning during a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics, Friday, May 6, 2011, in Kansas City, Mo.

from Mike Wise of the Washington Post, The Capitals’ problem is not the coach. That’s not why they got swept in the second round against an, on paper, underwhelming Tampa Bay club. The problem is the nucleus. Alex Ovechkin and his three co-stars are not ready yet. Some, such as Alexander Semin, may never be. In hockey, the term “boys” is used affectionately, as in, “Ovie and the boys.” But Ovechkin, Semin, Mike Green and Nicklas Backstrom are not boys anymore. They have been to a few rodeos, and they keep getting bucked off. The Capitals are becoming the Dallas Mavericks of the NHL. They have become that team with the heavenly regular season and the hellish postseason. read on

EMCORE (EMKR)

Q2 2011 Earnings Call

May 05, 2011 4:30 pm ET

Executives

Mark Weinswig - Chief Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer

Victor Allgeier - IR, TTC Group

Hong Hou - Chief Executive Officer, President and Director

Analysts

Stephen Copper

Alex Henderson - Miller Tabak + Co., LLC

Edward Zabitsky - ACI Research

Presentation

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Welcome to the EMCORE Corporation Second Quarter Fiscal 2011 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] This conference is being recorded today, Thursday, May 5, 2011. I would now like to turn the conference over to our host, Mr. Victor Allgeier with TTC Group. Please go ahead, sir.

Victor Allgeier

Thank you, and good afternoon, everyone. Before we begin, we would like to remind you that the information provided herein may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section

Where to begin. The Braves got their first three runs in the third inning. They had a chance in the first when Martin Prado reached on an infield single/E6 and Alex Gonzalez turned a long at-bat into a solid single to left, but Chipper struck out, McCann popped out on the first pitch, and Dan [...]

The Italian has seen enough big games and dealt with enough demanding owners not to be fazed by Sunday's showdown

A man as well balanced as Carlo Ancelotti has no business being a football manager. Certainly not in England's Premier League, where managers are expected to argue among themselves and snipe at referees as a matter of routine.

Not Ancelotti. Even approaching a weekend such as this, when he takes his Chelsea squad to Old Trafford on Sunday knowing that a win would put them level with Sir Alex Ferguson's team at the top of the table, nothing shakes his equilibrium or disrupts his air of knowing geniality as he wanders in from the Surrey sunshine after a training session to ponder on the problem of Wayne Rooney or to praise the match referee, Howard Webb. Not even the knowledge that his destiny is under discussion in two countries.

His team, fresh from winning the Double, started the new season with a rush. But the winter months saw a six-point lead transformed into a deficit of 15 points to Manchester United, the new leaders. And until the west London side climbed out of their mid-season slump, putting together 11 wins in their past 14 matches, the man who arrived in England two summers ago appeared to be heading for the exit.

Had Chelsea's season continued to disintegrate, the turning points would have seemed obvious. The first was the abrupt and unexplained dismissal in November of Ray Wilkins, Ancelotti's No2, an old friend of whom he said: "We wouldn't have won a thing without him." The second was the appearance in January of Fernando Torres, a £50m striker whose arrival forced Ancelotti to modify his preferred formation and who took 10 games to score his first goal.

The whims of powerful men, however, are nothing new to Ancelotti, whether they be Gianni Agnelli, Silvio Berlusconi or Roman Abramovich, and from his present vantage point he can argue that the real turning points were quite different.

"Manchester United against Arsenal last Sunday, and our win against Tottenham," he said. "If Arsenal hadn't won, it would be a different atmosphere around our game against United." Another one, he said, had come last month at the Hawthorns, just after their Champions League elimination, when West Brom scored first but Chelsea fought back to win.

On Friday he received the manager of the month award – "for April," he emphasised, implying that the fates should not be tempted. But no one knows whether a second league title, or even a near-miss, combined with a second consecutive failure to progress beyond the last eight of the Champions League, would be enough to persuade Abramovich to allow him another year at Stamford Bridge.

"It's not the moment to speak about my future," he said. "I would like to stay, but I am very quiet and calm. At the end of the season, the club will take the decision. If they decide to change the manager there is no problem. I've tried to do my best. If they consider my job good, I will stay. If they don't, they can change."

The unexpected turnaround of the past couple of months will have done his claims little harm. "Nobody thought we would be able to fight for the title," he said. "We were talking about qualifying for the Champions League. Fifteen points behind United was too much of a gap, but we closed it because we did really well for two months. Last year we built up a very good relationship with the players, and this atmosphere helped us to maintain good control of our confidence."

He has a perfect record – three wins out of three – against Ferguson in league matches and last year, after the victory at Old Trafford that took Chelsea to the brink of the title, he and Wilkins went into Ferguson's office for a glass of wine, only to find the United manager preoccupied by the racing on television. That match represented United's last defeat at home.

"I know," Ancelotti said. "Thirty matches, only one draw. Obviously they are the favourites as they have three points more. If they win, they will win the title. If we are able to win, then goal difference becomes important, and we have very difficult games against Newcastle and Everton, so nothing would be decided. But it would be important to be at the top of the table, after such a long time."

He spoke of the threat of Rooney and of Ryan Giggs, whose passes destroyed Chelsea in the two Champions League ties last month. But mostly that of Rooney. "He is a key player for them. It's difficult to stop him. His position is not so easy to control – he moves a lot, he comes back and works for the team. Obviously we have to do something. We never put one player against him, because it means changing our philosophy too much and we want to play our football. But it will be important to stay compact and keep our midfielders' and defenders' lines very close."

There has been one definite change of policy during the season. At Abramovich's behest, and with the forthcoming rules on financial fairness in mind, a group of young players – Daniel Sturridge, Gaël Kakuta, Jeffrey Bruma, Patrick van Aanholt and Josh McEachran – were among the substitutes during the first half of the season but have not been seen in the side in recent weeks.

"When we decided at the start of the season to use more players from the academy, it was a good decision," Ancelotti said. "We began really well, we were top and some of them played, although not many games. But when we had a difficult moment it was not easy to give them that responsibility. So we gave some the chance to go out on loan in January. We will decide at the end of the season if they come back or not."

Whether or not he will be around to influence those decisions, Ancelotti is intent on making the best of the last weeks of his very mixed second season. "Our bad moment was too long, I think. We could have done better. But now destiny has helped us to fight for the title again. We are excited and very happy. The season has not gone, as everyone suggested. This team is still alive."

Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond has promised a referendum on Scottish independence after his party pulled off an unprecedented victory in the Scottish Parliament elections.

Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond has promised a referendum on Scottish independence after his party pulled off an unprecedented victory in the Scottish Parliament elections.

Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond has promised a referendum on Scottish independence after his party pulled off an unprecedented victory in the Scottish Parliament elections.

Danny Grewcock, Butch James and Luke Watson say goodbye to Bath. Newcastle give Alex Gray his first Premiership start.

Sir Alex Ferguson has acquired a majority share in the exciting Royal Ascot-bound two-year-old Music City. The Elusive City colt is trained by Richard Hannon.

Sir Alex Ferguson claims he is gripped by the “big fear” that more controversial refereeing decisions will swing the title...

For Perrysburg’s top pitchers, Matt Kruzel and Alec Schmenk, one good batting turn deserved another in Friday night’s pivotal 12-5 Northern Lakes League baseball victory over visiting Maumee.One week after the left-handed swinging Schmenk backed Kruzel’s lefty pitching — a 4 for 4 batting line that included a home run and six RBIs in a 15-0 win over Anthony Wayne — it was Kruzel’s chance to return the favor with the right-handed throwing Schmenk on the mound against the Yellow Jackets’ arch rivals.Kruzel, who bats right-handed, did just that with a 3-for-3 plate effort that included two opposite-field home runs and three RBIs to help keep Perrysburg perfect in league play, and prevent the Panthers from taking over first place in the NLL.“They play off each other,” Perrysburg coach Dave Hall said of Kruzel and Schmenk. “They’re buddies and, when one of them pitches well the other one wants to do it, and when they hit well the other one wants to do it. I like that competition.”The Panthers (14-5, 6-2) won’t have long to lick their wounds, as they host fourth-ranked Perrysburg (14-2, 7-0) in a rain makeup on Monday.“I’d rather play them [again] in two days than wait two weeks to play them,” Maumee coach Cam Coutcher said. “Our kids are pumped up. We feel like we match up pretty well against them, even though, obviously, the scoreboard didn’t reflect the way we played.“Our goal at the beginning of the season was to be 12-2 in the league, and that would hopefully give us a shot at winning the title. So, now, we just can’t lose.”With the wind blowing strongly from the left-field corner across to the corner in right, Kruzel staked the Jackets to a 2-0 lead with a two-run shot just fair at the 310-foot mark in right. After Maumee had pulled within 3-1 on Matt Williams’ sacrifice fly in the top of the third inning, Kruzel led off the bottom half by taking a 2-0 offering from Panther starter Bill Laranga over the fence in right-center.“I wasn’t really trying to do anything special,” Kruzel said. “The wind was blowing out to right and I worked on going the other way in batting practice, and it translated into the game.“It feels good to help [Schmenk] out, knowing that he helps me out all the time. I’m just glad I got to return the favor for him.”Maumee, which fared relatively well offensively against Schmenk (6-0), got back within 5-3 in the fourth. Jordan Lane led off with a single and trotted home ahead of designated hitter Evan Karchner, who blasted a 3-2 pitch from Schmenk 400-plus feet, clearing the scoreboard in center field. Schmenk (0.52 ERA coming in) had yielded just nine hits and two total runs in his 27 innings pitched before Friday night. But, by the time Panther Kurt Kolbow chased Schmenk with a 390-foot, two-run homer one out into the seventh, Perrysburg had long since taken control of the game.The Yellow Jackets responded to Karchner’s homer by plating six runs on five hits in the bottom of the fourth inning to take a commanding 11-3 lead.Matt Garbig and Zach Kolvey contributed RBI singles, and Ryan Young delivered a two-run double to highlight that uprising.“My arm just felt a little sore,” Schmenk said, “and I tried to throw fastballs in for strikes. I was trying to get them to put it in play and have my defense back me up. “[Kruzel] got us going and I guess we didn’t look back at all.”Schmenk, who allowed a season-high seven hits and walked three, struck out eight Maumee batters before departing. Alex Williams relieved and got the final two outs when second baseman Ryan Young leaped to stab Connor Stanford’s hard line drive, then fired to first to double up Matt Williams.Helping the Jackets’ offense was designated hitter Hunter Smith, who was 2 for 2 with a double, a walk, and an RBI. Maumee’s Kurt Weber doubled and tripled off of Schmenk in the loss.“Monday becomes an even bigger game now,” Hall said, “because maybe we can get them their third loss. “They’re good. They swing the bats extremely well. That’s the best that anybody’s hit Alec. I expect a dogfight on Monday.”Contact Steve Junga at: sjunga@theblade.com or 419-724-6461.

Quips and quotes from the wacky world of sports Canada.com Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin celebrates his goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs with teammate Brooks Laich (R) during the first period of their NHL hockey game in Toronto April 5, 2011. ...

EDINBURGH, Scotland, May 6 (UPI) -- After four years of governing Scotland as a minority leader, First Minister Alex Salmond hailed the Scottish National Party's parliamentary majority Friday.

Das it. Derek Jeter, SS Curtis Granderson, CF Mark Teixeira, 1B Alex Rodriguez, 3B Robinson Cano, 2B Andruw Jones, RF Jorge Posada, DH Russell Martin, C Brett Gardner, LF Ivan Nova, SP 8 p.m. ET, YES Network. Do it. Post from: River Ave. Blues A New York Yankees blogGame 30: We play today, we win [...]

Post from: River Ave. Blues A New York Yankees blog

Game 30: We play today, we win today

YANKEES (17-12) Derek Jeter SS Curtis Granderson CF Mark Teixeira 1B Alex Rodriguez 3B Robinson Cano 2B Andruw Jones RF Jorge Posada DH Russell Martin C Brett Gardner LF RHP Ivan Nova (2-2, 5.14) Nova vs. Rangers RANGERS (17-15) Ian Kinsler 2B Elvis Andrus SS Michael Young DH Adrian Beltre 3B David Murphy LF Mike [...]

Los independentistas del Partido Nacionalista Escocés (SNP) obtuvieron un histórico triunfo en las elecciones autonómicas del jueves que les ha dado la mayoría absoluta y les permitirá convocar un referéndum sobre la independencia de Escocia. Aunque los sondeos ya auguraban su victoria, muy pocos esperaban que el partido que lidera el carismático Alex Salmond alcanzara la barrera de la mayoría absoluta.

Callsign: IZ3VEI First Name + Initial: Alex Last Name: Saviane Address Line 1: Via Grave Fornaci, 18 Address Line 2: Puos d'Alpago (BL) Zip/Post...

Skotland er talið hafa færst nær kosningum um sjálfstæði eftir að aðskilnaðarflokkur Skotlandsráðherrans Alex Salmond tryggði sér sögulegan meirihluta í kosningunum til skoska heimaþingsins á föstudag.

06/05/2011 19:27:00
Tanto en la CUT, como en la DC, partido por el que llegó a ser diputada, la dirigente es recordad con mucho aprecio y como un gran ejemplo.


Gran pesar ha provocado en la Región del Bío Bío, el fallecimiento de la sindicalista y ex diputada por la DC María Rozas. El deceso de la también dirigente de la CUT, se conoció esta tarde. Llevaba un tiempo en la Clínica Las Condes, pues padecía de un cáncer estomacal. El presidente Provincial de la CUT, Alex Iturra, aseguró que “se pierde una gran luchadora y además una mujer muy cristiana. Esta tarde, el mundo sindical sufrió una gran pérdida”. En ese mismo sentido, Iturra señaló que María Rozas “tenía un aura muy especial. Donde llegaba impregnaba a la gente y los motivaba a pelear. Ella además dio la lucha para darle su lugar a la mujer en la sociedad”. Quien también se mostró afectado en el plano personal, es el presidente regional del la DC, Martín Zilic. El ex ministro de educación y ex intendente dijo que “me relacioné mucho con ella cuando yo estaba en Bélgica. Ella llegaba a buscar dineros para recuperar la democracia en Chile. Ella fue un ejemplo y peleó muy duramente contra la dictadura”. Sobre su personalidad, Zilic destacó que “se trata de una mujer muy chilena. Ella siempre tuvo en su norte sus ideales. Fue un ejemplo de consecuencia, para todos y es muy lamentable que haya perdido la vida”.

Scotland emerges from its election completely and utterly changed.

A huge historic Nationalist victory; the worst Labour result in seats since 1931; the Tories still, despite a decent campaign, in retreat; and the worst Liberal result since the 1970s.

This is a Scotland of surprises. The SNP won 45.4% of the constituency vote to Labour’s 31.7%, a lead of 13.7%; while on the regional list the SNP won 44.0% to Labour’s 26.3%, a lead of 17.7%. This has produced a Parliament of SNP 69 (+23), Labour 37 (-7), Con 15 (-5), Lib Dem 5 (-12), Other 3 (+1).

This was an election which was meant to be a foregone conclusion and which Labour took for granted it would win [See Gerry's earlier colums from 19 April Ed]. Now even the assumption that the PR hybrid Scottish Parliament could not produce an overall majority for one party has been shattered. The SNP have won on 45% of the first vote over 70% of the seats: the sort of parliamentary misbalance for which Westminster was famous.

Scotland’s political geography has been transformed in a watershed, realigning election. The constituency political map of 2007 was one shaped by a lot of Labour red in the Central Belt and lots of Lib Dem orange rural seats in the North East and Highlands. Now that map looks very different; the Labour red has been reduced to a few isolated islands; the Lib Dem orange obliterated apart from Orkney and Shetland; mainland Scotland from north to south, west to east, is SNP yellow.

The Scottish Parliament has an addition member system with constituencies taht are contested with First Past the Post and an addition regional list system that tops up the parliament to make it more proportionally representative. Labour used to have a gridlock on constituency, FPTP seats; in 2007, what it thought a bad year, Labour won 37 to the SNP’s 21; this time the SNP won 53 to Labour’s 15. Places which have never voted Nationalist have been won; Glasgow, a city the SNP have long had trouble challenging Labour’s grip saw five Nationalist constituency gains. In Edinburgh, the party won every seat bar one, and in Lanarkshire, a host of the most unreconstructed Labour figures fell to the SNP tsunami. Traditional places which have been more SNP, such as Dundee, Aberdeen and the Highlands, have become even more so.

All of Scotland’s parties will be different. The Nationalists are now a genuine, nationwide movement, early-Blair-like in the scale of their appeal. Scottish Labour no longer has many of the long-term ‘bedblockers’ who were seen as nursing their seats for life. Both Labour and Lib Dems have suffered significant reverses. Compounding their problems their Westminster MPs, who are huge problems for both parties, will have more prominence and status because of the scale of their losses.

The Nationalist victory carries with it huge opportunities and challenges for the SNP. How does Alex Salmond keep his ‘big tent’ coalition together? How does he enact the hard choices which the age of austerity and public spending cuts implies? And how does he marry his safety first politics with the need for radical politics, challenging the gatekeepers of institutional life?

Then there are the issues of Westminster, the British state and independence. The SNP want to see radical reform of the Scotland Bill, which derives from the flawed Calman proposals of partial fiscal autonomy. They want more economic powers, more taxation powers and real fiscal autonomy. There must be a chance that the UK Government of David Cameron will make significant concessions.

Then there is the huge question of independence and the issue of the independence referendum. The conventional logic says, with patronising wither, that Alex Salmond can have his small victory today, but in the real world the separatist cause will never win a plebiscite. That’s still the best bet at the moment, but don’t be completely sure.

The SNP has an opportunity to reshape Scotland, a once in a generation moment, while the crisis of Scottish unionism, of a Labour, Lib Dem, Tory or non-party kind is a deep, long term, existential one. The independence referendum was once seen by unionists north and south of the border as a maverick, eccentric demand; then they said it was beyond the powers of the Scottish Parliament; and now we are arguing about whether the Nationalists can win such a vote. So far this debate is moving in one direction. Such a vote will have many unintended consequences, change the nature of the UK, and be an international event.

Whatever one thinks of Alex Salmond’s brand of populist, opportunist, catch-all politics, it has paid rich dividends. Scottish politics and Scotland have been remade and will never be the same again. The SNP has been utterly changed and looks like it is morphing into an inclusive nationwide movement for change. The Nationalists under Salmond have developed a convincing story of what the Scottish Parliament should be: the fulcrum of public life and aiding the evolution of self-government.

The Scottish Labour Party, the party which gave so much to the dream of home rule and devolution, has paradoxically been weakened and disorientated by the establishment of the Scottish Parliament. Rather bizarrely from the earliest days of devolution, under Donald Dewar, Henry McLeish and Jack McConnell, Labour had little idea what the purpose of devolution was about beyond seeing off the Nats.

What underlines all of this is Scotland’s future as a political community, society and nation. This election is a positive affirmation of that future, and of the desire to express it differently to the Westminster/Ukanian mindset. And that brings me to Tom Nairn, Scotland’s greatest public intellectual over the last four decades.

I am proud to call Tom a friend as well as an inspiration over my entire adult political life, and as Scotland voted SNP, and the British electorate turned its back by two to one on even the mildest degree of electoral reform, I couldn’t help but think back to the words and thoughts of citizen Tom. After the global financial crisis and the local political crisis of MPs expenses, the British state is stuck in gridlock and seems unable to embrace the most timid and incremental reform, which parts of the British establishment see as ‘unBritish’ (i.e. David Starkey and other historians). This will have many consequences for how Scotland’s future evolves.

The Scottish debate will now develop its own form, shape and structure, but I think we have come to a new fork in the road: the end of one part of Scotland’s history, and the beginning of a new one. The old one was the account of Thatcherite/Tory bogeymen and the Old/New Labour dichotomy; the new one will be shaped by a Nationalist politics offering the prospect of a different kind of nation, one told in a very different voice, and shaped by hope, optimism and a sense of generosity.

It may not have the momentous feel of any one of the Arab Spring revolutions, but Scotland, in its own way, has just undergone its very own Scottish Spring.

As we all bask in the glow of the big 4-2 victory yesterday in Game 4, the Canucks return home to try and close out the pesky Predators tomorrow night.  What a fantastic feeling it is to be a Canucks fan right now, as this team just seems to have grown so much this season, and even a bit moreso since dispatching the Blackhawks in Round 1.  One of the coolest things about watching this Canucks team from Winnipeg is seeing how important some of the ex-Moose have become.  

Ryan Kesler, Alex Burrows, Kevin Bieksa and Alex Edler are all major pieces of the Canucks core, and all of them spent time down here in Winnipeg with the antlers on their jerseys.  Arguments could be made that Jannik Hansen, Mason Raymond and even Cory Schneider belong in that group, and current role players like Cody Hodgson, Alex Bolduc, Rick Rypien, Victor Oreskovich and a number of others have spent time on both rosters.  It is very encouraging to know that our farm system is churning out quality hockey players, and that the Manitoba Moose play an integral part to the process.

Speaking of the Moose, Game 5 goes tonight (8:30 ET/5:30 PT) between the Manitoba Moose and the Hamilton Bulldogs at the MTS Center in a series that is currently tied at two apiece.  After losing the first two games in Hamilton quite handily, the Moose have stormed back and taken last two games and now look to head back to Hamilton with the series lead.  Listen to the game live on CJOB here.

 

What makes these two wins even more impressive is the fact that the Hamilton Bulldogs had absolutely owned the Moose this season.  After taking the first two of the 8-game regular season match-ups in October, the Moose dropped the final 6 encounters, including the final two home games of the regular season that cost them valuable points and home-ice advantage.  And after dropping Game 1 (4-1) and Game 2 (4-2) in Hamilton to start this series, an 8-game losing streak against the Bulldogs was staring them right in the face.  

The Moose, however, have proven resilient during these playoffs.  After already storming back from a 3-1 series deficit to defeat the Lake Erie Monsters in Round 1, the Moose came home and held serve in both Game 3 (5-4 win) and Game 4 (2-1 in double OT) to show Hamilton that they won't be an easy out.  So now we have an all-important Game 5 that goes tonight at the MTS Center, and it should be a beauty as they are opening up the upper deck to fill the barn.

• The double-overtime winner in Game 4 was a beauty, as Jordan Schroeder laid out a nifty saucer pass to Mario Bliznak, who roofed the one-timer past Drew MacIntyre at the 11:54 mark of the fifth period.  The goal can be viewed here on Moose TV - you will need to select the video from the collection on the right.  It appears that Schroeder has woken up, as he scored his first goal of the series in Game 3 and then set up the winner in Game 4.
• Eddie Lack stopped 43 of 44 shots in game 4, and Mario Bliznak had a goal and assist to lead the Moose to victory.  Guillaume Desbiens added the other goal.
• While Game 4 was a low-scoring affair, Game 3 was the exact opposite with 9 goals scored.  It also featured the turning point of the series, as the Moose trailed 2-1 with less then a minute to go in the 2nd.  However, the aforementioned Jordan Schroeder scored at the 19:25 mark to tie it up, and then something amazing happened.  Hamilton forward Ryan White took an interference penalty at the 19:59 mark, and with 1.9 seconds left on the clock the Moose scored on a bang-bang play.  Marco Rosa won the draw and Sergei Shirokov hammered it home before the buzzer.  The teams traded 4 goals in the third period, but the Moose took the 5-4 victory.
• The top line of Sergei Shirokov, Marco Rosa and Jason Jaffray each scored a goal, and the trio combined for 7 points in Game 3.  Mark Flood added two helpers, while Alex Bolduc opened the scoring for the second time in the series.
• Game 2 started off well as Kevin Clark scored 2:43 into the game, but Hamilton responded with 4 straight to put the game out of reach.  Chris Tanev managed to score one in garbage time, but the Moose lost 4-2.  Tanev assisted on Clark's goal to finish with 2 points in the loss, and Lack stopped 27 of 30 shots.
• Game 1 also started off well as Alex Bolduc scored 5:10 into the game, but it was the only goal the Moose could muster as once again the Bulldogs reeled off 4 straight goals to win 4-1.  Travis Ramsey and Mark Flood assisted on the Bolduc goal, while Lack stopped 33 of 37 shots in the loss.
• Marco Rosa is tied for second in AHL Playoff scoring with 15 points (5 goals and 10 assists) in 11 games, while Sergei Shirokov is tied for 12th with 9 points (6 goals and 3 assists).

Dette er den store vinneren i det britiske valget: Leder for nasjonalistpartiet i Skottland, Alex Salmond, sikret historisk flertall i det skotske parlamentet.

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The success of the Premier League is built, in part, on tiffs and rifts, grown men harbouring grudges nurtured lovingly over decades; including Sir Alex Ferguson with his conspiracy theories.

Acording to the late, great Brian Clough, it only takes a second to score a goal. Sadly for Birmingham City’s Cameron Jerome, he has now spent over 100,000 of them trying to prove that point.

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The political debate of recent months has been dominated by a ding-dong battle between George Osborne and his shadow Ed Balls over cuts. So the big question now is do the local and regional election results together with the defeat of AV change anything?

The single most important consequence of Thursday's voting is the sheer bloodiness of the bloody nose delivered to the Liberal Democrats

So many of the most potent themes of British politics came together for a few hours in Thursday's elections that the contests, and the simultaneous AV referendum, seemed as important as a mini-general election. Except that a general election has only one overridingly large story to tell – the new government. This week's Super Thursday, by contrast, produced such a bulging goody-bag of resonant local and national stories – the defeat of electoral reform, the nationalist triumph in Scotland, the nationalist setback in Wales, excellent news for the Conservatives, grim news for the Liberal Democrats, something in between for Labour – that it is hard to know where to start.

On any other day, the triumph of the Scottish National Party in winning an outright majority in the Holyrood parliament – the very outcome that the devolved electoral system was expressly designed to prevent – would take the palm. While the United Kingdom survives, however, the single most important consequence of Thursday's voting is the sheer bloodiness of the bloody nose delivered to the Liberal Democrats. The damage is truly shocking. One in three Lib Dem voters from 2010 abandoned the party. At least 550 councillors were lost and the party was bundled from power in cities like Newcastle and Sheffield. The Lib Dem presence at Holyrood was decimated and in the Welsh assembly is now vestigial. The writing is on the wall for many of the party's biggest names in the House of Commons. And the AV referendum, so central to the party's hopes of having something distinctive to show for the coalition, was swept away by two-to-one.

There is something for the Lib Dems to cling on to all the same: the 15% share of the poll is grim not catastrophic; council victories in Burnley, Eastbourne, Watford and elsewhere serve notice that this was not an all-out rout, while in Eastleigh (the seat of Chris Huhne) there was even some Lib Dem advance. Yet Nick Clegg now presides over the rubble of his party's 20-year incremental forward march through British politics. This defeat is the all but inescapable price to be paid for an all but inescapable decision to enter government a year ago. Much the same may happen next year too. The bottom-line is that a large swathe of liberal Britain, more than this party can afford to lose, feels abandoned by Lib Dem membership of a coalition which is overwhelmingly defined by the slashing of public services, the overturning of the health service and the about-face on tuition fees. Mr Clegg and his party must confront this or face a decade of marginalisation.

The contrast with the fate of the Conservatives makes this all the more dismaying. If liberal Britain feels abandoned, conservative Britain feels vindicated. The Tory vote held up. There were even some council gains. And AV was crushed. True, there were Scottish and Welsh setbacks yet again. But the party of David Cameron, George Osborne, Andrew Lansley and Michael Gove – the real architects of the coalition's core policies – went not merely unpunished but has been majorly rewarded. In some ways, the Conservatives have more to cheer than Labour, who should have done better, not just in Scotland, but everywhere outside its traditional heartlands. For Labour, feeling good about winning well in Wales and about attracting back voters who should never have been lost in the first place are the easy bits – Labour's eight-point boost since 2010 and its nearly 700 new councillors are in one sense the Gordon Brown departure dividend. The larger point is that Labour's electoral counter-attack against the Tories is still almost non-existent. Yet without a credible strategy for turning some Tory votes into Labour ones, Labour's hopes of governing again may remain stillborn.

Both Scotland and electoral reform also remain crucial to any future centre-left advance of any kind. Yet Alex Salmond's stunning SNP win – amazing under a proportional system as well as the biggest personal electoral triumph for any party leader since Tony Blair's 1997 Labour landslide – poses a double challenge to Labour aspirations: it threatens Labour's future Westminster election chances and if – big if – the SNP win their way on independence, it may mean the end of any Scottish MPs at Westminster at all. In the wake of the abject failure of AV to win public backing, meanwhile, many will conclude that electoral reform is off the agenda for a generation. Yet if British voters go on producing general election outcomes with which the two-party Westminster system cannot cope, electoral reform may get back on the agenda sooner than now seems likely.

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Points and goals are down on last season but no real challengers to the Premier League top two have emerged

Chelsea have gone backwards this season, but that will offer only limited comfort to Manchester United ahead of the encounter at Old Trafford. While the supply of goals has been cut drastically, the side have been reverting to old ways and making the most of whatever impact the forwards can deliver. The 2010 title-winning campaign, garnished with the FA Cup, therefore turns out simply to have been a marvellous oddity.

The team scored 103 times in the Premier League then, entertaining everyone unaffected by a constitutional antipathy towards Chelsea. No side can stay at that level for long, least of all one in the process of being reshaped. Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard provided 51 of those goals. Their combined tally in the League this season is 20.

It would have been unnatural for them to sustain the former impact even if Lampard had avoided injury towards the end of last year and malaria had not struck the Ivorian. Drogba is 33 and the midfielder will hit that birthday next month. Apart from the individual factors, Chelsea as a whole have drooped. With three matches left, the club has 66 goals to its name. United, on 71, have done a little better, but Sir Alex Ferguson and, if he should somehow keep the job, Carlo Ancelotti will know there is more rebuilding ahead.

Whether or not the Chelsea manager is retained, he has shown resilience and there is doggedness in the squad. Arsenal, by contrast, had excellent prospects of taking the title until quite recently, but Arsène Wenger, possibly in a misconceived attempt to reduce the pressure, chose to speak like a man with no real hope of landing the prize for the first time in seven years.

The tone adopted by Ancelotti and Ferguson is utterly different. At Chelsea there has been a knitted-brow level of concentration that smacks of the José Mourinho days in its efficiency. Eight victories and a draw have been extracted from the past nine League matches. In the midst of that sequence, United eliminated them from the Champions League, but Chelsea's focus on the domestic campaign intensified when a lesser group of players would have let their attention wander.

We may not get the chance to see Ancelotti remodel Chelsea, delightful as it would be if he had acquisitions in mind to compare with David Luiz, as much pure footballer as centre-half. The Italian will most likely be gone before we learn whether the £50m Fernando Torres would be galvanised if he had a pre-season in which to work with the manager.

It does not take much to be more stable than Chelsea, but Ferguson is so secure at Old Trafford that he can go about his work methodically since it will require far more than a bad afternoon or two to inspire misgivings. With a place claimed in the Champions League final there ought to be even fewer grumbles than usual, but on broader terms they can also be seen to have dipped. Come what may, United will finish with their lowest points total in the Premier League since 2005, when they came third.

By the same token, Chelsea will have 79 at best, their poorest return since reaching that same mark in 2004. The trend is to be welcomed since it means that results have been less monotonous, but no one can claim with a straight face that the competitiveness has been caused by an influx of thrusting new challengers. Manchester City might almost exist to confirm that affluence does not necessarily create allure.

When it comes to laying on goals in home League matches, City have been outdone by, among those below them in the table, Liverpool, Bolton and Newcastle. For the time being, it is Chelsea who have enough impact and solidity to meet United on an equal footing. Any disquiet among fans will lie with long-term considerations.

It remains to be seen how much more Roman Abramovich wishes to spend before the gradual tightening of regulations compels clubs to live within their means. As with other owners, he is said to be looking forward to rules that will save him from throwing his money away. That, though, cannot stop him from expecting a return on his outlay at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Alex Salmond stands tallest, closely followed by David Cameron with Nick Clegg far behind. Personalities matter, more than ever

A year ago, the country was plunged into a weekend of murky uncertainty after a general election that nobody won. This time, there was no fog or confusion – only dazzling clarity. It illuminated a battlefield in which Alex Salmond stood tallest, master of all he surveyed, closely followed by a grinning David Cameron, whose plan for dominating the decade took another step forward. Far, far behind, picking his way through the corpses of his mown-down troops, was a bloodied Nick Clegg. And, all around them, the landscape of a Britain that could be about to change drastically – even breaking in two.

The day brought three outcomes whose scale was breathtaking. Most expected the Scottish National party to triumph in Edinburgh, but few predicted it would crush its opponents so comprehensively, winning an overall majority under a PR system designed 12 years ago to thwart just such a possibility. Never let it be said again that PR produces indecisive outcomes, while first past the post guarantees certainty: in Scotland and Westminster it's the other way around.

The second knockout result came in the AV referendum, with a thorough walloping of the alternative vote. The unmistakable victims of that, and of the rest of the day's voting, were the Liberal Democrats. The party was not just given a bloody nose by the electorate: it was slapped, punched, kicked and finally knifed before being left for dead. Flattened in Scotland, the Lib Dems lost half their councillors in England, their share of the vote reduced to numbers so meagre they were last seen back when the party was known as the SLD and mocked as "Salads".

Defeated politicians always talk of "lessons learned" in such circumstances, so here's one. Personalities matter, now more than ever. Voters may piously tell phone-in programmes they care only about the issues, but the last 24 hours have confirmed that that's bunk. The SNP swept the board largely because Scots saw Salmond as a natural first minister, while his Labour opponent was anything but: Gray by name, grey by nature.

In the 21st century, candidates for the biggest jobs need vivid, stand-out personalities. Labour take note: they can have as many policy reviews as they like, but if the British public don't warm to Ed Miliband it will all be in vain. This personalisation of British politics cuts both ways. Few deny that the Lib Dem wipeout and the AV defeat were a repudiation of Clegg. The no campaign calculated that the mere sight of the Lib Dem leader's face on their leaflets would turn millions off voting reform – and their calculation paid off.

The immediate impact will be on the coalition. Lib Dems now understand exactly why the Tories were so eager to make that "comprehensive and generous offer" a year ago this weekend. It was not so much a power-sharing arrangement as a blame-taking one: the Lib Dems' role is to be the Conservatives' human shield and on Thursday they played the part perfectly. They took the heat while the Tories remained unscathed, their share of the vote unchanged since 2010, with even some council gains in England. For the senior partner, coalition is working out very nicely.

Conventional wisdom says Clegg will now demand a consolation prize or two, goodies to soothe his battered party and keep it content with coalition. But Cameron has no pressing reason to be emollient. For what leverage does Clegg have? He can't threaten to walk out, knowing that in an early general election only annihilation awaits. The Lib Dems are now hostages in this coalition, chained to the cabinet table, fated merely to hope that something turns up between now and 2015.

That is but one measure of Cameron's strength. His victory in the no campaign is another. Even Lord Mandelson praised him for his "bold leadership", conceding that it was the prime minister's eventual intervention on AV that made the difference. Above all, Cameron has now secured the long-term future of a first-past-the-post system that ensured virtual Tory hegemony for most of the last century. The shrivelling of the Lib Dems helps him further still, as onetime tactical Lib Dem voters head back to Labour – thereby splitting the anti-Tory vote and letting the Conservatives win. That's how the Tories picked up seats yesterday.

But surely the most significant consequence of 5 May will be the SNP's ability to stage a referendum on Scottish independence, at a time of its choosing. Again, the received wisdom and polls say such a vote will be lost. But they said the same about the SNP – or any party – winning 65 seats in Holyrood. And now the SNP has 69. Besides, Salmond is probably the most accomplished political operator and performer in these islands. I would not bet against him.

And if he won a referendum and the union that has lasted three centuries were to break up? Obviously, the cultural and constitutional impact would reverberate for generations. But the narrower electoral consequences would endure too. An independent Scotland would deprive Labour of its most solid base, all but ensuring a permanent Tory majority in Westminster.

That is the sharpest lesson for Labour, on what was a tepid night for the party at best. It can no longer rely on Scotland; it has to be competitive in England. Otherwise, the future is clear, but it is definitely not orange. The future is blue.

Alex Ovechkin is set to join Russia's team at the ice hockey world championship in Slovakia after his Washington Capitals were eliminated from the NHL playoffs.

Ramiro Pena has arrived. Derek Jeter SS Nick Swisher RF Mark Teixeira 1B Alex Rodriguez 3B Robinson Cano 2B Andruw Jones LF Jorge Posada DH Russell Martin C Curtis Granderson CF

Alex Ovechkin is set to join Russia's team at the ice hockey world championship in Slovakia after his Washington Capitals were eliminated from the NHL playoffs.