Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team in Chicago,

Illinois, who are members of the National League Central division of Major League Baseball. The team plays home games at Wrigley Field on the city's North Side. The Cubs are one of two major league teams in Chicago; the other, the Chicago White Sox, are members of the American League Central division.

The team was a founding member of the National League in 1876, becoming the Chicago Cubs in 1903.

In 1906, the Cubs won a Major League record 116 games, and posted a modern-era record winning percentage of .763, before losing the World Series to the Chicago White Sox by four games to two. The Cubs won back-to-back World Series championships in 1907 and 1908, becoming the first Major League team to play in three consecutive Fall Classics, and the first to win it twice. The team has appeared in seven World Series following their 1908 title, most recently in 1945. The Cubs have not won the World Series in 107 years, the longest championship drought of any major North American professional sports team, and are often referred to as the "Lovable Losers" because of this distinction. They are also known as "the North Siders". The Cubs have a major league rivalry with the St. Louis Cardinals, and an interleague rivalry with the Chicago White Sox.

The Ricketts family acquired a majority interest in the Cubs in 2009, ending the Tribune years. Apparently handcuffed by the Tribune's bankruptcy and the sale of the club to the Ricketts family, the Cubs' quest for a NL Central 3-peat started with notice that there would be less invested into contracts than in previous years. Chicago engaged St. Louis in a see-saw battle for first place into August 2009, but the Cardinals played to a torrid 20–6 pace that month, designating their rivals to battle in the Wild Card race, from which they were eliminated in the season's final week. The Cubs were plagued by injuries in 2009, and were only able to field their Opening Day starting lineup three times the entire season. Third baseman Aramis Ramírez injured his throwing shoulder in an early May game against the Milwaukee Brewers, sidelining him until early July and forcing journeyman players like Mike Fontenot and Aaron Miles into more prominent roles. Additionally, key players like Derrek Lee (who still managed to hit .306 with 35 HR and 111 RBI that season), Alfonso Soriano and Geovany Soto also nursed nagging injuries. The Cubs posted a winning record (83–78) for the third consecutive season, the first time the club had done so since 1972, and a new era of ownership under the Ricketts' family was approved by MLB owners in early October.

Draymond Green’s crotch shots finally will cost him

The NBA only could take so many crotch shots. Draymond Green was assessed

a retroactive Flagrant Foul 1 upon league review for making contact with LeBron James’ nether regions during Game 4 of the NBA Finals. That pushes his flagrant foul points during the NBA playoffs 

The play in question occurred with 2:48 remaining, after James stepped over Green. Green, angry at the perceived disrespect, lashed his arm out twice, once appearing to make contact with James’ groin. This came after Green narrowly avoided a suspension for a kick between the legs of Oklahoma City’s Steven Adams in the Western Conference Finals.

James retroactively was assessed a technical by the league office.

“The cumulative points system is designed to deter flagrant fouls in our game” executive VP of basketball operations Kiki VanDeWeghe said in a statement. “While Draymond Green’s actions in Game 4 do not merit a suspension as a standalone act, the number of flagrant points he has earned triggers a suspension for Game 5.”

Draymond Green’s crotch shots finally will cost him

The NBA only could take so many crotch shots. Draymond Green was assessed

a retroactive Flagrant Foul 1 upon league review for making contact with LeBron James’ nether regions during Game 4 of the NBA Finals. That pushes his flagrant foul points during the NBA playoffs 

The play in question occurred with 2:48 remaining, after James stepped over Green. Green, angry at the perceived disrespect, lashed his arm out twice, once appearing to make contact with James’ groin. This came after Green narrowly avoided a suspension for a kick between the legs of Oklahoma City’s Steven Adams in the Western Conference Finals.

James retroactively was assessed a technical by the league office.

“The cumulative points system is designed to deter flagrant fouls in our game” executive VP of basketball operations Kiki VanDeWeghe said in a statement. “While Draymond Green’s actions in Game 4 do not merit a suspension as a standalone act, the number of flagrant points he has earned triggers a suspension for Game 5.”

How to watch Apple’s WWDC keynote today live

Welcome back to WWDC. This year, we're expecting Apple to make some wide-

ranging announcements, from slight tweaks to major overhauls.

Leaks ahead of the event have suggested big news coming about Siri. For one, expect the voice assistant to launch on Mac. Rumor has it Apple may also open third-party app integration for the service, marking a major, long-awaited change in how it operates. One more announcement that’s a bit of a dark horse: a home speaker that runs on Siri.

Apple has also talked with The Verge about some big changes coming to how the App Store operates. You can expect the company to dive in more during its announcement.

As already reported, the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference will be live streamed on the WWDC website through all iPhone and iPad devices running iOS 7.0 or above, and on Mac devices with Safari 6.0.5 and OS X v10.8.5 or later. The WWDC 2016 live stream can also be seen on second and third-generation Apple TV boxes running version 6.2, apart from fourth generation Apple TV boxes. The WWDC iOS app will also live stream the event from Bill Graham Civic Auditiorium. And just like last year, Windows 10 PC users with the Microsoft Edge browser will also be able to watch the WWDC live stream.

If these requirements rule you out, fear not. In partnership with our sister title Macworld we'll be hosting a live blog below that will bring you all the announcements plus expert analysis on what those announcements mean for both Apple and consumers. Come back at 6pm on 13 June for full details of what Apple has in store.

Taking place on an annual basis, the WWDC 2016 dates are 13-17 June. Sticking with tradition, the conference will take place at the Moscone Centre in San Francisco, California.

The all-important WWDC 2016 keynote, where Apple will make its big announcements, will start at 10am PDT on 13 June. That means in the UK, it will begin at 6pm.

Mark Howe

Mark Steven Howe (born May 28, 1955) is an American-Canadian former

professional ice hockey left winger and later defenseman who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) and 6 seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA). He is the son of Gordie and Colleen Howe, younger brother of Marty Howe, and nephew of Vic Howe. Despite the enormous shadow cast by his father and splitting time between two leagues, Howe shone as one of the best two-way NHL defensemen of the 1980s, being a three-time runner-up for the Norris Trophy and making the Stanley Cup finals three times as a player. He is a member of both the United States Hockey Hall of Fame and the Hockey Hall of Fame in to which he was inducted in 2011. He is currently the Director of Pro Scouting for the Detroit Red Wings.

Howe played junior hockey for the Detroit Jr. Red Wings. As a 15-year-old, he led his Red Wings to the US Junior Championship in 1971. In 1972, the United States earned a Silver Medal at the 1972 Olympics in Sapporo, Japan with 16-year-old Howe as one of the stars, the youngest hockey player to win an Olympic medal. Howe eventually ended his junior hockey career playing for the Toronto Marlboros of the OHL, winning a Memorial Cup MVP in the process.

The 1986–87 season brought great success to both Howe and his Philadelphia Flyers teammates. The Flyers, for the 3rd consecutive season, led the Prince of Wales Conference in points. Led by Howe and defense partner Brad McCrimmon, rookie netminder Ron Hextall, and a line featuring Brian Propp, Rick Tocchet and Pelle Eklund, the injury-riddled Flyers took the vaunted Edmonton Oilers to 7 games in the NHL Finals before succumbing 3–1 in the finale.

Howe, having struggled with both knee and back injuries, became a part-time player virtually the rest of his career. The decline in his games played coincided with the Flyers decline in play overall. It was no mystery to anyone watching the Flyers on a regular basis from the years 1988–91 why the team struggled. When Howe was in the lineup, the Flyers looked like a playoff team. Without him, they looked disorganized in their own end.

After the 1991–92 season, the Flyers granted Howe free agency so he could win the, so far elusive, Stanley Cup. He signed with the Detroit Red Wings, the team with which his dad had starred. The signing was a popular one in Detroit, as Mark was "returning home" to help build the Wings into a consistent playoff contender. He became a steadying influence on Detroit's young corps of defensemen, most notably Nicklas Lidström. He would have one more appearance in the Stanley Cup finals, but his Red Wings were swept in 1995 by the New Jersey Devils.

Upon his retirement as a player following the 1994–95 season Howe remained in the Detroit organization working in the hockey operations department first as a video coach and then as a pro scout, earning Stanley Cup rings when the Wings captured championships in 1997, 1998, 2002, and 2008. Upon his retirement, Howe was the last active Houston Aeros or New England Whalers player in the NHL, as well as the last active member of Canada's 1974 Summit Series team. He currently serves the club as its Director of Pro Scouting being based just outside Philadelphia in Jackson, NJ, from which he primarily covers NHL and AHL teams located in the eastern United States. His older son, Travis, also works in the hockey development and coaching field as co-founder and head coach of the Selects Hockey player development program based in Bloomfield, Michigan.

Howe was elected to Philadelphia Flyers Hall of Fame in 2001 and the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2003. In June 2011, it was announced that Howe had been elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame to which he was inducted on November 14, 2011 in the players category.;he and his father Gordie were the second father-son combination in hockey history to be named to the Hall of Fame, behind Brett and Bobby Hull.

'Mr. Hockey' is no more and is forever at the same time

Gordie Howe, considered one of the NHL's greatest players and ambassadors, died Friday at 88.

"His nickname says it all: Mr. Hockey," said Calgary Flames president of hockey operations Brian Burke. "His impact and legacy are both as broad as his shoulders."

Howe, who turned 88 in March, had been diagnosed with dementia in 2012. He had previously taken care of his wife, Colleen, until she died from complications of Pick's Disease, a form of dementia, in 2009.

During Howe's peak years in the 1950s and 1960s, he seemed more popular than his sport. Howe was often featured in newsreels. The late Detroit Red Wings general manager Jack Adams called Howe "the Babe Ruth of hockey." His fame stretched beyond the confines of the sports pages. His exploits were written about in Look magazine.

Howe’s wife was Colleen Howe, who Gordie met at a bowling alley in Detroit at the age of 17. At the time, Howe was playing for the Detroit Red Wings.

Collen was originally born in Sandusky, Michigan, but she moved with her mom and stepdad to Detroit during high school. She and Howe immediately fell in love, and they were married four years later in 1953.

Colleen and Gordie were married for 56 years until her death in 2009. Collen made a successful career for herself as a sports agent, founding Power Play International and Power Play Publications. She also founded the first Junior A hockey team in the U.S., the Detroit Junior Red Wings. She was given the nickname “Mrs. Hockey.”

He played in, believe it, six decades, joining the Wings in the 1940s and playing a single shift for the Detroit Vipers in the 1990s when he was 69 years of age. Incredibly, he had almost been killed in 1950 when he fractured his skull in a horrible on-ice collision with Toronto’s Ted Kennedy. Doctors thought they would lose him in the emergency ward but he came back, played again and ended up with six National Hockey League scoring championships, six Hart Trophies as the NHL’s best player and 21 all-star selections.

He retired in 1971 and un-retired two years later in order to play with his sons, Marty and Mark, with the Houston Aeros of the upstart World Hockey Association. At 46 he scored 100 points and was named the league’s most valuable player. He played seven years in the WHA, averaging more than a point a game, and in 1979-80 played one final year in the NHL with the Hartford Whalers, suiting up for a remarkable 80 games, scoring 15 goals and 41 points. He was 52 years old. 

Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) is a major U.S. airline, the world's largest

low-cost carrier, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The airline was established in 1967 by Herb Kelleher and adopted its current name (Southwest Airlines) in 1971. The airline has nearly 46,000 employees as of December 2014 and operates more than 3,800 flights per day. As of 2014, it carried the most domestic passengers of any U.S. airline. As of June 2016, Southwest Airlines has scheduled services to 97 destinations in 40 states, Puerto Rico, and abroad.

Southwest Airlines has used only Boeing 737s, except for several years in the 1970s, and 1980s, when it leased some Boeing 727s from Braniff International Airways. As of January 2016, Southwest is the largest operator of the Boeing 737 worldwide, with over 700 in service, each averaging six flights per day.

For the tenth year in a row, Fortune magazine recognized Southwest Airlines in its annual survey of corporate reputations. Among all industries in 2004, Fortune has listed Southwest Airlines as number three among America’s Top Ten most admired corporations.

On December 13, 2011, Southwest placed a firm order for 150 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, becoming the launch customer for the type. First delivery is expected in 2017.

In January 2012, Southwest Airlines expressed interest in serving Mexican and South American destinations out of Hobby. On May 30, 2012 Houston's city council approved Southwest's request for international flights from Hobby. Southwest agreed to invest at least $100 million to cover all costs tied to the Hobby upgrade, which includes designing and building five new gates and a customs facility. Construction at Hobby took two years, with international flights beginning in October 2015.

On April 11, 2012, Southwest introduced the 737–800 to the fleet. It seats 175 passengers as compared to the regular 143-seater 737-700. The first 737–800 was called "Warrior One in salute of the Southwest Employees’ Warrior Spirit.

On May 5, 2014, Southwest announced that it has chosen Amadeus IT Group to replace its current domestic reservation system. Southwest already operates its international reservation system with Amadeus. The new domestic reservation system is expected to take a few years before it is implemented. When completed, Southwest will operate one reservation system by Amadeus.

In September 2014, Southwest introduced new branding, including a new livery and logo.

On October 13, 2014, the Wright Amendment restrictions at Dallas Love Field were repealed and Southwest expanded service at Love Field to include cities outside the previous location restrictions.

Throughout 2014, Southwest expanded service at Reagan-National in Washington D.C. and LaGuardia Airport in New York City through slot acquisitions from the American Airlines/US Airways merger.

On June 10, 2016, Southwest received approval to begin flights to Cuba.  Southwest was one of 6 airlines chosen by the USDOT to commence scheduled service to Cuba. Southwest will launch service from Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport to Varadero, Cuba and Santa Clara, Cuba. 

Omar Mateen: Ex-wife of Orlando gay nightclub shooter says 'he beat me'

The ex-wife of the Orlando nightclub gunman says he was "mentally unstable and mentally ill."

Sitora Yusifiy, speaking to reporters in Boulder, Colorado, says Omar Mateen was bipolar and also had a history with steroids.

She says that in the four months they were together he cut her off from her family and regularly beat her. She says that her family visited her and saw she wasn't OK and rescued her from the situation.

Yusifiy says they literally pulled her out of his arms. She says she left all her belongings and has had no contact with him for seven or eight years.

She says Mateen was religious, but she saw no signs of radicalism.

Of the nightclub massacre she says, "there was no sign of any of this at all."

While the FBI has not identified Mateen publicly, U.S. law enforcement officials said his identification was found on the body of the suspected killer who was armed with a handgun and an assault rifle.

Authorities believed he used those weapons to kill 50 people and injure dozens more in the attack on the gay nightclub club that began just after 2 a.m. Sunday morning. Mateen was killed in shootout with police three hours later after a SWAT team assaulted a section of the club where Mateen was holed up with hostages.

Mateen's ex-wife said his family was from Afghanistan, but her ex-husband was born in New York. His family later moved to Florida. In a series of Myspace photos, Mateen is seen taking selfies and wearing NYPD shirts in a couple of the shots. His ex-wife identified him as the man in the Myspace photos.

Mateen's ex-wife said she was having a difficult time when she first met him and decided to move to Florida to be with him. The two married in March 2009 and moved into a 2-bedroom condominium in Fort Pierce, Fla., that Mateen's family owned.

"He seemed like a normal human being," she said, adding that he wasn't very religious and worked out at the gym out often. She said in the few months they were married he gave no signs of having fallen under the sway of radical Islam. She said he owned a small-caliber handgun and worked as a guard at a nearby facility for juvenile delinquents.