As the celebration of the 75th Anniversary of Little League comes to a close, the organizations first home, Carl E. Stotz Field at Memorial Park in Williamsport, Pa., better known as, The Birthplace of Little League Baseball has received the distinction of being listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Since the second season of Little League opened on June 3, 1940, Carl E. Stotz Field has affectionately been known to Williamsporters as Original Field. It is a place of joy and civic pride for the townspeople, and a shrine to youth baseball for rest of the world. The diminutive baseball diamond, with its 60-foot base paths and iconic green outfield fence, played host to the first 12 Little League Baseball World Series (1947-1958).

The Pennsylvania History Code empowers the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission to compile, maintain, revise, and publish a selected inventory of significant historic resources in the Commonwealth, to be known as the Pennsylvania Register of Historic Places, pursuant to criteria of significance approved by the Commission.

Original Field is where the Little League dream began and we are proud that the National Register of Historic Places has chosen to honor Carl Stotz and his idea in this way, said Stephen D. Keener, Little League President and CEO. The social cornerstone that Little League has become in thousands of communities and the life lessons learned by millions of children were made possible by the games that were played on this tiny field. For generations, Little Leagues intrepid history and proud legacy have been etched with every cleat mark, ball fielded, and slide made on Original Field.

In an excerpt from Play Ball! The Story of Little League Baseball, John Lundy, of the Lundy Construction Company, one of the first three original sponsors of Little League, is quoted as saying, My recollection is that (Little League) didnt become real popular until it moved into Memorial Park ... into the public eye where more people could see it.

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The Birthplace of Little League Baseball, Recognized With Listing in the National Register of Historic Places

By Carol Rosen, Correspondent

Rocke Garcia will have a second chance to convince the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors to approve his application to add a fitness center and swimming pool to his Golf Club at Boulder Ridge in Almaden Valley.

Although it appeared that the bid was rejected by the supervisors at their Nov. 18 meeting, the split 2-2 vote did not actually constitute a rejection. The county charter mandates that a motion receive three "yes" or "no" votes in order to pass or fail.

According to an email from Elizabeth Sanford, policy analyst for Supervisor Mike Wasserman, "The 2015 meeting dates have not yet been set, but [a re-vote] is anticipated to come in late January, possibly Jan. 27."

A positive vote would allow club owner Rocke Garcia to add a 12,449-square-foot, two-story fitness center and juice bar, as well as a six-lane, 25-meter swimming pool and a wading pool for children.

Board President Mike Wasserman added a restriction at the Nov. 18 meeting banning swim meets to cut down noise created by the concrete walled pool area and traffic going in and out of the club.

This isn't the first time the golf club has made news. Nor is it the first time representatives from nearby neighborhood associations and community residents have expressed their concerns, especially regarding open space.

The 18-hole golf club was rejected twice by San Jose City Council. The board of supervisors gave it the go-ahead. In 1994, the supervisors voted to adopt a resolution stating that any further expansion would require general plan and zoning amendments along with written approval from San Jose.

In 2008, Garcia applied for an event tent on the property. Local residents again cried foul, saying the county agreement precluded further development. Garcia stepped back but proposed constructing a reception facility, which the county approved in 2009 with the proviso that all the terms and conditions of the original use permit still exist.

However, Ben Hechtman, Garcia's attorney, says there's a common misconception associated with the ban on further expansion.

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Santa Clara County supervisors will again hear expansion plans for Golf Club at Boulder Ridge

SoftBank Corp. (9984) lost its subscriber growth lead for the first time in 4 1/2 years after rivals joined it in offering Apple Inc.s iPhone.

The CHART OF THE DAY tracks Japanese customer additions for SoftBank since NTT Docomo Inc. (9437) became the nations last wireless carrier to offer the iPhone in September last year. Billionaire Masayoshi Sons company trailed its larger rival last quarter, just the second time since SoftBank became the first to offer the smartphone in Japan in 2008.

Until Docomos introduction of the iPhone, its subscribers were an all-you-can eat buffet for SoftBank, said Makoto Kikuchi, chief executive officer at Myojo Asset Management Co. in Tokyo. Sons attention has shifted overseas. Domestically, they are in a defensive mode.

Son is relying on domestic earnings to help fund his expansion into the U.S. market after the $22 billion acquisition of Sprint Corp. last year. Increased competition at home complicates the Tokyo-based carriers balancing act of paying to turn around the money-losing U.S. operations and servicing its 9.98 trillion yen ($84 billion) of debt.

Docomo, Japans largest wireless carrier, led the countrys net user additions for the three months ended September with 729,000 subscribers, according to Bloomberg Industries data compiled from company reports. KDDI Corp., No. 2, added 580,000, followed by SoftBanks 565,000, the data show.

NTT Docomo added content to the service that comes pre-installed on Apple Inc. iPhones and Android-based mobiles for subscribers. Close

NTT Docomo added content to the service that comes pre-installed on Apple Inc. iPhones... Read More

Close

NTT Docomo added content to the service that comes pre-installed on Apple Inc. iPhones and Android-based mobiles for subscribers.

SoftBank last month forecast its first profit drop in nine years amid customer losses at Sprint as competition for new subscribers in the U.S. intensified. Son said at the time acquisitions going forward will focus on Asian Internet companies.

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SoftBanks IPhone Edge Erased by Docomo: Chart of the Day

December 2, 2014 - Pacific Coast League (PCL) Nashville Sounds NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Nashville Sounds coaching staff for the 2015 season was named today by the Oakland Athletics and it features a veteran manager with a pair of personnel additions from Double-A.

Steve Scarsone will join the Sounds as manager and becomes the 26th manager in the team's 38-year franchise history. It will be his seventh season in the Oakland organization. His coaching staff will consist of pitching coach Don Schulze, hitting coach Webster Garrison, trainer Brad LaRosa and strength coach Terence Brannic

The 48-year old Scarsone started coaching with the Arizona organization in 2001 and spent two years as a manager in the minors. He then stepped away from baseball for several years, before entering 2009 as the manager for Oakland's Single-A team. He worked his way through Advanced-A Stockton (2010) and Double-A Midland (2011-12) in the years ahead, before being named manager for Triple-A Sacramento in 2013. This year will mark the third consecutive season he will manage Oakland's top minor league affiliate.

Scarsone compiled a .549 winning percentage over the last two years at Triple-A, posting a 79-65 record in both campaigns. Scarsone holds an all-time mark of 568-554 (.506) and has posted winning records in five of his eight seasons as a manager. The Anaheim, Calif. native featured a 14-year playing career and made his Major League debut on May 15, 1992 with the Philadelphia Phillies. He appeared in the PCL during his playing days for parts of three seasons, including Triple-A Vancouver in 1998.

Schulze was named the Sounds' pitching coach for 2015 after having served in the same capacity at Double-A Midland the last four years. He broke into the A's organization back in 2006 and has coached at virtually every level of the minors.

Schulze spent a pair of seasons with Kane County (2007-08) and Stockton (2009-10) before landing with Midland in 2011. The pitching numbers improved every year under his watch at Double-A. After recording the second-worst earned run average (4.92) in the Texas League during 2011, the RockHounds progressed each season and finished 2014 with a 3.71 ERA, tied for second-best.

The 52-year old was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the first round (11th pick) of the 1980 amateur draft. After making his Major League debut with the Cubbies on September 13, 1983, Schulze went on to appear with five different MLB teams over the span of an 11-year playing career.

Garrison was named Nashville's hitting coach for the upcoming campaign. He enters his 15th year with Oakland as either a manger or a coach, the longest tenure of any on the staff.

Garrison had spent 10 seasons at Midland serving as a player-coach, manager and hitting coach. He was a part of championship years in 2005, 2009 and 2014 and possessed a 147-133 record during the two seasons he managed the ballclub (2004, 2008). Overall, the Louisiana native has accrued a 534-522 managerial record throughout four different minor league levels.

The 49-year old was selected in the second round of the 1983 amateur draft by Toronto. He compiled a 16-year playing career and made his Major League debut with Oakland on August 2, 1996.

Read more here:
Sounds Announce 2015 Coaching Staff

December 2, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL) Norfolk Admirals NORFOLK, Va. - The additions of forwards Emerson Etem, William Karlsson and Max Friberg helped the Admirals claim victory in two out of three games last week. While the newcomers helped power the team to wins, mainstays Louis Leblanc and Yann Danis played pivotal roles as well.

Wednesday night at Scope Arena in Norfolk was a special evening for Admirals fans. The team received both Emerson Etem and William Karlsson via reassignment from the NHL's Anaheim Ducks. Etem put home an empty netter to a cap off a victory over the Checkers in a contest that belonged to Leblanc, as his two-goal effort proved to be the difference in a 4-1 win. Chris Wagner also chipped home his team-high eighth goal of the season as well.

The Admirals were able to claim back-to-back victories for just the second time of the year Friday night in Hartford. Yann Danis stopped all 35 Wolf Pack shots en route to his third win of the season and his first shutout. Friberg, who had missed every game until Wednesday after injuring his arm during his first shift of the season, scored a power play goal in the second period. Leblanc remained red-hot, notching his third goal in two games in the 2-0 road victory.

After falling behind 1-0 early in the first period on Saturday in Lehigh Valley, Norfolk scored two unanswered goals courtesy of Karlsson and Joseph Cramarossa. The back-and-forth match saw the teams trade three power play goals. Karlsson would add his second goal of the night in the final period. Despite peppering Phantoms' goalie Anthony Stolarz with 38 shots, the Admirals fell by a 4-3 final.

Norfolk improved their record to 8-12-0-0 for a total of 16 points, just four behind Lehigh Valley for fourth in the East Division. The Admirals six-game road swing continues this week with trips to Charlotte Tuesday, Springfield Friday and Manchester on Saturday with all games starting at 7 p.m. The trip concludes with the Monarchs on Sunday for a 3 p.m. face-off.

ON THE RADIO/INTERNET

All regular-season games will air live on 1650 AM WHKT "The Answer" and online at 1650theanswer.com. AHL Live will also carry online video of every Admirals game on a pay-per-view or season pass basis. Fans can log in to watch, listen or get more information about AHL Live's online audio and video features at ahllive.com.

Tune in live to 1650 AM "The Answer" every Tuesday from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. for the "Admirals Hour" with the "Voice of the Admirals" Pete Michaud and the "Original Admiral" Dennis McEwen. Michaud and McEwen discuss the latest in Norfolk Admirals hockey, speak with guests, update you on the Anaheim Ducks, as well as answer any calls during the show. Ask Pete and Dennis your questions by calling in to the studio at 757-454-1650.

STANDINGS UPDATE

At 8-12-0-0 (16 points), the Admirals are in 5th place in the East Division and are in 15th place in the Eastern Conference.

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Norfolk Admirals Weekly

By Emma SwainDec. 2, 2014, midnight

Good morning people of the Hunter Valley and welcome to your Tuesday. It's going to be warm one on this second day of summer so keep cool and read on.

Good morning people of the Hunter Valley and welcome to your Tuesday. It's going to be warm one on this second day of summer so keep cool and read on.

8.46am:Teaming with the theme of summertimetunes I bring you Bryan Adams. You're welcome . . .

8.42am: Just because . . .

8.33am:The plight of imprisoned journalist Peter Greste will come into focus across Maitland this week as part of a mass letter-writing campaign for those at risk of human rights violations. Read more here.

8.32am:The Bureau of Meteorology is warning that heavy rain, possible flash floods and large hail may be headed for parts of the Hunter.Two storm areas have been located over NSW and the bureau has issued weather warnings ineach. Have a look here to track activity in your area.

8.30am:The Hunter Environment Lobby will join Save Our Rail at Thursdays meeting with the Premier Mike Baird. Read more here.

8.26am:Just beautiful . . .

8.23am:Its a long way from Aberglasslyn to America but Owen Barry has made the pilgrimage in his constant fight to thrive. Read more here.

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Hunter Valley Breakfast Blog

Tyler Seguin thought the Dallas Stars couldve been a contender. They still might be, but itll take some work.

More than a quarter of the way through the regular season, the Stars are 11th in the competitive Western Conference and five points back of a playoff spot. Along with the successes of the Nashville Predators, Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames and Montreal Canadiens, the Stars struggles have been among the biggest surprises in the NHL so far.

Weve lost games we probably shouldve won, general manager Jim Nill said recently. But its that old analogy: When you dig a hole, it takes more dirt to fill it in. Were finding more dirt right now.

Seguin said before training camp that Dallas was ready to contend with the Los Angeles Kings, Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues, the top teams in the West. A trip to the playoffs last season, even though it ended in the first round at the hands of the Anaheim Ducks, infused plenty of belief in the Stars, and offseason additions of Jason Spezza and Ales Hemsky added to that.

(Being a contender is) something earned more than just given, and I think we did that last year, Seguin said in September. But thats one year. We want to be a consistent team.

Consistent, the Stars have not been. Coming into Tuesday nights game at the Toronto Maple Leafs, Dallas is 3-4-1 in its past eight games.

Starting goaltender Kari Lehtonen (.905 save percentage) hasnt played well, and backup Anders Lindback - whose struggles in replacing Ben Bishop for the Tampa Bay Lightning last spring all but handed a first-round victory to the Canadiens - has been worse with a goals-against average of 4.63 and save percentage of .861.

A young, unproven defense hasnt helped, so Nill changed up his blue-line by trading veteran Sergei Gonchar to Montreal for forward Travis Moen and Brenden Dillon to San Jose for Jason Demers. Kevin Connauton was claimed off waivers by the Columbus Blue Jackets, and call-up John Klingberg (three goals and five assists in 10 games) has been better than advertised.

Up front, the Stars are without winger Valeri Nichushkin until March after he had hip surgery. And Hemsky still hasnt panned out with just a goal and five assists in 23 games.

Weve had a lot of guys on our team (who) just havent clicked, Nill said.

More here:
Fall of Stars among early surprises of NHL season

By Timothy Torres

Broken games are the new norm, and Halo: The Master Chief Collection ($59.99) is the latest in a long line of AAA foul-ups. It should have been the system-selling savior that would raise Microsoft's Xbox One to the same height as Sony's PlayStation 4. Instead, this Xbox One exclusive titleis a rushed, unfinished, and buggy mess with a barely working multiplayer mode that's made continually worse by developer 343 Industries' attempts to patch it. This isa shame since Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Halo 2 (now with its own spiffy Anniversary Edition), Halo 3, and Halo 4 are just as good as you remember. Halo: Master Chief Collection is a smorgasbord of classic first-person-shooters, and a real bargain...when it works. This review focuses on Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2's drastic enhancements; Halo 3 and Halo 4, which arelast-gen games, didn't needmany tweaksmore to bring them up to contemporary standards.

Halo: Combat Evolved Is Still RelevantThe individual Halo games hold up really well. The first Halo, especially, is so well-designed that it is well worth revisiting or playing for the first time. Some of the copy-and-paste level design is as bland as it was 13 years ago (oh, the Library), but the core gameplay loop of shooting, grenading, and switching binary weapons feels as fantastic today as it did then. There are some weird additions to this edition I could do without, like random terminals placed around the world that bring you to the Xbox App store to download the Halo Channel, which is related to the Halo: Nightfall streaming TV series. But other than that, Halo: Combat Evolved (as the first Halo is now called) is still an excellent experience.

Halo 2 Is the CenterpieceHalo 2's Anniversary Edition is the Master Chief Collection's pice de rsistance. 343 Industries added new character models, textures, and lighting to upgradeBungie's venerable sequel to makeit a visual match for the better-looking games in the series.

All of Halo 2's cut scenes have beenredone, and they are gorgeous and well-directed. To get a sense for how much has changed over the years, you can switch between the new scenes and the old-school in-game engine scenes at any time. Unfortunately, there's a big audio delay if you do. You can also switch between the new paint job and the original graphics while playing, and it'sstartling to see how far graphics have come in little over a decade. The original Halo 2 looks quaint, but its gameplay, which introduced dual-wielding, a powerful energy sword, and online multiplayer to the series, is just as good as many contemporary shooters.

However, Halo 2 Anniversary doesn't play at1080p. Though the game maintains 60 frames per second, it uses a lower 1,328 by 1,080 resolution. It is an obvious difference compared to the other games, which all run at 1,920 by 1,080p and 60fps. It's easy to tell because Halo 2's HUD looks a little squeezed in too close to the edges of the picture. Apparently, this downsizing is a necessary compromise to allow for the seamless switching between the old and new engines.

Collection OptionsThe menu for choosing the games and their various options is clean and easy to navigate. You can easily customize your controls with a variety of preset configurations, and you can access multiplayer from the get-go. There are tons of avatars, nameplates, and clan tags to unlock as you play the games, and you can check your campaign and multiplayer stats to see how many matches you've played, the number of assists and headshots you've allotted, etc. There are global and friends-only leaderboards, too.

Then there are the cross-game playlists. These are preconfigured assortments of missions culled from the various games. If you wanted to only play the Arbiter's missions from Halo 2 and ignore Master Chief's side of the story, now you can. If you only want to play the missions that take place in open spaces or tight corridors, you're free to do that, too. But you can't play multiple playlists at the same time. If you begin one and start another without finishing, you have to overwrite the first. This is a bummer if you choose to play the entire 45-mission Master Chief Saga that encompasses all four games, take a break, then decide to try out another, like the Final Four, which groups up the final missions of all four games into one super-climactic romp. Maybe multiple save files for playlists willcome in another patch.

Bugs and Multiplayer MishapsI've mentioned patches a few times because 343 Industries is patch-happy. 343 released a massive 20GB day-one patch, because there wasn't enough room on the game's 45GB Blu-ray disc. That act should've been the dead giveaway that the collection would be laced with problems.

So what is 343 fixing? According to the official patch note, a hell of a lot. After looking at the list, it's a wonder this collection shipped at all. Personally, I even after installing the patch, I ran into some bizarre audio issues while playing, like sound effects lasting way longer than they should. The distinct hum of the Covenant Plasma Pistol continued long after I stopped firing it in Halo 3. Additionally, Halo 3's sound effects are way too loud. At the same volume, Halo 2's sound is much lower, so there is definitely still an issue with the sound mixing. Besides the occasional frame skips, I didn't experience anything else too earth-shattering playing the campaign missions, though the exhaustive patch notes and reports of numerous issues like input lag during campaign co-op and Halo 3 and Halo 4 not even starting for some users is proof enough that this collection of old games was nowhere near ready.

Original post:
Halo: The Master Chief Collection (for Xbox One)

Newport Beach, C.A. (PRWEB) December 01, 2014

Today, Polar Pro Filters, a manufacturer of professional-grade GoPro accessories for the action sports, outdoor and diving communities, announced the immediate retail availability of two new, recently-crowdfunded, additions to its accessories lineup. Following a recent Kickstarter campaign, which realized 145% of its initial funding goal, Polar Pro is now shipping its PowerPole battery-integrated extension pole and Proview smartphone mounts.

While Polar Pro Filters got its start manufacturing high-quality snap on lenses and filters for GoPro cameras, the company now offers a series of filters for GoPro Hero3, Hero3+, and the new HERO 4 models. Its namesake filters are sold individually or in use-specific packages including its Above Water Pack (with neutral density and polarizer filters, and accessory macro lens) as well as its Underwater Pack (with red and magenta filters for underwater color correction, and a polarizer for glare reduction).

With the completion of its successful Kickstarter campaign, Polar Pro has now added two new accessories to its growing lineup, including:

All of our GoPro accessories are purpose-built to solve the most common issues we face as avid GoPro shooters ourselves, said Jeff Overall, CEO of Polar Pro Filters. While the company got its start focused on color-correction and polarizing filters, weve continued to develop new and novel solutions to the issues faced by everyone looking to capture their adventures.

For more information on the entire Polar Pro Filters product line up, and to order the PowerPole, Proview or any other of the companys diverse range of GoPro accessories, please visit: http://polarprofilters.com/

About Polar Pro Filters Polar Pro is a leading manufacturer of GoPro accessories and mounts designed to improve the GoPro filming experience. Founded in 2011 at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) with the creation of its first small, polarized filter, Polar Pro has experienced explosive growth and now distributes its solutions to more than 500 locations worldwide. With a dynamic team of young and innovative employees, Polar Pro continues to find new ways to improve the filming process. For more information on Polar Pro visit http://polarprofilters.com, or follow the brand on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

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Media Contact: Zach Heath zach(at)engagecoms(dot)com (401) 559-7350

Original post:
Polar Pro Filters Expands Lineup of Professional-Grade GoPro Accessories with First Battery-Integrated Extension Pole ...

From left to right: Chris Havely, Devon Sellers and Paul Stockman - The cast of WTVY News 4 This Morning.

News 4 This Morning shares numerous stories from the broadcast online as well, and here's a look at some of the most popular stories for the month of November!

Each year, new toys and games are added to the National Toy Hall of Fame, these can be classic or new, but are deemed the most popular, creative and influential with children. This year, bubbles, little green army men, and the Rubiks Cube were the three additions.

A popular game system that was introduced eight years ago last month was the Nintendo Wii. This video game console was a hit with passionate gamers and those who had never played one, thanks to motion-controlled games like Wii Sports along with a variety of other games across all genres.

Six-month-old Aleesa in the Birmingham area was really into watching the local newscast, ignoring the toys in front of her and her mother as the report continued.

On Friday, News 4's Jessica Leicht was live at the JCPenney at Wiregrass Commons Mall. Throughout our show, she had live reports talking about how busy it was there, and also interviews with customers and more.

Disney and Pixar confirmed that a fourth toy story movie is being made. Nothing is known about the plot at this time, but John Lasseter of Pixar said he had a story come to him that he just had to make.

It was earlier this month that the new title of the next Star Wars feature film, coming in December of 2015 was revealed. That title? The Force Awakens.

In November, Pizza Hut introduced a new, expanded menu to help turn around its business. These included new specialty sauces, crusts and toppings, along with a low-calorie skinny slice.

The city of Enterprise hosted the second Fanaticon in November. The comic, animation and sci-fi convention featured costume contests, panels, vendors, and even one of the actors from the power rangers. Several hundred attended the two-day event.

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Most Popular Morning Show Stories of November 2014!