Referees need to be willing to stop fights if UFC’s spotless safety record is to continue

In that euphoric moment when a fighter who, seconds before, had been virtually out cold, rallies to win a significant bout, no one is thinking of concussions or traumatic brain injuries or Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) or subdural hematomas or death.

They're too busy cheering the stunning turnaround, hailing a fighter who was victorious against almost invincible odds.

There have been many such miraculous comebacks in the UFC, one of the reasons we've fallen so deeply in love with the sport. Cheick Kongo scored a win out of nowhere over Pat Barry in a fight in Pittsburgh's Consol Energy Center which he was seconds away from losing by knockout.

[Related: Megafights set for UFC 169]

Frankie Edgar rallied to retain his lightweight title after being dropped multiple times and on the verge of going out against Gray Maynard at UFC 125. Tim Boetsch was battered and beaten and hopelessly out of the fight when he came out of nowhere to defeat Yushin Okami at UFC 144.

There have been no deaths in the cage in the UFC's 20-year history, and, as best as is known, none of its fighters have suffered traumatic brain injuries.

This is due in large part to safety procedures set in place before a card begins. Fighters are thoroughly checked medically before they're cleared to fight.

Doctors, paramedics and ambulances are on hand at every arena to treat fighters in distress.

UFC fighters are among the greatest sportsmen in the world, as Lyoto Machida showed on Saturday when he failed to take advantage of an out-cold Mark Munoz in the main event of a card in Manchester, England. Machida knocked Munoz down with a kick to the head, and got to the prone Munoz before the referee.

The rules allowed Machida to try to punch the downed Munoz -- What ex-heavyweight champion Randy Couture called the sport's "rules of engagement" after a loss to Brock Lesnar at UFC 92 -- but Machida recognized Munoz was out and defenseless and never threw another punch.

The referee then quickly stopped the fight. By declining to throw that extra punch or two before the referee intervened, Machida may have saved Munoz a serious brain injury.

Brian Stann did the same thing in a fight last year with Alessio Sakara. Their restraint, and that of numerous other fighters who have reacted similarly when they realize the opponent is helpless, has been another factor why there haven't been any deaths or traumatic brain injuries.

Much of the credit for the UFC's terrific safety record, though, should be given to the referees, who very literally have the fighters' lives in their hands, and repeatedly show good judgment.

But once in a while, a fight goes on too long and a debate is stirred. It's happened in the last two UFC shows. Many were critical of referee Herb Dean for not stopping the heavyweight title fight between Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos at UFC 166 in Houston earlier.

Velasquez was pummeling dos Santos from the bout's opening seconds, and by the end of the third round, there were calls for Dean to stop the bout. But Dean let dos Santos continue until the fifth, when dos Santos went down and Velasquez delivered a series of unanswered blows from the top.

On Saturday in Manchester, Jessica Andrade routed Rosi Sexton in a fight that referee Neal Hall let go the three full rounds. Many thought it should have been stopped, including UFC television analyst Joe Rogan. Sexton, though, took a shot at what she felt was Rogan's over-the-top commentary.

48 hours post fight - I have 2 black eyes, otherwise I'm 100% fine. You could have given me an IQ test as I stepped out of the cage, and I'd still have scored higher than Joe Rogan.

Long-time MMA journalistDamon Martin suggested in a column on Fox Sports that Hall made the right move allowing the fight to continue.

He suggested gender bias led to all the calls for a stoppage, when there were not similar cries when males were being similarly beaten.

If the conversation is about when a fighter is being too tough for their own good or when to account for too much punishment in a fight, then that's a subject worth putting under the microscope but it has to go there without an ounce of gender bias. Referees and corners need to undergo training and watch fight footage and have to understand when enough is enough and be willing to make those calls regardless of the public backlash that may occur because a fight was deemed as stopped too early.

The same goes for corners who are there on behalf of the fighters, and they need to be willing to stop the action and deal with the fallout from fellow coaches and the fighter for making a judgment call.

The problem with Martin's thinking is that while someone may have made an error by not stopping a previous fight, the same error shouldn't be repeated, because there can be dire consequences to allowing a fighter to take too many blows to the head.

"Big" John McCarthy, the outstanding referee, made a great point to Ben Fowlkes in USA Today about the right time to stop a fight. The referee's job is all about safety and not about worrying about what is at stake for a fighter.

If the fighter doesn't show he is physically able to be competitive and defend himself, the bout needs to be stopped, no matter what is on the line. McCarthy was 100 percent on the money in his comments to Fowlkes.

No one deserves the right to finish a fight. They earn it through their actions in being competitive. A ref needs to understand the difference between fighting and surviving. Sometimes we need to protect fighters from themselves as much as their opponent.

I have personally covered seven boxing matches where a fighter died, and in virtually every case, it wasn't from one single powerful punch. Rather, the death resulted from a long, sustained beating to the head.

Sexton finished on her feet and, fortunately, appears to be in good health. And, as Martin pointed out correctly, she had her best round in the third after being demolished in the second.

Stopping a fight too quickly may rob the fans of a Kongo over Barry or of Boetsch over Okami or one of any of about 100 other incredible finishes.

That, though, is what must be done to ensure as best as possible a fighter does not wind up with a serious, life-altering brain injury.

The referee should always stop a bout when one fighter is taking repeated, clean, hard blows to the head and doesn't seem to have the capacity to fend off further onslaughts by either landing significant strikes of his or her own or by strategically moving away from danger.

CTE and other traumatic brain injuries don't go away just because a fighter rallied from the brink of defeat for a heart-pounding win. Referees must be trained to stop fights well before there is a higher-than-average risk of head injury.

Doing so will occasionally rob the fans of an amazing stop-the-presses finish, but if it means all of the fighters return home safely with their wits intact, it's a small price to pay.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/referees-willing-stop-fights-ufc-spotless-safety-record-001357806--mma.html
Category: Marcia Wallace   Kwame Kilpatrick   wes welker   apple event   anthony weiner  

NYC stop-frisk ruling halted by appeals court

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal appeals court block of a judge's ruling that found the New York Police Department's stop-and-frisk policy discriminated against minorities may be short lived, depending on the outcome of next week's mayoral election.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Thursday that the ruling by U.S. District Judge Shira A. Scheindlin would be on hold pending the outcome of an appeal by the city, a fight that could be dropped if Democrat Bill de Blasio, who is leading the polls by 39 points, has his way.

De Blasio has said he would drop objections to the decision, which had called for a monitor to oversee major changes to the police tactic.

His Republican rival, Joe Lhota, said the city's next mayor must push forward with the appeal.

"For the next 60 days, we don't want an outsider coming in who doesn't know anything about crime fighting, putting the lives of our police officers and the lives of the public on the line," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Friday on his weekly WOR Radio show.

Police officers have "had their names dragged through the mud over the past year and I think they deserve a lot better than that," Bloomberg said. "We want them to understand that we support them and we are in conformity with the requirements of the law."

The topic became an election flashpoint, resonating nationwide. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly was shouted down over the tactic by students during a speech at Brown University earlier in the week.

"This is indeed an important decision for all New Yorkers and for the men and women of the New York City police department who work very hard day in and day out to keep this city safe," Kelly said Thursday.

The three-judge panel also took the unusual step of removing Scheindlin from the case. It said she ran afoul of the code of conduct for U.S. judges by misapplying a related case ruling that allowed her to take the case, and by giving media interviews during the trial. It noted she had given media interviews and public statements responding to criticism of the court. In a footnote, it cited interviews with the New York Law Journal, The Associated Press and The New Yorker magazine.

In the AP interview, Scheindlin said reports that Bloomberg had reviewed her record to show that most of her 15 written "search and seizure" rulings since she took the bench in 1994 had gone against law enforcement was a "below-the-belt attack" on judicial independence. She said it was "quite disgraceful" if the mayor's office was behind the study.

Scheindlin said in a statement later Thursday she consented to the interviews under the condition she wouldn't comment on the ongoing case.

"And I did not," she said.

Scheindlin said some reporters used quotes from written opinions that gave the appearance she had commented on the case but "a careful reading of each interview will reveal that no such comments were made."

In 2007, Scheindlin told the same lawyers who had argued a similar case before her to bring the stop and frisk case to her, because she said the two were related. Not long after, the current case was filed by the attorneys.

The appeals court said a new judge would be assigned at random to handle further decisions and said it would hear arguments in March on the formal appeal by the city. That judge may choose to make alterations to Scheindlin's rulings, but it would be unlikely.

Scheindlin decided in August that the city violated the civil rights of tens of thousands of blacks and Hispanics by disproportionally stopping, questioning and sometimes frisking them. She assigned a monitor to help the police department change its policy and training programs on the tactic.

Stop and frisk has been around for decades, but recorded stops increased dramatically under Bloomberg's administration to an all-time high in 2011 of 684,330, mostly of black and Hispanic men. Four minority men who said they were targeted because of their races filed a lawsuit, and it became a class-action case.

To make a stop, police must have reasonable suspicion that a crime is about to occur or has occurred, a standard lower than the probable cause needed to justify an arrest. Only about 10 percent of the stops result in arrests or summonses, and weapons are found about 2 percent of the time.

Scheindlin heard a bench trial that ended in the spring and coincided with a groundswell of backlash against the stop-and-frisk tactic. She noted in her ruling this summer that she wasn't putting an end to the practice, which is constitutional, but was reforming the way the NYPD implemented its stops.

The Center for Constitutional Rights, which represented the four men who sued, said it was dismayed that the appeals court delayed "the long-overdue process to remedy the NYPD's" stop-and-frisk practices and was shocked that it "cast aspersions" on the judge's professional conduct and reassigned the case.

___

Associated Press writer Jake Pearson contributed to this report.

Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-11-01-Stop%20and%20Frisk/id-71368bb7a29d42e28d01a3420cd0b712
Category: Nexus 5   Marilyn Manson   stenographer   Washington Navy Yard   Kendrick Lamar Control  

US preterm birth rate drops to 15-year low

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

1-Nov-2013

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Contact: Elizabeth Lynch
elynch@marchofdimes.com
914-997-4286
March of Dimes Foundation

US earns a 'C' on the 2013 March of Dimes Premature Birth Report Card

Six states Alaska, California, Maine, New Hampshire, Oregon and Vermont earned an "A" on the March of Dimes 2013 Premature Birth Report Card as their preterm birth rates met the March of Dimes 9.6 percent goal. The US preterm birth rate improved to the lowest rate in 15 years, but the change wasn't enough to earn it a better grade. The nation again earned a "C" on the Report Card.

The March of Dimes estimated that, since 2006, about 176,000 fewer babies have been born too soon because of improvement in the preterm birth rate, potentially saving about $9 billion in health and societal costs.

"Although we have made great progress in reducing our nation's preterm birth rate from historic highs, the US still has the highest rate of preterm birth of any industrialized country. We must continue to invest in preterm birth prevention because every baby deserves a healthy start in life," said March of Dimes President Dr. Jennifer L. Howse. "A premature birth costs businesses about 12 times as much as uncomplicated healthy birth. As a result, premature birth is a major driver of health insurance costs not only for employers.

The national preterm birth rate peaked in 2006 at 12.8 percent after rising steadily for more than two decades, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. The 2012 rate is a 10 percent improvement since the 2006 peak and the best rate since 1998. When compared to 2006, almost all states had lower preterm birth rates in 2012.

Disparities Gap Slowly Narrowing

The 2012 preterm birth rate among non-Hispanic black infants remains the highest of all the racial groups at 16.5 percent, down from 18.5 percent in 2006 and the lowest in more than 20 years. The gap between blacks and whites has been slowly narrowing, but the preterm birth rate among non-Hispanic blacks is still more than 1.5 times the rate of non-Hispanic whites.

Preterm birth (before 37 weeks of pregnancy,) is a serious health crisis that costs the US more than $26 billion annually, according to the Institute of Medicine. It is the leading cause of newborn death, and babies who survive an early birth often face the risk of serious and sometimes lifelong health problems, such as breathing problems, jaundice, developmental delays, vision loss and cerebral palsy. Babies born just a few weeks too soon have higher rates of death and disability than full-term babies. Even infants born at 37-38 weeks of pregnancy have an increased risk for health problems compared to infants born at 39 weeks.

On the 2013 Report Card, 31 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico saw improvement in their preterm birth rates between 2011 and 2012, earning seven Alaska, California, District of Columbia, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky and New Jersey better grades. Nineteen states earned a "B," 17 states and the District of Columbia received a "C," five states got a "D," and only three states and Puerto Rico received an "F" on the report card.

California's success in achieving the March of Dimes goal is noteworthy. Not only is California home to half a million births each year, the most of any state, it also has a racially diverse population in a mix of urban, suburban and rural communities that have a variety of healthcare and economic needs.

The March of Dimes Report Card compares each state's preterm birth rate to the March of Dimes goal of 9.6 percent of all live births by 2020. The Report Card information for the U.S. and states are available online at: marchofdimes.com/reportcard.

The Report Card also gauges states' progress toward lowering their preterm birth rates by tracking contributing factors.

• 37 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico reduced the percentage of uninsured women of childbearing age;
  
• 35 states and the District of Columbia reduced the percentage of women of childbearing age who smoke;
  
• 28 states the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico lowered the late preterm birth rate, infants born between 34 and 36 weeks gestation.

###

The March of Dimes Prematurity Campaign is supported by Destination Maternity Corporation, the WellPoint Foundation, and gifts from millions of individual donors.

March of Dimes is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2013, including its many accomplishments that help premature babies survive and thrive. During the 1970s, March of Dimes led the drive to ensure a neonatal intensive care unit was in reach of every baby. Researchers funded by March of Dimes in the 1980s helped develop surfactant therapy to help premature babies breathe. In 2003, March of Dimes declared a national campaign to reduce premature birth and created an awareness day, now observed as World Prematurity Day in more than 50 countries.

Also on Nov. 17, the Empire State Building in New York City will be shining in purple light to symbolize hope for a healthy start for more babies.

Please visit the March of Dimes multi-media news release at:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/59684-march-of-dimes-75th-anniversary/
to see videos, pictures or for more information on preterm birth.

The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. With chapters nationwide, the March of Dimes works to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. For the latest resources and information, visit marchofdimes.com or nacersano.org. Find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Todd P. Dezen
(914) 997-4608
tdezen@marchofdimes.com

Elizabeth Lynch
(914) 997-4286
elynch@marchofdimes.com

---

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

1-Nov-2013

[


| E-mail

]


Share

Contact: Elizabeth Lynch
elynch@marchofdimes.com
914-997-4286
March of Dimes Foundation

US earns a 'C' on the 2013 March of Dimes Premature Birth Report Card

Six states Alaska, California, Maine, New Hampshire, Oregon and Vermont earned an "A" on the March of Dimes 2013 Premature Birth Report Card as their preterm birth rates met the March of Dimes 9.6 percent goal. The US preterm birth rate improved to the lowest rate in 15 years, but the change wasn't enough to earn it a better grade. The nation again earned a "C" on the Report Card.

The March of Dimes estimated that, since 2006, about 176,000 fewer babies have been born too soon because of improvement in the preterm birth rate, potentially saving about $9 billion in health and societal costs.

"Although we have made great progress in reducing our nation's preterm birth rate from historic highs, the US still has the highest rate of preterm birth of any industrialized country. We must continue to invest in preterm birth prevention because every baby deserves a healthy start in life," said March of Dimes President Dr. Jennifer L. Howse. "A premature birth costs businesses about 12 times as much as uncomplicated healthy birth. As a result, premature birth is a major driver of health insurance costs not only for employers.

The national preterm birth rate peaked in 2006 at 12.8 percent after rising steadily for more than two decades, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. The 2012 rate is a 10 percent improvement since the 2006 peak and the best rate since 1998. When compared to 2006, almost all states had lower preterm birth rates in 2012.

Disparities Gap Slowly Narrowing

The 2012 preterm birth rate among non-Hispanic black infants remains the highest of all the racial groups at 16.5 percent, down from 18.5 percent in 2006 and the lowest in more than 20 years. The gap between blacks and whites has been slowly narrowing, but the preterm birth rate among non-Hispanic blacks is still more than 1.5 times the rate of non-Hispanic whites.

Preterm birth (before 37 weeks of pregnancy,) is a serious health crisis that costs the US more than $26 billion annually, according to the Institute of Medicine. It is the leading cause of newborn death, and babies who survive an early birth often face the risk of serious and sometimes lifelong health problems, such as breathing problems, jaundice, developmental delays, vision loss and cerebral palsy. Babies born just a few weeks too soon have higher rates of death and disability than full-term babies. Even infants born at 37-38 weeks of pregnancy have an increased risk for health problems compared to infants born at 39 weeks.

On the 2013 Report Card, 31 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico saw improvement in their preterm birth rates between 2011 and 2012, earning seven Alaska, California, District of Columbia, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky and New Jersey better grades. Nineteen states earned a "B," 17 states and the District of Columbia received a "C," five states got a "D," and only three states and Puerto Rico received an "F" on the report card.

California's success in achieving the March of Dimes goal is noteworthy. Not only is California home to half a million births each year, the most of any state, it also has a racially diverse population in a mix of urban, suburban and rural communities that have a variety of healthcare and economic needs.

The March of Dimes Report Card compares each state's preterm birth rate to the March of Dimes goal of 9.6 percent of all live births by 2020. The Report Card information for the U.S. and states are available online at: marchofdimes.com/reportcard.

The Report Card also gauges states' progress toward lowering their preterm birth rates by tracking contributing factors.

• 37 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico reduced the percentage of uninsured women of childbearing age;
  
• 35 states and the District of Columbia reduced the percentage of women of childbearing age who smoke;
  
• 28 states the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico lowered the late preterm birth rate, infants born between 34 and 36 weeks gestation.

###

The March of Dimes Prematurity Campaign is supported by Destination Maternity Corporation, the WellPoint Foundation, and gifts from millions of individual donors.

March of Dimes is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2013, including its many accomplishments that help premature babies survive and thrive. During the 1970s, March of Dimes led the drive to ensure a neonatal intensive care unit was in reach of every baby. Researchers funded by March of Dimes in the 1980s helped develop surfactant therapy to help premature babies breathe. In 2003, March of Dimes declared a national campaign to reduce premature birth and created an awareness day, now observed as World Prematurity Day in more than 50 countries.

Also on Nov. 17, the Empire State Building in New York City will be shining in purple light to symbolize hope for a healthy start for more babies.

Please visit the March of Dimes multi-media news release at:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/59684-march-of-dimes-75th-anniversary/
to see videos, pictures or for more information on preterm birth.

The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. With chapters nationwide, the March of Dimes works to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. For the latest resources and information, visit marchofdimes.com or nacersano.org. Find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Todd P. Dezen
(914) 997-4608
tdezen@marchofdimes.com

Elizabeth Lynch
(914) 997-4286
elynch@marchofdimes.com

---

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-11/modf-upb103113.php
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Google releases Android 4.4 KitKat SDK

Developers will have access to new features and APIs with today's SDK update

As part of today's announcements, Google has made available the Android 4.4 Kit Kat SDK component. Designed primarily for application developers, the SDK allows programs to be written using the newest APIs and features when targeting the devices that will run Kit Kat. Support for all of the features, like Project Svelte to help lower-spec devices, the new immersive screen mode, and host card emulation for NFC payments will be available for the great developers Android is blessed with, and we're plenty excited to see what they can do with it all.

If you're interested in checking things out for yourself, you can update your existing SDK through the normal channels and install it from scratch using the directions detailed here. Well be digging in and playing with any bundled emulator as soon as things settle down and it's available for download. Stay tuned!

More: Platform Highlights | API overview

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/bTNNS59c4v4/story01.htm
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Meet Google’s New Nexus 5 Phone and KitKat

Google showed off its new Android version 4.4 (or KitKat) operating system, running on a new flagship phone, the Nexus 5. Google uses its Nexus line to show off its new operating systems, and the device and OS are reflections ...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/rR2wOeuWY-k/
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Officials: Israeli airstrike inside Syria

WASHINGTON (AP) — Officials say Israeli warplanes attacked a military target inside Syria.

An Obama administration official confirmed the attack happened overnight Thursday but provided no details.

Another security official said that the attack occurred in the Syrian port city of Latakia and that the target was Russian-made SA-125 missiles.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the attack.

At least twice earlier this year Israel launched airstrikes on shipments of missiles inside Syria.

Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-10-31-Israel-Syria/id-5a6cc20020384bbf9b70b6a3ee8e60dd
Related Topics: Valerie Harper   britney spears   msnbc   Dumb and Dumber 2   Becky G  

First official The Lego Movie trailer is here

The teaser was great, but the official trailer is better. The movie is directed by the excellent Phil Lord and Chris Miller—who made Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs—and stars Will Arnett as Batman plus Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Neeson, and Morgan Freeman.

Read more...

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/1MMykkiBmZw/@barrett
Tags: dia de los muertos   Obama impeachment   lesean mccoy  

Motorola phones updating to Android 4.4. KitKat include Moto X, newer Droids

Now that Google's latest mobile OS is officially rolling out, the folks over at Motorola are letting end users know which phones will see Android 4.4 KitKat, and which ones won't. As AndroidCentral points out, digging through the upgrade tool reveals pretty much what you'd expect: all Moto X ...

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/wNGCsqWrV3A/
Category: Marilyn Manson   sam bradford   harvest moon   alice eve   area 51