Ashna Mallowe blog

Sharapova makes rare Russia Fed Cup appearance

PARIS (AFP) – Maria Sharapova hopes her first Fed Cup outing in three years will help erase the misery of her latest Grand Slam blow-out.

The three-time major winner, and former world number one who has struggled to rediscover her best form since a 2008 shoulder injury, suffered a tame fourth round defeat at the Australian Open.

Her straight sets defeat to Germany's Andrea Petkovic in the heat of Melbourne has now given way to the chilly streets of Moscow where Russia open their 2011 Fed Cup World Group campaign against France on Saturday.

"Cold, cold, cold," wrote Sharapova on her Facebook page.

"Just spent the last week in Munich training and now I am off to Moscow for Fed Cup. I am looking forward to getting on the court and competing, did not like that feeling I had walking off the court last time I played."

Sharapova, who will share singles duties with Svetlana Kuznetsova, is making her first Fed Cup appearance since 2008.

France have been hit by the absence of their top two, Marion Bartoli and Aravane Rezai, leaving Alize Cornet as the team's leading player.

Four-time champions Russia have won the most recent two ties between the nations, but France triumphed on their last visit to Moscow's Olympic Stadium in 2003.

Australia, with a challenge spearheaded by world number five Samantha Stosur, aim to celebrate their return to the World Group after a six-year absence, by stunning champions Italy.

But Stosur and teammates Jarmila Groth, Anastasia Rodionova and Rennae Stubbs, will have their work cut out against an Italian team who have won the title three times in the last five years.

Groth, in her debut for team Australia, started with a win over the world number four Schiavone, 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-3, to give Australia an early lead.

Australian Open champion Kim Clijsters leads Belgium against the USA in Antwerp in a tie stripped of other Grand Slam talent.

Compatriot Justine Henin has retired for a second time while Serena and Venus Williams, both injured, do not figure in the American squad.

But the USA have reached the Fed Cup final for the last two years, losing on both occasions to Italy, without the services of either Williams sister.

American captain Mary Joe Fernandez puts the success of her squad down to team spirit.

"Everybody can pretty much do it all," said Fernandez. "This was a very young team a couple of years ago and they have come a long way."

Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Melanie Oudin are likely to be the singles choices while Clijsters will share duties with world 26, Yanina Wickmayer.

The weekend's other World Group I tie sees Slovakia face Czech Republic in Bratislava with the visitors boasting a 3-0 career record over their neighbours.

Fed Cup World Group I (Saturday and Sunday)

At Hobart

Australia v Italy

At Moscow

Russia v France

At Bratislava

Slovakia v Czech Republic

At Antwerp

Belgium v USA

APV eCoolRoof(TM) with Kynar Aquatec(R) Introduced by APV Engineered Coatings(R)

APV Engineered Coatings® has launched APV eCoolRoof™, a new cool roof coating system comprised of a Kynar Aquatec® resin-based topcoat and an elastomeric acrylic basecoat.Working together, these two products can provide up to 63 percent increase in life cycle energy savings for a structure.

Akron, OH (PRWEB) February 7, 2011

APV Engineered Coatings® has launched APV eCoolRoof™, a new cool roof coating system comprised of a Kynar Aquatec® resin-based topcoat and an elastomeric acrylic basecoat.Working together, these two products can provide up to 63 percent increase in life cycle energy savings for a structure.

“APV eCoolRoof Topcoat has been engineered to significantly increase the emissivity and total solar reflectance properties of a roof’s surface and sustain it for a minimum of 10 years,” according to Thomas Venarge, president of APV Engineered Coatings. “This field-applied topcoat product is designed to be applied over APV eCoolRoof basecoat to produce the ultimate high performance barrier to the sun’s rays. Our research shows that this product extends the life of a roof by twice as long as a traditional roof coating.”

The eco-friendly APV eCoolRoof has a low VOC content and resists ultraviolet (UV) ray degradation, chalking, water pickup, dirt pickup, staining, chemicals and corrosion, algae and fungal growth along with abrasion. Made in Ohio, the product increases the comfort level of the interior of a structure by providing lower indoor temperatures, which reduces the amount of energy used from cooling systems.

“There are tremendous financial and environmental benefits for building owners using APV eCoolRoof,” says Venarge. “The coating system can be added to a roof in any stage of its life cycle, as long as it is structurally sound. Thus, APV eCoolRoof transforms the existing roof providing an entirely new roof membrane.The products should also increase the life expectancy of facility air conditioners and cooling systems. It’s the ideal product to give an old roof new life.”

The APV eCoolRoof coating system meets or exceeds initial Cool Roof Rating Council (CRRC) requirements to reflect sunlight and heat away from a structure. The products are currently participating in a three-year certification program of age testing, after which they will qualify for ENERGY STAR® and CRRC ratings.

According to the CRRC, a benefit of a Cool Roof is the reduction in air pollution from the emissions of the roof itself, which can help reduce heat islands around cities and populous areas. These are important considerations for builders, roofing contractors and building owners wishing to make a positive impact on the environment.

Comprehensive APV eCoolRoof SystemThe single coat applications of both the basecoat and topcoat for APV eCoolRoof are field-applied and air dried, requiring no baking. Additional benefits include the white color retention of the glossy coating over years of service, reduction in maintenance costs and the ability to extend the life of a current roof.

The APV eCoolRoof Basecoat is field applied first to fill in pinholes or small cracks in an existing roof, help smooth the roof surface, and serve as a bonding layer for the topcoat. The topcoat is then applied and serves as long-term protection to sustain the reflectivity of the sun’s rays for a minimum of 10 years. The highly-durable topcoat resists chemicals, corrosion, dirt and algae/fungus. Used together, the two products increase the longevity and efficiency of a roof.

“The fluoropolymer technology in APV eCoolRoof provides a long and sustained lifespan for a roof,” says Venarge. “This product increases the surface’s reflectivity and emissivity ability and successfully sustains it for a minimum of 10 years.In comparison, over a 20 year period, the reduction of CO2 emissions of an APV eCoolRoof versus that of an elastomeric acrylic on an area the size of an average city block is equivalent to taking 51 cars off the street.”

Dependable Commercial ProductAvailable nationwide directly from APV Engineered Coatings for use on commercial projects such as high rise buildings, refrigerated warehouses, domed facilities, factories and stadiums, APV eCoolRoof is warranted for 10 years for reflectivity. The product may be applied over a multitude of surfaces, PVC, asphalt, rubber (including EPDM), metal, SBS & APP modified bitumen, single-ply, and polyurethane foam systems.

The Kynar Aquatec resin used in APV eCoolRoof is a tough, engineered thermoplastic offering a unique balance of properties to withstand harsh thermal, chemical and UV environmental conditions. Manufactured by Arkema Inc., the resin provides APV eCoolRoof the ability to resist abrasions, dirt and the growth of mold and mildew.

Founded in Akron, Ohio in 1878, APV Engineered Coatings manufactures innovative, custom engineered products that are sold worldwide to a wide variety of industries. For more information on products and services, visit, or call 800-772-3452.

APV eCoolRoof products are sold under a trademark license from ARKEMA INC. which is the owner of the KYNAR and KYNAR AQUATEC Trademarks.

APV eCoolRoof is a trademark belonging to APV Engineered Coatings.

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KimDrew706.568.9504Email Information

Unheralded Gainey grabs lead in frigid Phoenix

PHOENIX, Arizona (AFP) – Tommy Gainey, an unheralded American who spent most of last year on a developmental tour, birdied six of the last eight holes Friday to seize the lead after the first round of the Phoenix Open.

Gainey, who managed a career-best runner-up finish at Disney World in 2008 as a US PGA rookie, played in the final group and finished on eight-under par 63, one stroke atop countryman Dustin Johnson after an oft-delayed round one.

Gainey was among 66 players who were unable to complete their opening rounds on Thursday due to heavy frost and unusual cold in the desert region. It caused more than seven hours of delays that will force a Monday finish to the event.

The 35-year-old from little-known Central Carolina Tech opened with a pair of pars Thursday before sunset but returned Friday and birdied the par-5 third, then birdied the par-3 seventh and par-4 11th.

Gainey began a run of three birdies in a row at the par-5 13th and after a par at the par-3 16th finished his round with back-to-back birdies that moved him to the top of the leaderboard.

Johnson began his first round Thursday and birdied four holes in a row after an opening par before darkness fell. He returned Friday to suffer his lone bogey at the eighth but answered with a birdie at nine.

Johnson, who shared third last week at Torrey Pines, took birdies at the par-5 13th and 15th holes and added another at 17 to put himself ahead unless Gainey's sizzling finish.

"I played pretty solid," Johnson said. "I'm swinging well and I'm playing good so I don't mind the fast turnaround."

Obama keeps pressure on Mubarak as U.S. protests grow

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States told Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Saturday it was not enough simply to "reshuffle the deck" with a shake-up of his government and pressed him to make good on his promise of genuine reform.

As angry protesters defied a curfew in Egyptian cities, President Barack Obama and his administration kept up pressure for Mubarak to heed their calls for democratic change and take seriously a U.S. threat to review massive aid to Cairo.

Obama is performing a delicate balancing act, trying to avoid abandoning Mubarak -- an important U.S. strategic ally of 30 years -- while supporting protesters who seek broader political rights and demand his ouster. But Washington has limited options to influence the situation.

"The Egyptian government can't reshuffle the deck and then stand pat," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said in a message on Twitter.com after Mubarak fired his government but made clear he had no intention of stepping down.

"President Mubarak's words pledging reform must be followed by action," he said, echoing Obama's appeal on Friday for Mubarak to embrace a new political dynamic.

Crowley's comments, part of an increasingly assertive U.S. stance, came just before Mubarak picked intelligence chief and confidant Omar Suleiman as vice president. It is a post Mubarak had never filled in three decades of rule, and many interpreted the move as edging toward an eventual handover of power.

There was no immediate U.S. reaction to the appointment of Suleiman, who has played a prominent role in Egypt's relations with the United States and its ally Israel.

Obama huddled on Saturday for an hour with his national security team on the crisis in Egypt, a linchpin of U.S. Middle East strategy. Afterward, the White House said its focus remained on "calling for restraint, supporting universal rights and supporting concrete steps that advance political reform."

The U.S. administration was caught off guard by the political upheaval that has rocked the Middle East in recent days, from Egypt to Tunisia to Lebanon to Yemen.

PROTEST IN U.S. CITIES

As U.S. officials weighed the latest developments in Egypt, protests emerged in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York and Washington, where about 150 people marched from the Egyptian Embassy to the White House and stood outside the gates chanting, "Hey Obama, don't you know, Hosni Mubarak has to go."

A top Republican called for Mubarak to hold elections.

"Mr. Mubarak should listen to the demands of the Egyptian people for freedom and immediately schedule legitimate, democratic, internationally recognized elections," said Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, head of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee.

"The people of Egypt no longer accept the status quo. They are looking to their government for a meaningful process to foster real reform," Crowley said as unrest in Egypt's cities continued for a fifth day despite Mubarak having ordered the army to the streets. At least 74 people have been killed.

Obama spoke to Mubarak on Friday and urged sweeping reforms, while the White House made clear that $1.5 billion in annual aid to Egypt, most of it military, is at stake.

Obama said he pushed Mubarak to fulfill his pledges of greater democracy and economic freedom shortly after the Egyptian president gave a televised speech in which he dismissed his Cabinet in response to the protests.

Egypt's crisis poses a dilemma for the United States. Mubarak, 82, has been a close partner of Washington for decades and has cited the danger of Islamic militancy in part as justification for his long autocratic rule.

Egypt plays an important role in Middle East peacemaking -- it was the first of only two Arab states to have signed a peace treaty with Israel -- and is also seen by Washington as a crucial counterweight to Iran's regional clout. But human rights groups have accused successive U.S. administrations of being too tolerant of Egyptian rights abuses.

From the U.S. perspective, the worst-case scenario in Egypt's crisis would be the rise of an Islamist government potentially aligned with Iran. But so far there has been no sign of Muslim fundamentalism driving the protest movement.

In New York, nearly 1,500 people rallied outside the United Nations headquarters, chanting "People want regime change."

Several hundred protesters gathered outside the Egyptian consulate in Chicago carrying signs, singing the Egyptian anthem and chanting slogans such as "Brick by brick, wall by wall, we will see Mubarak fall."

(Additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle, Lisa Richwine, Susan Cornwell and Alistair Bell in Washington, Edith Honan in New York, Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles; Writing by Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Philip Barbara)

St. Francis (N.Y.) edges Monmouth (N.J.) 62-61

WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – Justin Newton hit a free throw with 1.2 seconds left to give St. Francis (N.Y.) a 62-61 victory over Monmouth (N.J.) on Thursday night.

Newton hit the first of his two free-throw attempts for his only point of the game after being fouled while going for a rebound on teammate Ricky Cadell's missed 3-point attempt. St. Francis (9-11, 4-5 Northeast Conference) snapped a three-game losing streak.

Cadell hit a 3-pointer to give the Terriers a 61-59 advantage with 57 seconds left, but the Hawks (6-15, 2-7) evened the score at 61-61 with 16 seconds left as Marcus Ware scored after Jesse Steele grabbed an offensive rebound.

Ricky Cadell led the Terriers, who had only eight turnovers, with 20 points and Travis Nichols had 16 points.

Ware had 18 points and Steele and Phil Wait had 10 each for Monmouth, which was trying to win back-to-back games for the first time this season.