Amarantos blog

Dice-K donates $1 mn to quake aid

Boston pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka is donating $1 million to the Red Sox' official charity for victims of the earthquake and tsunami in his native Japan.

The Red Sox said Friday that his gift to the Red Sox Foundation will be sent to the Japanese Red Cross Society to aid response to the March 11 disaster, which also spawned an atomic crisis thanks to damage to the Fukushima nuclear plant.

Boston's other Japanese hurlers, Hideki Okajima, Junichi Tazawa and Itsuki Shoda, have also made personal donations and joined Matsuzaka, team captain Jason Varitek and others in collecting donations from fans at two spring training games in Florida.

The death toll from Japan's worst post-war disaster had topped 10,000 by Friday, and there was scant hope for 17,500 others still missing.

Matsuzaka, a native of Tokyo, was already a star in Japan when he joined the Red Sox in December 2006, inking a 52 million-dollar, six-year contract.

He became the first Japanese pitcher to start a World Series game as Boston won the Fall Classic in his first Major League season.

"Our efforts on the field are dedicated to all who are suffering from this catastrophe," Matsuzaka said in a videotaped message released by the Red Sox earlier this month. "We are in this together, so we must overcome tragedy together."

EBay buys GSI for $1.96 billion to take on Amazon

Online auction site eBay Inc moved to bolster its ability to take on No. 1 Web retailer Amazon.com Inc with a $1.96 billion takeover bid for e-commerce service provider GSI Commerce.

EBay would gain expertise in helping major retailers fill online orders and build relationships with big toy, electronics and book sellers which have helped Amazon grow.

EBay said on Monday it had offered GSI shareholders $29.25 per share in cash, a premium of 50.9 percent from the stock's closing price on Friday.

The deal would be eBay's largest acquisition since it bought Internet phone company Skype for $2.6 billion in 2005, and comes as growth in its main auctions business is slowing.

"It's one of the few fulfillment operations that could rival Amazon," BGC Partners analyst Colin Gillis said. "Amazon is fulfilling its third-party sellers more and more. eBay is all third-party sellers."

On Nasdaq, GSI soared 50.7 percent to close at $29.20, while eBay fell 4.3 percent to $30.34 on concerns it may be paying too much and might eventually need to invest more money on GSI's technology. Both stocks held steady in extended trading.

Amazon shares edged down 1 percent to end at $169.35.

Among GSI's clients are Aeropostale Inc, Toys R Us, and TJX Cos Inc's Marshalls chain.

GSI, which owns Web businesses such as Rue La La and ShopRunner, also provides retailers with technology, payment processing and customer care services for their e-commerce operations.

Online shopping accounts for about 8 percent of total U.S. retail spending, rising 11 percent during the most recent holiday season, according to data firm comScore, almost twice the pace of bricks-and-mortar sales.

EBay estimated in February that its online marketplaces unit is set to grow into a $7-8 billion business by 2013, from $5.7 billion in 2010. In contrast, Amazon pulls in annual sales of more than $30 billion.

While PayPal has been a growth driver for eBay, the company has struggled with other deals, such as its purchase of 28.4 percent of classifieds site Craigslist, which led to a court fight after eBay launched its own classifieds business.

Still, Fred Moran, an analyst with Benchmark Capital, called the price "reasonable," saying it comes out to 13 times this year's expected earnings before certain expenses, which he said "is right in line with the e-commerce peer group."

UNLOADING MOST OF RUE LA LA

As part of the deal, eBay would sell off GSI's licensed sports merchandise business, as well as 70 percent of Rue La La, which offers one-day-only Web deals to its members, and ShopRunner, a members-only online shopping service that offers free shipping.

EBay said those business were not important to its long-term growth strategy.

Those holdings would become part of a new company run by GSI founder and Chief Executive Michael Rubin. EBay said it would lend Rubin's new company $467 million, bringing the deal's value to $2.4 billion.

EBay said the acquisition, expected to close in the third quarter, would have little effect on its fiscal 2011 adjusted earnings forecast, and boost 2012 earnings. The deal would hurt 2011 net income by 30 cents to 34 cents per share, the company said.

GSI has until May 6 to solicit bids from other parties during the so-called "go shop" period.

While PayPal has been driving eBay's growth for years, the company is also trying to lift its more familiar marketplaces unit -- a high-margin but mature business that connects online buyers and sellers -- especially as Amazon has enjoyed double-digit revenue growth.

The GSI deal follows a number of other e-commerce deals in recent months. Amazon expects to close its purchase of Quidsi, operator of diapers.com, around April 1. In November, Oracle Corp said it would buy e-commerce software company Art Technology Group Inc for $1 billion.

Goldman Sachs & Co, and Peter J. Solomon Company are acting as financial advisers to eBay, while Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP is its legal adviser. Morgan Stanley is advising GSI and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP is advising a special committee of GSI's board. Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP is acting as GSI's legal advisor.

(Reporting by Phil Wahba; Additional reporting by Jennifer Saba in New York; Editing by Derek Caney, Gunna Dickson and Richard Chang)

Northwestern State earns 72-66 victory

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Devon Baker scored a career-high 28 points and Northwestern State used a 7-0 run down the stretch to defeat Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 72-66 on Saturday night.

With the game tied at 63 and 4 minutes remaining, the Demons (14-10, 6-3 Southland) started their game-clinching run with a free throw from James Hulbin, who added a basket at the 2:57 mark for a 66-63 lead. Baker made two trips to the free-throw line in the final minute, making all four attempts to give the Demons a 70-63 lead with 25 seconds left.

Baker made 8 of 12 shots, including 4 of 5 from behind the 3-point arc.

Demond Watt had 18 points and nine rebounds while Horace Bond had 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Islanders (8-15, 3-6). Justin Reynolds added 12 points and nine rebounds.

Northwestern State's William Mosely, who leads all Division I shot blockers with 4.7 per game, added five more to his total. He also had 13 rebounds and four points. Will Pratt added 16 points for the Demons.

Gainey clings to lead at frost-disrupted Phoenix PGA

PHOENIX, Arizona (AFP) – Unheralded American Tommy Gainey, seeking his first PGA title, completed a six-under par 65 to seize a one-stroke lead after the second round of the frost-disrupted Phoenix Open.

Gainey, who fired a 63 in the final group to lead after the first round ended late Friday, stood on 14-under par 128 after 36 holes at the $6.1 million event.

A man who once worked on a production line wrapping water heaters for transit now finds himself in contention for a PGA title.

"It would be unforgettable," Gainey said. "It's something I've worked for my whole life. I'm just trying to take advantage of my chance."

Mark Wilson was one stroke back with Bill Haas third on 130 and Chris Couch fourth on 131.

Reigning Masters champion Phil Mickelson, who fired a second-round 65, and Rickie Fowler, who had five birdies and an eagle in the final seven holes to card a tournament-best 62, shared fifth on 132.

Mickelson holed a 30-foot birdie putt at the par-3 16th, thrilling the huge and raucous crowd there that is a staple of this event.

"It's Saturday of the Phoenix Open. It's always fun," Mickelson said. "To see that go in with the crowd right there was a great feeling."

Australians Geoff Ogilvy and Aaron Baddeley, the highest-placed non-US players, shared seventh on 133 with Americans Jason Dufner and Jonathan Byrd.

A Monday finish is all but assured after frozen greens and morning frost in unusually cold conditions delayed the start of play Thursday and Friday for a combined total of more than seven hours.

The third round started late in the afternoon and only 48 of the 74 players who made the cut teed off before play was halted by darkness.

"You come to the desert, the last thing you would think of is frost," said Gainey, who is nicknamed "Two Gloves" for wearing a pair of rain gloves while playing but is having the last laugh with warm hands in chilly weather.

Gainey was three-under after nine holes of his second round on Friday when darkness fell, then returned Saturday morning and began the front nine, his second nine of the round, with three birdies and finished with six more pars.

"I'm at 14(-under) so I can't complain," Gainey said. "I come out and birdie the first three holes and on four, five and six I had some putts that went right over the edge and just wouldn't go in."

Aussie Jarrod Lyle hit a hole-in-one at the 16th, the TPC Scottsdale's trademark hole surrounded by stands and luxury boxes.

"If there was ever a hole in world golf where you want to have a hole-in-one, that would be right up there," Lyle said. "It was one of those amazing feelings that you can't re-create."

Lyle, 29, used an 8-iron to smack his first ace as a professional, calling it the greatest moment of his career. He watched the ball bounce twice and roll into the cup, thrusting his arms skyward as the crowd went wild.

"When I hit it I thought it was too long. I told it to get down," Lyle said. "When it took its second bounce, I thought it was all right."

Lyle compared the noisy explosion of joy to something he might hear back home from 100,000 spectators.

"You can almost explain it like when they sing the national anthem in Australia before the Australian Rules (Football) Grand Final."

As he walked off the 16th, Lyle was reminded by a spectator of the tradition that players who hit aces buy drinks for those who saw it happen.

"Somebody said I owe everybody a drink," Lyle said. "I'm looking around and thinking, 'There's 20,000 people here. That's a lot of drinks.'"

Lyle finished with a 67 to stand nine strokes off the pace.

Egypt in Turmoil: Does Mubarak's Regime Have a Strategy?

Earlier on Friday, as Cairo plummeted into chaos, I saw a tank at the headquarters of Egypt's ruling party. It was a sign that the military had moved in, at the very least, to protect the property of the National Democratic Party. The police, as thuggish as they had been with clubs and tear gas canisters, were clearly not in full control and needed help from the Army. But the truly stunning news came shortly afterwards. The NDP headquarters was on fire. If the regime of President Hosni Mubarak, who has ruled for 30 years, could not keep popular fury from turning his party's home into an inferno, what sort of control did it truly have?

Its forces were out in the street, beating, gassing, opening fire with rubber bullets and perhaps live ammo; but the curfew the government imposed at 6 p.m. was visibly and audibly being violated. From my vantage on an island in the middle of the Nile, I can still hear crowds shouting from the city proper and it is 9 p.m. And it is not just the NDP building on fire. Cairo itself is on fire. Flashes of light, perhaps explosions or maybe even tank blasts, can be seen from the direction of Tahrir Square, the focal point of the protests, now into their fourth day.

An hour before the curfew was imposed, I managed to make it into government's official press center to see if the regime had issued any statement, any indication of what it was going to declare in the face of this immense mutiny of a once cowed people. The center smelled of tear gas from all the attacks in the street. There was no official statement, no clue if there was a unified strategy that the ministries, the military and the NDP had put together to deal with the crisis. Indeed, in the walk-up to Friday, the Interior Ministry had declared that demonstrations would not be permitted and that protesters would be arrested. But then the secretary-general of the NDP then said that the youth of Egypt had a right to express themselves and to demonstrate.

There were other signs of internal contradiction in the regime as well. The Al-Arabiya news network reported that Mustafa al Fikki, the NDP's chief of foreign affairs as well as the head of security in Shura council (the upper house of parliament), condemned the government's response to the protests and has apparently called for the resignation of the government. A source close to the regime has indicated to TIME that there was some remorse in some official quarters about the police onslaught, though it was qualified by saying the cops had to respond to stone throwers. The image it presented was bad, the source said who then added reluctantly that responsibilty for handling the crisis should attach to the President.

As the curfew was imposed, word went out that Mubarak would be addressing the nation soon. But hours went by and no speech was delivered. In fact, observers wondered if there was anything the President could actually say that would make a difference. There has been so much anger directed toward his government that people on the street were willing to believe that stone-throwers and looters, who turned out in force after dark, were government plants, set into the street to cause havoc that could be blamed on peaceful demonstrators.

Mubarak's handling of the crisis may have contributed to Friday's massive opposition showdown with the regime. As I took refuge on a rooftop with a bunch of strangers who had escaped tear gas and batons in the streets below, one man, a surgeon, told me why he had attended Friday prayers and had brought his son with him to march in protest right after. A friend of his son had been picked up by the police on Thursday and the surgeon went to the detention center to try to get his release. "It was all kids," he said of the individuals the government had arrested. "It was all kids who had been kidnapped. I felt I had to do something." He had never been to a protest before in his life.

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