Aelfgar blog

Fish becomes top-ranked U.S. player with win at Sony Open

Mardy Fish replaced Andy Roddick as the top-ranked American after beating Spain's David Ferrer 7-5 6-2 on Wednesday to move into the semi-finals of the Sony Ericsson Open.

Fish, currently ranked 15th, will formally overtake his friend and world number eight Roddick when the ATP world rankings are updated next week.

Roddick, struggling with a bronchial infection, made a shock early exit in the defense of his Miami title in his first game, losing to Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas on Saturday.

"I don't think I will ever feel I am the top-ranked American, Andy has had a pretty good career and he has always been top dog in my generation," Fish said of his former high school team mate.

"I've never been in this position before. Obviously it's very humbling. This is a pretty big country and has a lot of people playing tennis. So I'll try to put it into perspective, and I Will."

Fish said his goal has nothing to do with bettering Roddick and is purely personal.

"Top ten is something that I am aiming for and I will be working my butt off to get there," he said.

Fish had a surprisingly easy passage to the last four, with the normally solid Ferrer fading fast in the second set in the Florida heat.

The Spaniard lost the first set after double faulting on break point to allow Fish to go ahead 6-5.

After the game, Ferrer said he had not felt well.

"I had stomach problems all the match. "I went to the court, and I when I ran to rallies I had a lot of pain in my stomach. In the second set, I couldn't run anymore," he told reporters.

Fish will face the winner of Wednesday's other quarter-final between Novak Djokovic, unbeaten in 21 successive games this year, and South African Kevin Anderson. (Editing by Greg Stutchbury)

Free Resources to Teach Children About Earthquakes and Tsunamis

s most important news sources. This link is the English version of Kyodo News. You can access up-to-the-minute details about all aspects of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. Kyodo has extensive video footage of the earthquake and tsunami.

accesses news and science sources from around the world to bring you a complete picture of Japan's earthquake and tsunami, plus general scientific and historical earthquake and tsunami information.

provides a direct line on news, issues and events concerning Earth. The link takes you to the educator materials page. You can access videos, live streams, lessons, data and free printable activities.

NOAA operates the . The NWS is a constantly updated weather source from which other weather channels and news sources information. I recommend that teachers and homeschoolersthrough RSS feeds or classroom podcasts.

Japan's recent tsunami calls to mind the 2004 tsunami. Many school children will be too young to remember this event. Here are hometaken at different places where the tsunami hit. I recommend turning the volume down as the language is graphic in spots. The is provides video coverage of the 2004 tsunami in Thailand. These are very poignant videos, so be prepared to follow up with discussion.

Pearl S. Buck's 1948 story of a Japanese family's experiences following a tsunami. After the 2004 tsunami, Scholastic Books made copies of this book available at reduced rates, to help children understand the event. I recommend following up news and video coverage by reading "The Big Wave."

Marilisa Kinney Sachteleben writes from 25-plus years teaching K-8, special needs, ESL, adult education and homeschool. A mother of four, Marilisa cares about child and family issues, emotional health, sustainable living and social justice. She writes about parenting issues for the Yahoo! Contributor Network.

Tennis: German spoiler Petkovic beats Wozniacki

Top seed Caroline Wozniacki's dream of a coast-to-coast title double hit the wall Monday as as the top seed at the ATP and WTA Miami Masters was upset 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 by Germany's colourful Andrea Petkovic.

The winner, already an internet, YouTube and Twitter personality thanks to her prodigious use of social media, performed a snippet of her jiggy "Petkorazzi" victory dance after the upset in just under two and a half hours.

Petkovic, ranked 23rd and who made a quarter-final at the Australian Open, needed an hour to win the opening set agianst Wozniacki, who claimed the Indian Wells Masters in California eight days ago and had been bidding to repeat on the East coast in Florida.

Petkovic went up 4-2 in the third set on a break and three games later was into the quarter-finals after firing her third ace of the afternoon on match point. She faced 17 break points but saved 12 of them against the world number one Dane.

Russian 16th seed Maria Sharapova also took out a leading seed as she beat Australia's French Open finalist Samantha Stosur 6-4, 6-1.

The Australian who lost the Roland Garros final last year to Francesca Schiavone suffered with five double-faults and no aces in a contest lasting 81 minutes.

US-based Russian Sharapova refused to give Stosur an early birthday present as the Australian, who turns 27 on Wednesday, was broken five times.

"I have a good record against her, but it's not something that you typically look at going into the match," said Sharapova, who missed months over the past few seasons with a shoulder injury which eventually required surgery.

"I know that she's a very tough player.

"She's number five in the world, you can't take that for granted going out on the court. Her serve is one of her biggest weapons. She has a great kick out there and gets more spin than anyone on tour.

"She'll hang in there with you and she'll be tough. She's at her spot for a reason. She's a grand slam finalist and does really well on clay, and many other surfaces, as well."

Stosur's loss left her short of her performances at the last two editions at Crandon Park, where she reached the quarter-finals.

Two-time Miami finalist Sharapova saved three of the four break points she faced as clouds gathered over the stadium prior to possible forecast rain.

Sharapova produced her best result so far this year at Indian Wells this month as she played her first semi-final since last August.

The Russian who owns three Grand Slam titles improved to 20-20 against Top five players, and broke a loss streak against the elite after going down in her last six against top players.

In another women's result, Romanian Alexandra Dulgheru bet China's Peng Shuai 6-3, 6-4.

On the men's side, seventh-seeded Wimbledon finalist Tomas Berdych beat Argentine Carlos Berlocq 7-6 (10/8), 7-5. Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia beat German Philipp Petzschner 6-3, 6-3 in their third-round contest.

Zynga's Secret to Success: Connecting Casual Friends

While enjoyable to play for many, the runaway success of the online games from Zynga can largely be attributed to how they bring together acquaintances who otherwise wouldn't have much to say to one another, the company's chief game designer said on Tuesday.

"The games are about keeping in touch with people you care about," said Brian Reynolds, who spoke at the Engage digital gaming conference being held this week New York, in conjunction with Toy Fair 2011.

And while close friends certainly play Zynga games with one another, the average user interacts more on FarmVille or MafiaWars with acquaintances "they wouldn't normally have conversations with," Reynolds said, in a talk promising to reveal Zynga's secrets to success.

Since it was founded in 2007, Zynga has been a runaway success, garnering over 360 million monthly users of games such as FarmVille, Mafia Wars and .

Hardcore gamers may scoff at the easy playability of Zynga's games, but Reynolds asserted that Zynga represents the future of the gaming industry, one in which games are created for a mass audience. "Games are no longer just for geeks," Reynolds said.

The idea seems have some backing: The Wall Street Journal reported that investment firmsthat the company could be worth as much as $9 billion. If true, this service provider of lightweight social games would be worth more than what is traditionally thought of as the largest digital gaming company, Electronic Arts, which currentlyof around $6.18 billion.

Zynga has focused on developing games that "everyone can play," Reynolds said, dismissing games like World of Warcraft as being targeted for "hardcore gamers." He said the trend is toward game concepts, such as running a city or a farm, that can be enjoyed by a wider, if more casual, audience.

The most powerful aspect of such games, he said, is that they provide a way for people to communicate with one another, especially those who might not otherwise have a lot to say.

Reynolds points to the composition of most people's friends list on Facebook, where a considerable number of Zynga games are played. While a few people on any person's friends list are close friends, mostare more distant acquaintances, such as ex-coworkers, far-flung relatives, college or high school friends. These are people that a person presumably cares about, though not enough to engage in day-to-day conversation with.

Social games allows such casual acquaintances a way to interact, by working on a common project, Reynolds said.

Also important to Zynga's success is the asynchronous nature of the games. Role playing games such as World of Warcraft requires that a group of friends all meet on the service at the same time should they want to play together, Reynolds said.

In contrast, friends can play Zynga games at any time, while still feel like they are collaborating. Zynga games are particularly well-suited for filling up the random stretches of time in between daily activities. Users can play for a minute or two in the middle of the night, while waiting for a plane, or between tasks at work.

"While you're watching me, your employees are playing our games," Reynolds joked.

Reynolds noted that Zynga enjoyed some advantages over traditional gaming companies. Because its games are lighter, they can be developed more rapidly than the three-year cycle that is the norm of the gaming industry. Fewer designers are needed per game, and the stakes are lower for each release, should a game fail to capture the public's imagination.

In addition, because the graphics are constrained by the limitations of online bandwidth, designers must focus on the elements of gameplay rather than the look-and-feel of the game.

Another crucial element of Zynga's success is that its games allow people to express themselves, Reynolds asserted. The game should be both open ended enough and include enough creative elements so that when users complete some goal or create something, it becomes an expression of their personality.

As an example of expressiveness, Reynolds notes that some Zynga games allow their players' characters to marry fictional spouses. As a result over 646,000 of these unions are same-sex marriages. By way of comparison, he noted that there are only about 150,000 legally recognized same-sex unions in the U.S.

The games should also allow a mechanism to share their creative works. He admitted that the Zynga seeds its status messages that get shared on Facebook with coyly provocative assertions, such as"Margaret needs a few good screws," or"Scott just got the wood," in hopes that users will share these with a knowing wink-and-a-nod.

"Yeah this is what we do, make stupid jokes with one another," he said. "People want ways to start conversations with one another."

Joab Jackson covers enterprise software and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Follow Joab on Twitter at . Joab's e-mail address is

Buford, Craft lift Buckeyes

COLUMBUS, Ohio – William Buford scored 23 points and Aaron Craft had a hand in two critical plays down the stretch to lead No. 2 Ohio State to a 71-61 win over Michigan State on Tuesday night.

It was a hard-fought struggle for the Buckeyes (25-1, 12-1 Big Ten), playing for the first time since having their unbeaten season ended with a 61-57 loss at Wisconsin on Saturday.

Jon Diebler and David Lighty each had 12 points. Jared Sullinger, averaging 18 points and 10 rebounds, was limited to 11 and 2. Craft, a freshman substitute point guard, had seven points, four assists, four steals and three rebounds.

Kalin Lucas led the Spartans (14-11, 6-7) with 14 points, while Adreian Payne and Draymond Green each had 10.

The Buckeyes finished the game on an 18-10 run to pull away.

The game turned the game with two quick defensive stops.

With the Buckeyes hanging on to a 45-44 lead, Buford stepped in front of a bad pass by Lucas and went coast to coast for the basket. The next time down the floor, Craft forced Lucas to give the ball up in the backcourt, leading to two free throws by Diebler. After the Spartans scored a second-chance bucket, Diebler flipped in a line-drive 3 from the top of the key for a 52-46 lead.

A capacity crowd of 18,809 roared its approval.

During one span, the Spartans had turnovers on four of five possessions.

Now with the lead, the Buckeyes relied on Buford.

After Michigan State had cut it to 53-51, Buford hit consecutive jumpers — the first a 3 from the left wing and the second a stop-and-pop jumper from 15 feet to make it 58-51.

Craft came up with a big effort play soon after.

As the ball was going out of bounds under the Michigan State basket, center Garrick Sherman turned and fired it down the court. For an instance no one reacted. But then Craft sped the length of the floor, corralled the ball and hit a twisting reverse layup while being fouled. He completed the three-point play.

Craft also figured in another pivotal play. With the Buckeyes on top 66-59, he had a steal and was fouled by Green at the other end with 1:42 left. Green was then assessed a technical foul. Craft stepped to the line and hit three of the four shots to swell the lead to 69-59, the biggest of the game for either team to that point.

Moments later, Ohio State fans taunted the Spartans — who have made it to the Final Four in six of the last 12 seasons — with a cheer of "N-I-T! N-I-T!"

The victory extended Ohio State's home winning streak to 18. In coach Thad Matta's seven seasons, they are 102-2 against unranked teams in Columbus.

Diebler hit two 3-pointers to move into a tie for second with Michigan State's Shawn Respert, one back of Big Ten career 3-point leader Pete Lisicky of Penn State, who had 332.

Ohio State led 35-34 at halftime of a wild, physical and stressful first half. There were nine ties and 11 lead changes, with both teams saddled by foul trouble to key personnel. Six players had two fouls apiece, four of them Spartans.