Bentley Mulls Return to Motorsport

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LE MANS, FRANCE - It's been nearly ten years since Bentley claimed first and second place finishes at the grueling 24 Hours of Le Mans, but the ultraluxury brand has faced its own set of competitive challenges since then, namely a global recession that put the Volkswagen-owned company in the red until last year.

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With money finally flowing back into their coffers, the Crewe-based manufacturer is eyeing a return to racing, and to find out how they're sizing up the scene, I sat down with Bentley's head of motorsports Brian Gush at this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans races. The 26 year Volkswagen veteran has 13 years under his belt at Bentley, and no shortage of passion for competition: Gush spends his spare time racing vintage cars and offroad motorcycles, and lights up when conversation turns to classic machines and world class race tracks.

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Racing, according to Gush, "... can attract attention, capture a customer base, and give us a platform to talk to new customers." In the case of Bentley's past success at Le Mans, which preceded the introduction of the Continental GT, Gush suggests, "Racing can also motivate a workforce [to] change from very traditional to more modern manufacturing methods."

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Gush says Bentley is considering several forms of prototype and GT sports car racing, from American and European Le Mans to the newer World Endurance series.

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Is Bentley looking for a pure 'Race on Sunday, sell on Monday' venture? "A number of our customers are car nuts, enthusiasts who want to drive themselves, so [it will] provide them with an opportunity to have an experience, have some fun on the track." But despite his personal passion for racing, Gush is also honest about Bentley's interest in competition. At the end of the day, he says "Essentially it's got to be a business tool."

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Palestinians nominate Church of the Nativity as endangered site for UNESCO list

June 19, 2012

WASHINGTON (JTA) -- The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem was nominated as an endangered site on UNESCO's World Heritage list by the Palestinian Authority.

The bid will be decided at the World Heritage Convention in St. Petersburg, Russia, from June 24 to July 6. UNESCO, the scientific and cultural agency of the United Nations, recognized Palestine last year as a member state.

Israel and the United States are opposing the action, which could cause problems for UNESCO. While the Palestinians police the Bethlehem?s streets, Israel still has authority to determine what enters and leaves the area.?

After UNESCO voted 107-14 in favor of granting member status to the Palestinians, existing U.S. laws mandated Congress to withdraw its annual commitment of $80 million of foreign assistance to the organization.?

President Obama has said, however, that he would like Congress to clear the way for UNESCO to reapply for funds.

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SportsLawGuy: From @ProFootballTalk re Bounty-Gate:"The craziest of NFL offseason." Says a lot coming a year after the lockout summer http://t.co/6sORInfd

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Bobby Brown Wedding in Hawaii: PHOTO

Posted on: June 19th, 2012 by: Meg

Bobby Brown married his fiancee Alicia Etheredge on Monday in Hawaii the day after performing a concert in Honolulu.

The musician posted a photo of his new wife and their son Cassius, who served as the ring bearer.? The wedding party also included four adorable little girls.

The R&B singer, 43, exchanged wedding vows while his older children looked on: Landon, 23, La-Princia, 22, and Bobby Jr., 19.

Father wore red pants that matched his youngest son?s suit jacket.? They were both sporting Adidas sneakers.

Bobby popped the question in 2010 during a New Edition concert in Jacksonville, Florida.? He credits Etheredge with his turnaround: ?I got my passion back for music and for loving myself because of her.?

Brown divorced Whitney Houston in 2007.

Photo:? Bobby Brown-Instagram

Filed under: Bobby Brown

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Canada boosts size of proposed Pacific trade pact

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Dickey Ks 13 in latest 1-hitter; Mets beat O's 5-0

NEW YORK (AP) ? R.A. Dickey saved his career by cultivating a knuckleball. Now he's using it to rewrite the Mets' record book as baseball's most dominant pitcher.

Dickey became the first major leaguer in 24 years to throw consecutive one-hitters and Ike Davis hit a grand slam to lead New York past the Baltimore Orioles 5-0 on Monday night.

Coming off a one-hit gem at Tampa Bay last Wednesday, Dickey struck out a career-high 13 and allowed only Wilson Betemit's clean single in the fifth inning. He has not permitted an earned run in 42 2-3 innings, the second-longest stretch in club history behind Dwight Gooden's streak of 49 innings in 1985.

"I don't really feel much more confident than I did the last couple years," Dickey said. "I've always felt like I have a pretty good knuckleball. I worked hard to do that."

The previous pitcher to spin consecutive one-hitters was Dave Stieb for Toronto in September 1988, according to STATS LLC. The Mets said the last to match the feat ? or top it ? in the National League was Jim Tobin with the 1944 Boston Braves, according to research by the Elias Sports Bureau. Tobin tossed a one-hitter followed by a no-hitter.

The 37-year-old Dickey (11-1) walked two and became the first 11-game winner in the majors, befuddling Baltimore with knucklers that ranged from 66-81 mph in a game that took just 2 hours, 7 minutes. He fanned the final two hitters and four of his last five, topping his previous career best of 12 strikeouts set Wednesday against the Rays.

"Yeah, it's surreal," Dickey said. "You almost get emotional out there, especially that last hitter. You hear everybody, like one big heartbeat beating. That's the best way I could explain it."

A longtime journeyman before joining the Mets in 2010, Dickey has won a career-best nine straight decisions and six consecutive starts. He is tied for the major league lead in ERA (2.00), strikeouts (103) and complete games (three).

It was his fourth game this season with double-digit strikeouts, most in the majors, and the fifth of his career. The right-hander has an incredible 71 strikeouts and six walks in his last seven starts.

"I'm going to leave it to you guys to explain it. I'm just going to try to be in the moment with it," said Dickey, a deeply religious deep thinker.

Betemit's two-out single in the fifth ended Dickey's franchise-record streak of 13 hitless innings.

"Do I have a chance to appeal that base hit? Did anybody dive for that ball? I got a bad view," Mets manager Terry Collins said, drawing laughs.

The only blemish Wednesday night was B.J. Upton's infield single with two outs in the first, a high bouncer that third baseman David Wright tried to field with his bare hand.

After the game, the Mets appealed the official scoring decision to Major League Baseball, asking the commissioner's office to review the play and consider whether Wright should be charged with an error, thus giving Dickey the team's second no-hitter this month. The appeal was denied and Dickey said he was relieved, explaining that there would have been "an asterisk by it bigger than the no-hitter itself."

The only active knuckleballer in the majors, Dickey has a 1.21 ERA and 88 strikeouts during his nine-game winning streak. It was his fifth career shutout and second this season, both in June. Pretty amazing for a guy who relies on a seemingly uncontrollable pitch that he throws harder and with more precision than just about anyone else who's made a living on it.

"He has no wild pitches this year. That's impressive," Baltimore slugger Adam Jones said. "He's in a groove."

The Mets said Dickey has made five straight starts with no earned runs allowed and at least eight strikeouts, the longest streak in major league history, according to Elias.

One of the people Dickey can thank for his incredible success story is Orioles manager Buck Showalter, who was instrumental in persuading the pitcher to remake himself into a knuckleballer when both were with the Texas Rangers.

"He had every attribute of a major league pitcher except the arm," Showalter said, his thoughts then turning to the fact that his team was about to face Dickey. "I wish it hadn't happened."

After the game, Dickey said he would be remiss not to thank Showalter.

"You know, and this is a tip of the hat to him: It was fairly poetic, I thought. The last game he saw me pitch live I gave up six home runs and tied a modern-day major league record," Dickey said. "It's really incredible."

A member of the 1996 U.S. Olympic team and a first-round draft pick out of Tennessee, Dickey was devastated when the Rangers reduced their signing-bonus offer from more than $800,000 to $75,000 after they discovered during a physical that he was missing a major ligament in his pitching elbow.

Undeterred, perseverance got him to the big leagues anyway. When he failed, the knuckleball brought him back.

Committed to his craft, Dickey enlisted the help of former knuckleballers like Charlie Hough and Hall of Famer Phil Niekro. Along the way, teammates and fans were introduced to his unique personality: A voracious reader, Dickey climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in January to raise money for charity and released an autobiography that revealed suicidal thoughts and the sexual abuse he endured as a child.

He's even featured in a documentary film called "Knuckleball."

Dickey made his mark at the plate on Monday, too, sparking New York's big rally with a leadoff single in the sixth against Jake Arrieta (3-9). Jordany Valdespin doubled with one out and Dickey had to scramble back to third after he initially broke the wrong way on Wright's lineout to shortstop. The pitcher barely beat the throw with a headfirst dive, which turned out to be a crucial play.

Lucas Duda walked and Davis hit the next pitch just to the left of center for his seventh home run of the year and first career slam.

Valdespin tripled off Kevin Gregg in the eighth and scored on Wright's single. The Mets, who lead the NL with seven shutouts, had lost three straight and nine of 13.

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Factbox: Key dates in 2012 presidential race

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