Read More: Houston Astros

According to MLB.com's Brian McTaggart, the Houston Astros could be one of the teams interested in signing 19-year-old outfielder Jorge Soler if he is able to become a free agent, which is pending his approval of his application for residency in the Dominican Republic. He quoted Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow, who said that the team is waiting on the sidelines to see what happens, which is the same thing every other team is doing.

"We've seen him several times, and we're keeping in touch with people that are working with him that are trying to get him the citizenship sorted out so he could become a free agent," Luhnow said. "When that happens, they have a process set out for teams, and we're going to be paying attention to that."

The last time the Astros spent money on a Latin American player was when they signed outfielder Arial Ovando with a $2.6 million bonus in 2010, which was a club record. Luhnow went on to say that his scouts are watching all the Latin American players in the upcoming class, including Cuban defectors, and the only question is who they would sign and for how much.

For more on the Astros, head to The Crawfish Boxes.

Worlds Daily

About Reid and Tom

Reid Cherner and Tom Weir have been with USA TODAY since 1982 and they have written Game On! since March 2008.

Reid has covered everything from high schools to horse racing to the college and the pros. The only thing he likes more than his own voice is the sound of readers telling him when he's right and wrong.

Tom has covered every Summer and Winter Olympics since 1984, and has made numerous trips to the Super Bowl, World Series, Final Four and NBA Finals. In 2009, he put more miles on his bicycle than on his car.

About Mike and Mike

Michael McCarthy and Michael Hiestand have more in common than their first names.

Both have covered sports media and marketing for USA TODAY. Both have tackled the sports biz ranging from what's behind mega-events such as the Olympics and Super Bowl to the sometimes-hidden numbers behind the sports world's bottom line.

But they usually come at things from different directions, and it's no wonder. Hiestand is an Oregon native who went to Stanford while McCarthy is a native New Yorker who went to St. John's.

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Worlds Daily

So much for the single life!

Chelsea Handler and Andre Balazs split in November after less than a year of dating, but they recently rekindled the flame, multiple insiders confirm to Us Weekly.

The two were first spotted hanging out at Warner Music Group's Grammy Celebration in West Hollywood February 12. "They're back together," a source close to Balazs says.

PHOTOS: On-again celebrity couples

One week later, the on-again couple (joined by Handler's chef brother Roy and another guest) dined on oysters and bouillabaisse at BP Oysterette in Santa Monica, Calif. "Chelsea and Andre were holding hands, leaning on each other and kissing," an eyewitness tells Us. "They looked really happy."

VIDEO: Jennifer Aniston mocks Chelsea Handler's hygiene

Though Handler, 36, has been open about her relationships with NBC broadcasting chairman Ted Harbert, rapper 50 Cent and Animal Planet's Dave Salmoni, she's never said much about her courtship with Balazs, 55.

"I won't comment on that publicly, because he specifically asked me not to," she recently told Redbook. "I don't have an issue with discussing it, but I would like to respect someone else's privacy."

VIDEO: Hilarious! Chelsea Handler spoofs Us Weekly

Just don't expect Balazs to put a ring on it. "I'm not looking to get married. I've always been like, 'Oh, this could be fun for a while,'" said Handler, who currently stars in This Means War. "Sometimes you get into a relationship and you think, 'Oh, this could be more serious.' And sometimes you're like, 'Ahhh, I'm going to have to break up with this person eventually.'"

Tell Us: Are Chelsea Handler and Andre Balazs a good couple?

Worlds Daily

Star Jones returned to The View today after leaving the show six years ago in a tiff with her co-hosts.

"I say this genuinely: I am so happy to welcome back Star Jones," said Barbara Walters.

Noticing the changes in the show, Star said, "A new couch. You've got two black girls. Sherri and I are not the same person. Elisabeth had more children. Joy got married!"

Walters started to rehash what happened in 2006 and Jones interrupted: "Are we really going to go here, Barbara? Do we care at this point?! I honestly don't."

Walter said yes -- "people ask us all the time" -- and forged on, reminding Jones that her contract had not been renewed and she surprised her co-stars by saying she was leaving. "It was ugly. ... It was a bad emotional time," said Jones today, adding, "I made the decision that I wanted to go out on my own terms."

But it was, in large part, also due to "weight-loss surgery," which had been a sticking point.

"Just to clear it up, we tried to protect you," said Walters, reminding that Star told them not to talk about the surgery in 2003. Jones said she didn't want them to talk about her "private way of deciding to lose weight."

"We did lie!" said Walters.

Jones turned the talk to being healthy now. The day of surgery she weighed 307 pounds, and since then she has lost 160 pounds "at my most." She was able to finally talk about it, when she "felt emotionally healthy."

"We were very worried about you," said Walters, finally adding, "You look great. You look healthy. And we really are happy that you're back."

Walters and Jones then shared heart stories, which was Jones' real reason for returning. She passed out heart pins and bracelets and said, "I wanted to say thank you for welcoming me back. ... You should know I have always held all of you in the highest regard."

Worlds Daily

Feb 22, 2012 by Brian Gallagher"Change your fate!" Pixar has released the third poster for Brave, which debuts in theaters nationwide June 22. Kelly Macdonald lends her voice to Merida, a Scottish princess who decides to defy her royal parents in this upcoming animated tale. Take a look at this one-sheet below, which features Merida armed with her bow and arrow.

Brave comes to theaters June 22nd, 2012 and stars Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson, Julie Walters, Kevin McKidd, Craig Ferguson, Robbie Coltrane. The film is directed by Brenda Chapman, Mark Andrews.

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Worlds Daily

Updated: February 22, 2012, 3:09 PM ET

STORRS, Conn. -- The University of Connecticut says men's basketball coach Jim Calhoun will undergo surgery on Monday to address spinal stenosis, a condition affecting his lower back.

UConn says Calhoun will miss the Huskies' next two games, against Syracuse and Providence, and his coaching status will then be evaluated on a day-to-day basis.

"I'm glad we have finally determined the best course of treatment to deal with the problem," Calhoun said in a statement. "I'm looking forward to having the procedure done, hopefully recovering as quickly as possible, and putting it all in the past."

Calhoun began a medical leave of absence on Feb. 3 because of spinal stenosis. The Hall of Fame coach, who turns 70 in May, has been experiencing lower back pain since last summer.

The Huskies host Pittsburgh in their final regular-season game March 3.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Worlds Daily

Daniel von Bargen, a character actor who played Mr. Kruger on "Seinfeld," is in critical condition after shooting himself in the head, according to a report on TMZ.

The website has posted audio of a 911 call von Bargen made from his Ohio home Monday morning. During the call, he tells a dispatcher: "I was supposed to go to the hospital and I didn't want to. They were supposed to amputate at least a few toes."

Von Bargen, 61, says in the call that he shot himself in the temple with a .38 Colt and that he can't open his eyes. He tells the operator that he has already had one leg amputated and was "tired," referring to the procedure slated for his other leg.

The call ends with police entering von Bargen's apartment and they can be heard telling him to not move his hands and asking whether he has any other guns around.

Von Bargen's film credits include "Super Troopers," "Basic Instinct," and "O Brother, Where Art Thou" among others. Watch a YouTube video of his work on "Seinfeld."

Check back with msnbc.com for updates on this story.

Worlds Daily

New England Patriots player Wes Welker seems to have forgiven Gisele Bundchen for her angry, post-Super Bowl rant. The wide receiver, 30, and his fiancee Anna Burns joined Bundchen, Tom Brady, and the couple's 2-year-old son Benjamin for a getaway to Costa Rica. See more photos at X17.

VIDEO: Gisele Bundchen's Super Bowl rant

In a heated moment after the February 5 Patriots-Giants match-up, the supermodel blamed Brady's teammates for the Patriots' four point loss. "You [have] to catch the ball when you're supposed to catch the ball," Bundchen, 31, barked. "My husband cannot f***in throw the ball and catch the ball at the same time. I can't believe they dropped the ball so many times."

PHOTOS: Tom and Gisele's sweetest moments together

It seems to be water under the bridge for Bundchen and Welker, however, who enjoyed a beach bonfire with their significant others February 20. (Though he wasn't called out by name during Bundchen’s diatribe, Welker, 30, along with Deion Branch and Aaron Hernandez, dropped a pass from the 34-year-old quarterback).

PHOTOS: Stars at Super Bowl XLVI

Since then, players from both teams have spoken out in defense of the Victoria Secret stunner's impassioned speech. "She's defending her husband, and I understand that," Giants' receiver Victor Cruz told ET. Patriots player Bret Lockett defended Bundchen's reaction as well. "People are emotional," Lockett told CNN. "Sometimes we let our emotions get the best of us...She just spoke her mind and I don't think anything's wrong with that."

Worlds Daily

Intel has announced that it has opened up its best-in-class 22nm FinFET process to numerous, as-yet-unnamed third parties. In effect, Intel is now acting as a built-to-order foundry, much like TSMC, GlobalFoundries, IBM, and Samsung.

Don’t expect the next big AMD, Nvidia, or Qualcomm chip to be produced by Intel, though: So far, the only partners that Intel has announced are Achronix and Tabula, two small FPGA developers. FPGAs don’t threaten Intel at all, and in all likelihood it is using these small-timers to iron out the bugs in its foundry process; it’s one thing to build your own chips, but something else entirely to let someone else play in your back garden. TSMC has years of experience when it comes to contract manufacturing, and thus a proven work flow. Intel is probably years away from offering a similar service — and even then, it’s unlikely that Intel would even want to move into the foundry business.

Unlike Samsung, which has moved into the foundry business over the last few years, most notably producing Apple’s A4 and A5 chips, Intel doesn’t need the extra money or utilization that comes from being a foundry. While Samsung needed to squeeze some more money out of its semiconductor business, Intel is wildly profitable because of its industry-leading fabs. In this case, sharing the love would be a bad idea.

What is Intel planning, then? We think the most likely explanation is that Intel wants to take a better look at some of the products being produced by fabless companies, such as Qualcomm or Texas Instruments, who are currently using foundries like TSMC. By wooing these companies over to its 22nm process, Intel would be in prime position to pick out technologies that it wants to license and integrate into its own chips. Then, if the new tech turns out to be successful enough, Intel could even buy those companies out.

The other option is that Intel might be looking to boost the performance of its upcoming smartphone- and tablet-oriented Medfield platform. Medfield is highly integrated, but it still relies on at least two third-party chips: a power management IC, and a radio chip. Imagine if Intel partners with Qualcomm or Broadcom to make a 22nm LTE/HSPA+/CDMA radio chip for the Medfield-powered Motorola smartphone, due to be unveiled next week at Mobile World Congress; Intel would suddenly have a mobile platform with the cheapest and most power-efficient cellular radio on the market.

Worlds Daily

Tiger Woods faces Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano in the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship today, and we'll blog his first round. This is sudden-death competition, where only the winners of today's 32 matches at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club at Dove Mountain in Arizona advance. Tiger starts play at 12:35 p.m. ET, and the broadcast is on the Golf Channel.

STORY:  Opponent rates Tiger as "beatable"

MORE:  Match play can be a wild ride

2:32: Tiger flubs his eagle bid on No. 8, leaving himself a 4-footer. But he sinks that for a birdie and wins the par-5 to go 1-up on Fernandez-Castano. Nice comeback after losing the first two holes of the round.

2:23: Tiger muscles up on the 576-yard, par-5 eighth and is just off the green in two. His tee shot sailed 338 yards and his second rolled across to the top of the green, just a few inches off. Fernandez-Castano had to lay up with his second shot and get back on the fairway.

2:15: Huge putt for birdie by Tiger to win the par-4 seventh. He had to conquer a roller coaster path over two mounds. The evens the match as he and Fernandez-Castano head for the par-5 eighth.

2:00: Tiger and Fernandez-Castano halve the par-3 sixth. Tiger had a chance to win with a 15-foot birdie on the 179-yard hole, but missed by an inch to the right. Tiger is still 1-down.

1:46: Tiger's bid for birdie on No. 5 scoots 3 feet past the cup. But Fernandez-Castano misses his 6-foot par putt. Tiger sinks his short putt to win his first hole of the day. Tiger is back to within 1-down.

1:43: On the par-4, 536-yard fifth Tiger is in great shape. His tee shot flew 363 yards and his approach is solid, leaving him a 12-footer for birdie. Fernandez-Castano's second shot missed the green, and he's in some short rough.

1:35: Fernandez-Castano nails his 6-footer and Tiger is good with an uphill 4-footer, so they halve the fourth and the Spaniard remains 2-up.

1:31: Fernandez-Castano digs out of the sand nicely, and rolls 6 feet past the cup. Tiger can win the hole with a tough 25-footer, but it misses left by about a half-inch.

1:28: Tiger's tee shot on No. 4 is good for about 275 yards, but his approach hits the green and ends up behind a tough mound. This will be a difficult and long putt for birdie. But Fernandez-Castano is in even worse shape, as his approach slides off the right of the green and into a bunker.

1:21: Fernandez-Castano misses curling in his birdie try by two inches. But Tiger has to sink his straight-on putt to halve the hole, and does. Big save by Tiger there. If he went 3-down this early it would be a huge ditch. Fernandez-Castano is still 2-up as they head for the par-4 fourth.

1:18: Tiger gets out of the bunker perfectly. Lofts it out, then lets the slope of the green do the work as his ball rolls to with 6 feet of the cup.

1:15: Tiger tees off with a 6-iron on the par-3 third, and doesn't change his luck. He hits left and dribbles into a bunker adjacent to the green. Fernandez-Castano is on the green, but has a tough putt for birdie.

1:10: Nice chip by Tiger to within eight feet. He needs Fernandez-Castano to miss his long birdie try, but the Spaniard trickles it in from 25 feet. That means Tiger is 2-down as they head for the par-3 third.

1:05: Not a good third shot by Tiger on No. 2. He pulls it left and short, and won't have much green to work with. Fernandez-Castano is on the green and in much better shape. His approach lands deep at the back of the green, but spins back to within about 25 feet.

1:01: Fernandez-Castano hits out of a bush with a wedge and is back on the fairway and in good shape on the par-5 second hole. But Tiger takes a chance and hits left-handed because of an obstacle. He's not as long as Fernandez-Castano, but he's also back on the fairway.

12:54: After winning the first hole Fernandez-Castano immediately gets in trouble on No. 2. His tee shot fades way right, into the desert and cactus. Looks like he's in a bush. But then Tiger, using a driver, follows almost exactly the same path. They'll both be hitting out of the sand.

12:48: Fernandez-Castano buries his birdie putt but Tiger pushes his a shade left. After one hole, Fernandez-Castano is 1-up.

12:41: Excellent approach shot by Fernandez-Castano on the first. Rolls to within about 12 feet. Tiger, who BTW has a case of the sniffles, is slightly better, spinning to a stop about 8 feet from the cup.

12:35: Tiger and Gonzalo are on the first tee. Tiger hits first with a 3-wood and hits long down the left side of the fairway. Gonzalo is in similar shape, on the opposite side of the fairway.

Worlds Daily

Time to handout some hardware

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Feb 22, 2012 - With most NBA teams now at the halfway point of their season and the All-Star break set for this weekend, it gives me a chance to hand out some mid-season awards.

MVP:

Kevin Durant - Thunder
27 ppg, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 51 FG %

His numbers are up across the board and in my opinion; the most impressive of his stats is his 51% field goal percentage. For a non-post player to be above 50% is extremely impressive. Aside from his stats, the Thunder have the best record in the West and I believe he's less replaceable than other candidates for this award. That's the key for me, I take the meaning of "Most Valuable Player" very literally. If LeBron James were to miss a few games, they still have Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. When Derrick Rose went out recently with back spasms, the Bulls went 3-2 without him including a win over the Celtics. Durant can take his defender off the dribble, he has a post-up game, he can hit the 3-point shot, he rebounds, and his defense has improved; he can do it all.

Runner-Ups: LeBron James, Derrick Rose, Tony Parker

Rookie Of The Year:

Kyrie Irving - Cavaliers
18.5 ppg, 3.5 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 48.7 FG%, 85.5 FT%, 43.6 3-pt %

Not only are Irving's numbers great, but he has Cleveland just 1 1/2 games out of playoff spot! Last season the Cavs won only 19 games all year, but they've won 13 games already out of their first 30; three games before the halfway point of their season. If their other lottery pick Tristan Thompson can fix his offensive problems, the Cavs could be a team on the rise.

Runner-Ups: Ricky Rubio, MarShon Brooks, Brandon Knight

6th Man Of The Year:

James Harden - Thunder
16.8 ppg, 4 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 37% 3-point, 2 starts in 32 games

Its not who starts, it's who finishes right? Harden may not technically be a starter, but he averages the 3rd most minutes per game on the Thunder behind Durant and Westbrook. Using some advanced, nerdy stats, Harden ranks 2nd on the team to Durant in 'Win Shares', an estimate of the number of wins contributed by a player.

Runner-Ups: Jason Terry, Thaddeus Young

Coach Of The Year:

Gregg Popovich - Spurs

Manu Ginobili has missed 23 games, Tim Duncan's minutes and numbers are down, yet the Spurs sit in 2nd place in the Western Conference. I don't know how he does it, most fans couldn't name their starting lineup, but he continues to win.

Runner-Ups: Doug Collins, Frank Vogel

PollWho should be the mid-season MVP?

Read More: Chris Bosh (F - MIA), Jason Terry (G - DAL), Manu Ginobili (G - SAN), Tim Duncan (F - SAN), Tony Parker (G - SAN), LeBron James (F - MIA), Dwyane Wade (G - MIA), Thaddeus Young (F - PHI), Kevin Durant (F - OKC), Derrick Rose (G - CHI), James Harden (G - OKC), Ricky Rubio (G - MIN), Frank Vogel (A - IND), Gregg Popovich (H - SAN), Marshon Brooks (G - NJN), Tristan Thompson (F - CLE), Kyrie Irving (G - CLE), Brandon Knight (G - DET), Chicago Bulls, Boston Celtics, San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, Cleveland Cavaliers

Follow , and Like SB Nation Houston on Facebook.

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Worlds Daily

Time to handout some hardware

Follow , and Like SB Nation Houston on Facebook.

Feb 22, 2012 - With most NBA teams now at the halfway point of their season and the All-Star break set for this weekend, it gives me a chance to hand out some mid-season awards.

MVP:

Kevin Durant - Thunder
27 ppg, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 51 FG %

His numbers are up across the board and in my opinion; the most impressive of his stats is his 51% field goal percentage. For a non-post player to be above 50% is extremely impressive. Aside from his stats, the Thunder have the best record in the West and I believe he's less replaceable than other candidates for this award. That's the key for me, I take the meaning of "Most Valuable Player" very literally. If LeBron James were to miss a few games, they still have Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. When Derrick Rose went out recently with back spasms, the Bulls went 3-2 without him including a win over the Celtics. Durant can take his defender off the dribble, he has a post-up game, he can hit the 3-point shot, he rebounds, and his defense has improved; he can do it all.

Runner-Ups: LeBron James, Derrick Rose, Tony Parker

Rookie Of The Year:

Kyrie Irving - Cavaliers
18.5 ppg, 3.5 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 48.7 FG%, 85.5 FT%, 43.6 3-pt %

Not only are Irving's numbers great, but he has Cleveland just 1 1/2 games out of playoff spot! Last season the Cavs won only 19 games all year, but they've won 13 games already out of their first 30; three games before the halfway point of their season. If their other lottery pick Tristan Thompson can fix his offensive problems, the Cavs could be a team on the rise.

Runner-Ups: Ricky Rubio, MarShon Brooks, Brandon Knight

6th Man Of The Year:

James Harden - Thunder
16.8 ppg, 4 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 37% 3-point, 2 starts in 32 games

Its not who starts, it's who finishes right? Harden may not technically be a starter, but he averages the 3rd most minutes per game on the Thunder behind Durant and Westbrook. Using some advanced, nerdy stats, Harden ranks 2nd on the team to Durant in 'Win Shares', an estimate of the number of wins contributed by a player.

Runner-Ups: Jason Terry, Thaddeus Young

Coach Of The Year:

Gregg Popovich - Spurs

Manu Ginobili has missed 23 games, Tim Duncan's minutes and numbers are down, yet the Spurs sit in 2nd place in the Western Conference. I don't know how he does it, most fans couldn't name their starting lineup, but he continues to win.

Runner-Ups: Doug Collins, Frank Vogel

PollWho should be the mid-season MVP?

Read More: Chris Bosh (F - MIA), Jason Terry (G - DAL), Manu Ginobili (G - SAN), Tim Duncan (F - SAN), Tony Parker (G - SAN), LeBron James (F - MIA), Dwyane Wade (G - MIA), Thaddeus Young (F - PHI), Kevin Durant (F - OKC), Derrick Rose (G - CHI), James Harden (G - OKC), Ricky Rubio (G - MIN), Frank Vogel (A - IND), Gregg Popovich (H - SAN), Marshon Brooks (G - NJN), Tristan Thompson (F - CLE), Kyrie Irving (G - CLE), Brandon Knight (G - DET), Chicago Bulls, Boston Celtics, San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, Cleveland Cavaliers

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Worlds Daily

Star Jones returned to The View today after leaving the show six years ago in a tiff with her co-hosts.

"I say this genuinely: I am so happy to welcome back Star Jones," said Barbara Walters.

Noticing the changes in the show, Star said, "A new couch. You've got two black girls. Sherri and I are not the same person. Elisabeth had more children. Joy got married!"

Walters started to rehash what happened in 2006 and Jones interrupted: "Are we really going to go here, Barbara? Do we care at this point?! I honestly don't."

Walter said yes -- "people ask us all the time" -- and forged on, reminding Jones that her contract had not been renewed and she surprised her co-stars by saying she was leaving. "It was ugly. ... It was a bad emotional time," said Jones today, adding, "I made the decision that I wanted to go out on my own terms."

But it was, in large part, also due to "weight-loss surgery," which had been a sticking point.

"Just to clear it up, we tried to protect you," said Walters, reminding that Star told them not to talk about the surgery in 2003. Jones said she didn't want them to talk about her "private way of deciding to lose weight."

"We did lie!" said Walters.

Jones turned the talk to being healthy now. The day of surgery she weighed 307 pounds, and since then she has lost 160 pounds "at my most." She was able to finally talk about it, when she "felt emotionally healthy."

"We were very worried about you," said Walters, finally adding, "You look great. You look healthy. And we really are happy that you're back."

Walters and Jones then shared heart stories, which was Jones' real reason for returning. She passed out heart pins and bracelets and said, "I wanted to say thank you for welcoming me back. ... You should know I have always held all of you in the highest regard."

Worlds Daily

Read More: Houston Astros

The Houston Astros are getting ready to kick off their 2012 Spring Training in Orlando. Pitchers and catchers are already in attendance, but if you're hoping to make your way to Florida to cheer on the 'Stros, we have all of your vital info right here.

The Astros will once again make their home for the spring at Osceola County Stadium, their Grapefruit League home since 1985. The stadium seats 5,100 and is located at 1000 Bill Beck Blvd., Kissimmee, FL. Their closest Grapefruit League neighbors are the Atlanta Braves.

Here are directions to the ballpark, courtesy of Spring Training Online.

From I-4, take Route 192 west off of the Florida Turnpike or east off of I-4. The ballpark is 1.5 miles west of the turnpike and two miles east of downtown Kissimmee.

The below map shows the location of Champion Stadium in relation to the other Grapefruit League parks.

For all news and information regarding the Houston Astros, please visit The Crawfish Boxes. For complete coverage of Spring Training, head on over to Baseball Nation.

Worlds Daily

DENVER — Brady Quinn is apologizing to Tim Tebow for unflattering comments Quinn made about the Denver Broncos’ starting quarterback in a GQ article.

The article on Tebowmania was written by Michael Silver and titled "The year of Magical Stinking: An Oral History of Tebow Time."

In it, Quinn was quoted as saying, "We’ve had a lot of, I guess, luck, to put it simply." He also said he felt the fans were the reason Tebow leapfrogged him on the depth chart when supplanting Kyle Orton as the starter after a 1-4 start.

"I felt like the fans had a lot to do with that," Quinn said in the article. "Just ’cause they were chanting his name. There was a big calling for him. No, I don’t have any billboards. That would have been nice."

Quinn also said in the article that the way Tebow expresses his faith doesn’t "seem very humble to me." Both men are Christians.

Quinn took to Twitter after the article’s release Tuesday, saying the comments attributed to him did not reflect his opinion of Tebow.

Tebow "deserves a lot of credit for our success and I’m happy for him and what he accomplished. Most importantly, he is a great teammate," Quinn wrote.

Quinn said he’s reached out to Tebow directly "to clear this up," adding, "I apologize to anyone who feels I was trying to take anything away from our team’s or Tim’s success this season."

Quinn is an unrestricted free agent whom the Broncos are considering bringing back to Denver.

He was Orton’s primary backup when the season started but when Orton struggled, the Broncos’ brain trust wanted to see what they had in Tebow, a 2010 first-round draft pick who made more than $7 million last season, including a big bonus that was paid before the season.

Tebow won seven of his first eight starts and produced a series of stirring fourth-quarter comebacks that made up for his poor passing and messy mechanics.

With Tebow at quarterback, the Broncos reached the playoffs for the first time since 2005, and they won their first game, against Pittsburgh, when Tebow connected with Demaryius Thomas on an electrifying 80-yard touchdown pass on the first play of overtime.

Thomas chimed into the latest Tebow rift on Tuesday, tweeting, "I’m tired of ppl talking about my QB.. If u ask me there’s no such thing as luck.. It’s hard work and determination.. That’s all..."

After the Broncos lost at New England in the divisional round, football chief John Elway declared Tebow the starter heading into training camp this summer but stopped short of saying the third-year pro had won the job for opening day next season.

The Broncos haven’t ruled out bringing back Quinn, who didn’t take a single snap in his two seasons in Denver after being acquired from Cleveland in the trade for Peyton Hillis in 2010.

Besides Tebow, the only other quarterback under contract for next season is Adam Weber, who spent last season on the Broncos’ practice squad.

© Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Worlds Daily

Dave Hogan, Getty Images

Rihanna was in London Tuesday (Feb. 21), partying the night away at London nightclub Mahiki Bar, celebrating her 2012 BRIT Awards win earlier that day for International Female Solo Artist -- the second year in a row she earned the trophy.

As she was spotted leaving the venue, dressed in a bright yellow dress and oversized violet shades, the 'Birthday Cake' songstress appeared with a mysterious red mark on the right side of her neck. Paparazzi snapped excessive photos of the star as she departed, which can be seen in the video below, but the 24-year-old kept hush about the mark.

Could it be lipstick from another woman nuzzling at her neck or paint left over from her 'We Found Love' performance at the BRIT Awards? The Bajan singer was splattered with several different colors while rocking the stage.

Watch 'Rihanna's Mystery Neck Mark at BRIT Afterparty'

See Photos of Singers Without Makeup

Watch Rihanna's AOL Sessions

Worlds Daily

Star Jones returned to The View today after leaving the show six years ago in a tiff with her co-hosts.

"I say this genuinely: I am so happy to welcome back Star Jones," said Barbara Walters.

Noticing the changes in the show, Star said, "A new couch. You've got two black girls. Sherri and I are not the same person. Elisabeth had more children. Joy got married!"

Walters started to rehash what happened in 2006 and Jones interrupted: "Are we really going to go here, Barbara? Do we care at this point?! I honestly don't."

Walter said yes -- "people ask us all the time" -- and forged on, reminding Jones that her contract had not been renewed and she surprised her co-stars by saying she was leaving. "It was ugly. ... It was a bad emotional time," said Jones today, adding, "I made the decision that I wanted to go out on my own terms."

But it was, in large part, also due to "weight-loss surgery," which had been a sticking point.

"Just to clear it up, we tried to protect you," said Walters, reminding that Star told them not to talk about the surgery in 2003. Jones said she didn't want them to talk about her "private way of deciding to lose weight."

"We did lie!" said Walters.

Jones turned the talk to being healthy now. The day of surgery she weighed 307 pounds, and since then she has lost 160 pounds "at my most." She was able to finally talk about it, when she "felt emotionally healthy."

"We were very worried about you," said Walters, finally adding, "You look great. You look healthy. And we really are happy that you're back."

Walters and Jones then shared heart stories, which was Jones' real reason for returning. She passed out heart pins and bracelets and said, "I wanted to say thank you for welcoming me back. ... You should know I have always held all of you in the highest regard."

Worlds Daily

LONDON — British Prime Minister David Cameron pledged to "crush" racism in soccer during a summit he hosted on Wednesday to address issues in the Premier League.

The Downing Street gathering of politicians, soccer leaders and anti-racism campaigners follows high-profile racism cases this season involving players. Cameron warned that abusive behavior by soccer stars is imitated by youngsters and must be stopped.

"We have some problems still today," Cameron said at the start of the summit. "We need to act quickly to make sure those problems do not creep back in.

"I hope what we can agree today is to make sure that everybody who has the ability to deal with this issue takes the steps they can ... if everyone plays their role, then we can easily crush and deal with this problem."

The government announced Wednesday it will give $4.7 million toward the English Football Association’s new coaching center in a bid to encourage more people from ethnic minorities to become managers. There are no black managers in the Premier League.

Cameron said Wednesday’s meeting was designed to reaffirm vigilance against racism and discrimination.

The most serious case will be tried in court in July. Chelsea defender John Terry is charged with racially abusing Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand during a match in October. Terry was stripped of the England captaincy — a move opposed by coach Fabio Capello, who quit in protest.

English Football Association chairman David Bernstein told the summit that the governing body had already shown a willingness to impose "very tough sanctions where necessary."

Liverpool, the 18-time English champion, came under fire for its support of striker Luis Suarez when he was banned for eight matches after racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra in October.

Liverpool, owned by the parent company of the Boston Red Sox [team stats], was condemned by anti-racism groups for backing Suarez and allowing players and manager Kenny Dalglish to wear T-shirts featuring Suarez’s picture in a show of solidarity before a match against Wigan weeks later.

This month, Suarez was criticized for refusing to shake hands with Evra, who is black, on Feb. 11 in their first meeting since the confrontation in October. He apologized later under pressure.

"What happens on the field influences what happens off the field. You see children as young as 6 imitating the behavior they see on the field," Cameron said. "So this is not just important for football, it’s important for the whole country ... we want to make sure football is all about a power to do good, rather than anything else."

Cameron believes having more black and ethnic minority coaches in the game would help combat racism.

"We simply cannot brush this under the carpet," Cameron wrote in Wednesday’s edition of The Sun newspaper. "I’ve no doubt that football will crack this problem — and the government stands ready to do anything it can to help."

The meeting also dealt with the lingering problem of homophobia in soccer.

Among the participants Wednesday will be Amal Fashanu, who recently made a documentary for British TV about homosexuality in soccer, 14 years after her uncle Justin committed suicide.

© Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Worlds Daily

LONDON — British Prime Minister David Cameron pledged to "crush" racism in soccer during a summit he hosted on Wednesday to address issues in the Premier League.

The Downing Street gathering of politicians, soccer leaders and anti-racism campaigners follows high-profile racism cases this season involving players. Cameron warned that abusive behavior by soccer stars is imitated by youngsters and must be stopped.

"We have some problems still today," Cameron said at the start of the summit. "We need to act quickly to make sure those problems do not creep back in.

"I hope what we can agree today is to make sure that everybody who has the ability to deal with this issue takes the steps they can ... if everyone plays their role, then we can easily crush and deal with this problem."

The government announced Wednesday it will give $4.7 million toward the English Football Association’s new coaching center in a bid to encourage more people from ethnic minorities to become managers. There are no black managers in the Premier League.

Cameron said Wednesday’s meeting was designed to reaffirm vigilance against racism and discrimination.

The most serious case will be tried in court in July. Chelsea defender John Terry is charged with racially abusing Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand during a match in October. Terry was stripped of the England captaincy — a move opposed by coach Fabio Capello, who quit in protest.

English Football Association chairman David Bernstein told the summit that the governing body had already shown a willingness to impose "very tough sanctions where necessary."

Liverpool, the 18-time English champion, came under fire for its support of striker Luis Suarez when he was banned for eight matches after racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra in October.

Liverpool, owned by the parent company of the Boston Red Sox [team stats], was condemned by anti-racism groups for backing Suarez and allowing players and manager Kenny Dalglish to wear T-shirts featuring Suarez’s picture in a show of solidarity before a match against Wigan weeks later.

This month, Suarez was criticized for refusing to shake hands with Evra, who is black, on Feb. 11 in their first meeting since the confrontation in October. He apologized later under pressure.

"What happens on the field influences what happens off the field. You see children as young as 6 imitating the behavior they see on the field," Cameron said. "So this is not just important for football, it’s important for the whole country ... we want to make sure football is all about a power to do good, rather than anything else."

Cameron believes having more black and ethnic minority coaches in the game would help combat racism.

"We simply cannot brush this under the carpet," Cameron wrote in Wednesday’s edition of The Sun newspaper. "I’ve no doubt that football will crack this problem — and the government stands ready to do anything it can to help."

The meeting also dealt with the lingering problem of homophobia in soccer.

Among the participants Wednesday will be Amal Fashanu, who recently made a documentary for British TV about homosexuality in soccer, 14 years after her uncle Justin committed suicide.

© Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Worlds Daily

The battle between Google and Microsoft continued this week with Microsoft on Wednesday filing a formal complaint with the European Commission, that accuses Google and Motorola Mobility of patent abuse.

"We have taken this step because Motorola is attempting to block sales of Windows PCs, our Xbox game console and other products," Dave Heiner, vice president and deputy general counsel at Microsoft, wrote in a blog post. "Their offense? These products enable people to view videos on the Web and to connect wirelessly to the Internet using industry standards."

Specifically, Microsoft says that Motorola Mobility, which is now owned by Google, is suing over "essential" patents, a move that could seriously disrupt the tech ecosystem.

"Motorola is on a path to use standard essential patents to kill video on the Web, and Google as its new owner doesn't seem to be willing to change course," Heiner wrote.

At issue is something known as FRAND (fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory) licensing obligations, which are intended to keep major corporations in check and avoid abusive patent-related behavior. Basically, if a company holds a patent on a technology that is essential to a particular industry, they should make every effort to license that technology, even to major rivals.

According to Microsoft, Motorola's patent suits against Redmond demand that Microsoft either pull its products - like the Xbox and Windows PCs - from the shelves or remove their ability to play video and connect to the Web wirelessly.

"The only basis for these actions is that these products implement industry standards, on which Motorola claims patents," Heiner wrote. "Yet when the industry adopted these standards, we all were counting on Motorola and every contributor to live up to their promises."

"Imagine what a step back it would be if we could no longer watch videos on our computing devices or connect via Wi-Fi, or if only some products, but not others, had these capabilities," he continued. "That would defeat the whole purpose of an industry standard."

Google and Motorola Mobility did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Long Road to FRAND
Microsoft has tangled with Motorola for years. Redmond first sued Motorola in October 2010 for patent infringement relating to the company's Android-based smartphones. A month later, it sued again, arguing that its royalty rates for both wireless networking and video technologies exceed agreed-upon limits. Motorola then fired back, suing the software giant for patent infringement via a number of key Microsoft products.

Back in December, an International Trade Commission (ITC) judge ruled that Motorola Mobility infringed a Microsoft patent in making its Android handsets but did not violate six other patents for which Microsoft had made claims against Motorola.

Earlier this month, Microsoft joined the chorus of those calling for basic rules regarding the licensing of wireless standard patents. It was revealed recently that Apple also wrote a letter to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) back in November asking the group to develop FRAND-related standards.

In approving the Google/Motorola deal, the Department of Justice said "Google's commitments [to FRAND] were more ambiguous and do not provide the same direct confirmation" of its licensing plans.

Microsoft claims that Motorola is asking for exorbitant licensing fees.

"For a $1,000 laptop, Motorola is demanding that Microsoft pay a royalty of $22.50 for its 50 patents on the video standard, called H.264," Heiner wrote. "As it turns out, there are at least 2,300 other patents needed to implement this standard. They are available from a group of 29 companies that came together to offer their H.264 patents to the industry on FRAND terms. Microsoft's patent royalty to this group on that $1,000 laptop? Two cents."

"Google has a chance to make a change. For a company so publicly committed to protecting the Internet, one might expect them to join the growing consensus against using standard essential patents to block products," he concluded.

Patent blogger Florian Mueller, meanwhile, said he is concerned by the "new and growing phenomenon of 'FRAND abuse tourism': companies like Samsung and Motorola start litigation in places like Germany only because they see better chances of winning injunctions based on standard-essential patents than, for example, in the United States."

"As a European consumer, I don't want to be held hostage by companies that use industry standards as a nuclear weapon and restrict choice," Mueller wrote in a blog post. "As a European citizen, I'm reasonably confident that the Commission will make those companies (and countless others who are watching these high-profile smartphone cases and harboring similar plans) realize that Europe is not a good destination for FRAND abuse tourism."

Also this week, meanwhile, Microsoft accused Google of bypassing the privacy settings on its Internet Explorer blog and released a video that attacked the security and functionality of Google Apps.

For more from Chloe, follow her on Twitter @ChloeAlbanesius.

For the top stories in tech, follow us on Twitter at @PCMag.

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