Computer from ‘WarGames’ going up for sale

Good news for anyone looking to buy a computer capable of starting World War III. One of the computers used in the 1983 film "WarGames" is going up for sale, IT World reports.

"WarGames," the classic hacker flick starring Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy, told the story of a high school student and computer genius (Broderick) who hacks into a military computer that controls the U.S. nuclear missile supply.

What could possibly go wrong? Turns out, a lot. Chaos and threats of nuclear war with the Soviet Union ensue.

The computers played pivotal roles in the thriller, and none was as important as the one Broderick's character used to hack into North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).

Todd Fischer, who owns the computer, spoke via email to Yahoo News about the 8080 computer, keyboard, and noisy modem. With the exception of the dual disk drive (remember those?), all the props are still in working condition.

Fischer said he takes great pride in having contributed to the scene in which Broderick's character "inserted a floppy disk into an original 8" floppy drive to initiate the 'War Dialing' sequence that connects with W.O.P.R."

Fischer explained that while the computer is stock, "dummy boards and cables were provided to give the illusion of greater computing power and resources to boost the screen effect." Fischer said he never heard a single complaint that something wasn't correct. "I took great pains to ensure that all props offered from my end met the credibilities that the script called for," he said.

Fischer has yet to decide how he wants to sell off the famous props. Two years ago, he was set to auction off the computer at Christie's in London, according to IT World. However, Fischer called off the sale over "concerns about the safety of the props once they made it across the pond." At that time, the computer and accessories were valued at over $25,000.

This time, he says he plans to sell whenever "the right offer or proposition knocks on my humble door."

Glass Menagerie: Broken

I broke my Google Glass. The injury is my fault, though I also choose to blame the Google-issued case, a cowboy accessory of gray flannel that is closer to a hard-toed sock than to the Bulgari satin-lined jewelry box that would seem to suit fancy Google Glass.

The soft part of the Glass sack was insufficient armor against the bruising bustle of my handbag, which contains a dusty old iPad and iPhone (hahaha remember that stuff?), sunglasses and my daughter’s Barbie Fairy, name of Silvermist. Some of these obdurate objects—they’re like the tougher organs of the bag, the livers and wombs—seem to have encountered Glass, the feeblest and most fragile, the eyeball of the bag. At some point a collision occurred, and this collision bent, then broke, the hinge that connects the battery to the brace, rendering it operative but unmistakably broken.

My broken Glass occasioned another visit to Glass Basecamp, the site of my original Initiation. That Initiation, you might remember, was conducted at the hands of one Norm, who though he is an exceptional Glass Guide, prefers to remain “in the shadows” (as he told me in a private communication), and thus will here remain surname-free. Norm greeted me again.
“Norm!” I said. Once again Norm was supremely helpful, and set me up, no questions asked, with a brand new Glass, as though Google had suddenly reversed the planned obsolescence on which our whole economy and “upgrade” psychology is now founded, and had revived the old L.L. Bean return policy from 1916. (“I do not consider a sale complete until digital headgear in beta is worn out and the customer is still satisfied.”)
I put my new Glass on, and resolved as much as possible to wear it around my neck when I’m not using it, since that’s the new style at Basecamp. Then I promptly started looking for new people to lend it to.

Norm says he treats his Glass like a small child, and that’s why his never breaks. I treat mine like a small child too, but since I typically pass my real-life children around to anyone who is curious about them, I analogously pass around Glass.

The author, viewed in the mirror wearing Google Glass, at Glass Basecamp in New York City.

Technology is assumed to be isolating, in spite of one million years of evidence that it’s not. Some people prefer solitude to company, and technology—whatever that is—extends the passions of the biological creatures who make and use it. If you are isolated against your will, like my friend Bob in Iowa, digital technology does much to offset that isolation: It throws up abundant connective tissue in the form of the Scrabble app, and Facebook, and Yahoo News.
So Google Glass, which initially threw in my path wise, earnest neighbors who averted their eyes from my sinister headgear, eventually led me to sidewalk gawkers and finally to conversation with people who enjoy novelty - which is to say lots and lots of people.
But in the broken Glass days I finally experienced the grief I knew I’d find eventually with Glass. Not because I (or my iPad or Silvermist) had bent or broken it; on the contrary, it was moving to see this pristine thing out of alignment. Glass is so imperfect now, and so glitchy, that this was only an external reminder of its mortal nature.
No—I felt the grief when Glass was in the shop. In fact, for the short time that my Glass was out of commission—really, just while Norm was getting the new one up and running—I felt like crying. That’s right. The most grief I’ve felt at the hands of Glass was when, briefly, I had to let it go.
Norm says that people come to Glass with all kind of apprehensions and misgivings. They hold it in their hands in a gingerly way, slightly embarrassed by the clumsiness it engenders in them, and look for flaws. They try to get on top of the device; to draw a bigger circle around it, to not let it catch them off guard.

I know I did that. “See, this is going to be inconvenient; this is ugly and uncomfortable and creepy and stupid.”
But then they emerge with one phrase: “I want.” That’s what Norm says. He’s a salesman. But from what I’ve seen, watching people play with Glass, he’s right. I want. I want, still, even with PRISM in the air and surveillance and the wily Edward Snowden still at large, to be part of something new. “Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive” is what I posted to Twitter this morning—a line from Wordsworth, in the spirit of the jubilant tweets celebrating the strikedown of Prop 8 in California.
But I meant those words for the digital dawn, too.
Still—the digital dawn? You might be rolling your eyes, or, if you know your Wordsworth, shaking your head: that line expresses Wordsworth’s excitement about the French Revolution, and in his estimation that bliss came to grief. No dawn ends well. Or rather, dawns all end in darkness. But that geopolitical certainty should not stop us from beholding the sunrise, #throughglass, if possible. Should it?

Weiner’s gain in the polls could end unofficial truce on sexting scandal

supporters on Wednesday calling for their help in stopping Weiner's bid for City Hall, writing “Does he deserve a second chance?”

“Like me, I’m sure that you had hoped to have seen the last of Anthony Weiner when he resigned from Congress following an illicit sexual Twitter scandal and botched cover up, but he’s back and desperate for political redemption,” Lhota wrote. “But it’s the same old story with Anthony Weiner. First, he lies to the public, the press and his family. And then he makes up his own facts. This is a pattern that is simply unacceptable.”

Lhota's comments come just a day after a new Wall Street Journal/NBC New York/Marist poll found Weiner now leads a crowded field of Democrats vying to replace Mayor Michael Bloomberg at City Hall. According to the poll, 25 percent of registered Democrats favor Weiner in the race—up 6 percentage points from last month. He is now beating City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, the race’s longtime front-runner, by 5 percentage points.

Further back in the poll were former Comptroller Bill Thompson, who had 13 percent in the poll; Public Advocate Bill de Blasio (10 percent) and current Comptroller John Liu (8 percent). Eighteen percent of Democrats remain undecided in the race. (The poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.)

(UPDATE: On Wednesday, a new Quinnipiac poll found Quinn, Weiner and Thompson statistically tied.)

Of his Democratic opponents, only one has brought up Weiner’s sexting with women who were not his wife, forcing him to resign from Congress two years ago. At a mayoral forum in Queens earlier this month, former City Council member Sal Albanese, who registered at just 1 percent in the latest poll, suggested Weiner did not have the “credibility” to be mayor.

“He's betrayed the public trust on several occasions,” Albanese said, according to Capital New York. “I think that disqualifies him from running for mayor."

Weiner, who was also at the forum, did not respond.

With just 76 days until the Democratic primary, Weiner’s gain in the polls is sure to cause alarm for his opponents—especially Quinn, whose campaign discounted Weiner’s mayoral bid early on. But it’s still unclear whether Weiner’s gain in the polls will prompt Quinn or the other Democratic hopefuls to reconsider whether it’s worth raising character questions about the ex-congressman.

So far none of the Democratic campaigns are willing to say whether they think Weiner's past scandals are fair game in the election. But Weiner appears to believe the attacks are inevitable—as evidenced by his launching his campaign with a mea culpa over his bad behavior and asking for a "second chance."

Asked about Lhota's fundraising email at a campaign stop in the Bronx on Wednesday, Weiner blew it off, according to the Daily News.

"I've been getting hit by right wing Republicans since the moment I got into public life," Weiner said. "And I'm going to keep talking about the things that I care about and I'm going to keep talking about what matters to New York City."

Snowden blames Obama for trying to block his efforts to find asylum

 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden, charged with leaking secret U.S. surveillance information, said the Obama administration was denying him his right to seek asylum, according to a statement released by the WikiLeaks organization on Monday.

"It is being reported that after promising not to do so, the President ordered his Vice President to pressure the leaders of nations from which I have requested protection to deny my asylum petitions," Snowden said in a statement published on the WikiLeaks website, referring to President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. "This kind of deception from a world leader is not justice, and neither is the extralegal penalty of exile."

The United States has been on an international manhunt for Snowden, a former National Security Agency contractor who faces espionage charges for leaking classified information about secret U.S. phone and Internet surveillance activity. He is believed to be holed up in the transit area of a Moscow airport.

"Although I am convicted of nothing, (the Obama administration) has unilaterally revoked my passport, leaving me a stateless person," Snowden said in a statement posted online by anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks.

"Without any judicial order, the administration now seeks to stop me exercising a basic right. A right that belongs to everybody. The right to seek asylum... Their purpose is to frighten, not me, but those who would come after me."

A Russian official on Monday said Snowden has applied for political asylum in Russia and Reuters saw a letter Snowden sent to Ecuador, thanking it for helping him get to Russia and examining his asylum request.

In the statement dated July 1 and signed "Edward Joseph Snowden," he blamed the Obama administration for adopting "the strategy of using citizenship as a weapon" in its efforts to block his search for asylum and said he was "unbowed in his convictions."

Snowden is traveling with Sarah Harrison, an activist with WikiLeaks. The group's founder Julian Assange has been granted asylum in Ecuador's London embassy, where he has been for just over a year. (Reporting by Alina Selyukh; Editing by Will Dunham and Eric Walsh)

Hotshots killed in Ariz. fire remembered, mourned

 

Beneitone said athletic prowess was a must for the Hotshots. "That's what it takes. You gotta be very physically fit, and you gotta like it, gotta like the hard work."

Ashcraft, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was honored to be a member of the Hotshot crew, and "he just had a really sweet spirit about him," Elise Smith, a Prescott, Ariz., resident, told The Deseret News of Salt Lake City.

Ashcraft left behind a wife, Juliann, and four children, the newspaper reported.

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ROBERT CALDWELL: THE SMART ONE

Friends characterized Robert Caldwell, 23, as the smart man in the bunch.

"He was really smart, he had a good sense of humor," said Chase Madrid, worked as a Hotshot for two years, but sat this year out.

"He was one of the smart guys in the crew who could get the weather, figure out the mathematics. It was just natural for him," Madrid said.

It was Caldwell's intelligence and know-how that got him appointed as a squad boss.

His cousin, Grant McKee, was also a Hotshots member and also was killed on Sunday.

"Robert was a gentle giant — he was man of few words," said his aunt, Laurie McKee.

He had just gotten married in November, and had a five year old step-son.

"Both of these boys were only interested in having a family life. Robert was newly married, and Grant was engaged. They just wanted the house and the dog," she said.

Mary Hoffmann was grandmother to both boys.

"To have two grandson's gone, it's devastation," she said.

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TRAVIS CARTER: STRONG AND HUMBLE

At Captain Crossfit, a gym near the firehouse where the Hotshots were stationed, Travis Carter was known as the strongest one out of the crew — but also the most humble.

"No one could beat him," trainer Janine Pereira said. "But the thing about him, was he would never brag about it. He would just kill everyone and then go and start helping someone else finish."

Carter, 31, was famous for once holding a plank for 45 minutes, and he was notorious for making up brutal workouts.

The crew recently did a five mile run during wilderness training, then he made them go to Captain Crossfit in the afternoon for another really hard workout.

"The other guys who came in here always said that even though he was in charge, he was always the first one at the fire, the first one in action," Pereira said.

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DUSTIN DEFORD: DRY SENSE OF HUMOR

Dustin DeFord, 24, tried out for the Hotshot crew in January 2012, telling friends on Twitter that he had passed the physical fitness test and asking for prayers as he moved on to the interview stage of the process.

He moved to Arizona from Montana after he was hired, and he worked to improve his skills on the climbing wall at a gym near the firehouse.

"He listened very well. He was very respectful," said Tony Burris, a trainer at Captain Crossfit. "He kind of had a dry sense of humor."

Another trainer, Janine Pereira, echoed that sentiment.

"You would say something to him, and he would respond with a crack, which was funny because he was so shy," she said.

Soon after he interviewed for the Hotshots, DeFord signed up for the Spartan Race, a rugged, eight-mile challenge through the mud and around various obstacles in Chandler, a suburb of Phoenix.

"I am being amazing," he wrote on Twitter, in reference to the race.

Several months later, in June 2012, he tweeted: "First Fire of the season."

___

CHRIS MACKENZIE: 'JUST LIKE HIS DAD'

An avid snowboarder, 30-year-old Chris MacKenzie grew up in California's San Jacinto Valley, where he was a 2001 graduate of Hemet High School and a former member of the town's fire department. He joined the U.S. Forest Service in 2004, then transferred two years ago to the Prescott Fire Department, longtime friend Dav Fulford-Brown told The Riverside Press-Enterprise.

MacKenzie, like at least one other member of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, had followed his father into firefighting. Michael MacKenzie, a former Moreno Valley Fire Department captain, confirmed that he had been informed of his son's death.

"I can't talk about it," he said.

Fulford-Brown, also a former firefighter, feared for the worst as soon as he heard the news of the Arizona firefighters. "I said, 'Oh my God, that's Chris' crew.' I started calling him and calling him and got no answer," he told The Press-Enterprise. MacKenzie, he said, "lived life to the fullest ... and was fighting fire just like his dad."

"He was finishing his credentials to get promoted and loved the people. It's an insane tragedy.

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ERIC MARSH: HOOKED ON FIREFIGHTING

Eric Marsh, 43, was an avid mountain biker who grew up in Ashe County, N.C., but became hooked on firefighting while studying biology at Arizona State University, said Leanna Racquer, the ex-wife of his cousin. Marsh lived with Racquer and her then-husband during the winters from 1992 through 1996 in North Carolina, but kept returning to Arizona during fire season.

After college, he kept working as a firefighter, eventually landing a full-time job and settling in northern Arizona. He even moved his parents to the state, she said. Marsh was superintendent of the Hotshot crew and the oldest of the 19 who died.

"He's was great — he was the best at what he did," Racquer said. "He is awesome and well-loved and they are hurting," she said of his family.

Marsh was married but had no children, said his cousin, Scott Marsh of Pisgah Forest, N.C. His father, John Marsh, told the Jefferson Post newspaper in Jefferson, N.C., that his only child "was a great son."

"He was compassionate and caring about his crew."

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GRANT MCKEE: GIVING NATURE

Grant McKee, 21, loved to give things away.

"Even as a child, I'd ask him where things were, and he'd say, 'Oh such and such liked it.' And sometimes it really cost a lot! But he'd say, 'Oh he liked it so much,'" said his grandmother, Mary Hoffmann.

"So on his birthday, I started to say, 'I hope you're going to keep this!'" she said.

McKee's cousin, Robert Caldwell, also was a Hotshot and also was killed on Sunday.

"I had four grandchildren, but Grant was the sweetest most giving nature of any of my grandkids," Hoffman said. "We used to think he was a little angel."

McKee's mother said Grant was training to be an emergency medical technician and only intended to work with the Hotshots for the summer.

During EMT training, he would ask for extra shifts at the emergency room. And because his superiors liked him, they would give them to him, Laurie McKee said.

"Grant was one of the most likable people you could ever meet," she said. "Grant was friendly, he was outgoing. Everybody loved Grant."

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SEAN MISNER: 'TREMENDOUS HEART AND DESIRE'

Sean Misner, 26, leaves behind a wife who is seven months pregnant, said Mark Swanitz, principal of Santa Ynez Valley Union High School in Santa Barbara County, where Misner graduated in 2005.

Misner played varsity football and also participated in the school's sports medicine program where he wrapped sprained ankles and took care of sidelined athletes.

"He was a team player, a real helper," Swanitz told The Associated Press on Monday.

In high school, Misner played several positions including wide receiver and defensive back. He was slim for a high school football player, but that didn't stop him from tackling his opponents, recalled retired football coach Ken Gruendyke.

"He played with tremendous heart and desire," Gruendyke said. "He wasn't the biggest or fastest guy on the team but he played with great emotion and intensity."

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SCOTT NORRIS: THE 'IDEAL AMERICAN GENTELMAN'

Scott Norris, 28, was known around Prescott through his part-time job at Bucky O'Neill Guns.

"Here in Arizona the gun shops are a lot like barbershops. Sometimes you don't go in there to buy anything at all, you just go to talk," said resident William O'Hara. "I never heard a dirty word out of the guy. He was the kind of guy who if he dated your daughter, you'd be OK with it.

"He was just a model of a young, ideal American gentleman."

O'Hara's son Ryan, 19, said Norris' life and tragic death had inspired him to live a more meaningful life.

"He was a loving guy. He loved life. And I've been guilty of not looking as happy as I should, and letting things get to me, and Scott wasn't like that at all."

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WADE PARKER: ANOTHER SECOND GENERATION FIREFIGHTER

At 22, Wade Parker had just joined the Hotshots team. His father works for the nearby Chino Valley Fire Department, said retired Prescott Fire Department Capt. Jeff Knotek, who had known Wade since he was "just a little guy."

The younger Parker had been very excited about being part of the Hotshot crew, Knotek said.

"He was another guy who wanted to be a second generation firefighter," Knotek said. "Big, athletic kid who loved it, aggressive, assertive and in great shape."

"It's just a shame to see this happen," Knotek said.

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JOHN PERCIN JR.: STRONG, BRAVE, AMAZING

He loved baseball and had an unforgettable laugh. In his aunt's eyes, John Percin Jr. was, simply, "an amazing young man."

"He was probably the strongest and bravest young man I have ever met in my life," Donna Percin Pederson said in an interview with The Associated Press from her home in Portland, Ore.

John Percin Sr., declined to comment Monday. "It's not a good time right now."

Percin, 24, was a multisport high school athlete who graduated in 2007 from West Linn High School, southeast of Portland.

Geoff McEvers grew up playing baseball with Percin and remembered Percin as a fun-loving guy with an unforgettable laugh, The Oregonian newspaper reported.

McEvers said he learned about the Percin's death through friends.

"It's already tragic when you hear about those who died," McEvers told the newspaper, "but when you find out it's someone you know personally, it's tough."

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ANTHONY ROSE: 'BLOSSOMED' AS FIREMAN

Anthony Rose, 23, was one of the youngest victims. He grew up in Wisconsin and previously worked as a firefighter in nearby Crown King before moving on to become a Hotshot.

Retired Crown King firefighter Greg Flores said Rose "just blossomed in the fire department. He did so well and helped so much in Crown King. We were all so very proud of him."

Flores said the town was planning a fundraiser for Rose and hoped to also have a memorial to honor him.

"He was the kind of guy that his smile lit up the whole room and everyone would just rally around him," he said. "He loved what he was doing, and that brings me some peace of heart."

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JESSE STEED: 'GREAT FOR MORALE'

Jesse Steed's former colleagues remember him as a joker.

"He was a character. If you look at all the old photos of him, he was doing things to make people laugh," said Cooper Carr, who worked with Steed in the Hotshots from 2001 to 2003.

"He was good at impressions, and he sang songs; he was just great for morale. He'd just talk in a funny voice and have us all in stiches," Carr said. "And he was strong as an ox."

Carr remembers that Steed once spent the better part of an hour positioning a water bottle just right for a photo so that it would look like Yosemite falls was cascading into it.

Steed was also remembered for his dedication to fighting wildfires.

"He did it for a long, long time. I think he started in 2001, when he got out of the Marines. A job like the Hotshots is hard, hard work, and you don't stay in it if you don't love it," Carr said.

Steed, 36, was one of the older members of the crew. Renton, Wash., police officer Cassidy Steed said his brother "always put his life on the line for people who he knew he would never meet."

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TRAVIS TURBYFILL: 'BIG, HUGE MARINE'

Known as "Turby" among crew members, Travis Turbyfill got a fulltime position with the Hotshots when another member's girlfriend asked him to quit.

Turbyfill, 27, often worked with other Hotshots at Captain Crossfit, a warehouse filled with mats, obstacle courses, climbing walls and acrobatic rings near the firehouse. He would train in the morning and then return in the afternoon with his wife and kids.

Trainer Janine Pereira said she recently kidded Turbyfill for skipping workouts. His excuse was that he wanted to spend some quality time at Dairy Queen.

"He was telling me that it's because it was Blizzard week, and he was just going to eat a Blizzard every night," she said.

Tony Burris, another trainer, said he enjoyed watching Turby with his two daughters.

"Because he's this big, huge Marine, Hotshot guy, and he has two little girls, reddish, blonde curly hair, and they just loved their dad," he said.

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BILLY WARNEKE: 'DOING WHAT HE LOVED'

Billy Warneke, 25, and his wife, Roxanne, were expecting their first child in December, his grandmother, Nancy Warneke, told The Press-Enterprise newspaper in Riverside, Calif. Warneke grew up in Hemet, Calif., along with his fellow Granite Mountain hotshot, Chris MacKenzie. He was a four-year Marine Corps veteran who served a tour in Iraq and had joined the hotshot crew in April, buying a property in Prescott, near where his sister lived, the newspaper reported.

Nancy Warneke said she called her sister after seeing the fire on the news.

"She said, 'He's gone. They're all gone,'" Nancy Warneke told The Press-Enterprise. "Even though it's a tragedy for the whole family, he was doing what he loved to do. He loved nature and was helping preserve nature."

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CLAYTON WHITTED: HE'D 'LIGHT IT UP'

Full of heart and determination, Clayton Whitted, 28, might not have been the biggest guy around, but he was among the hardest-working. His former Prescott High School coach, Lou Beneitone, said Whitted was a "wonderful kid" who always had a big smile on his face. Whitted played for the football team as an offensive and defensive lineman.

"He was a smart young man with a great personality, just a wonderful personality," said Beneitone. "When he walked into a room, he could really light it up."

Beneitone said Whitted loved being a firefighter and was well-respected among his crew. He says he ran into Whitted about two months ago and they shook hands and hugged, and talked about the upcoming fire season.

"I told him to be careful," Beneitone said.

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KEVIN WOYJECK: FOLLOWING IN HIS FATHER'S FOOTSTEPS

For 21-year-old Kevin Woyjeck, the fire station was always a second home. His father, Capt. Joe Woyjeck, is a nearly 30-year veteran of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Keith Mora, an inspector with that agency, said Kevin often accompanied his dad to the station and on ride-alongs, and always intended to follow in his footsteps.

"He wanted to become a firefighter like his dad and hopefully work hand-in-hand," Mora said Monday outside of the fire station in Seal Beach, Calif., where the Woyjeck family lives.

Mora remembered the younger Woyjeck as a "joy to be around," a man who always had a smile on his face. He had been trained as an EMT and worked as an Explorer, which is a mentorship training program to become a professional firefighter.

"He was a great kid. Unbelievable sense of humor, work ethic that was not parallel to many kids I've seen at that age. He wanted to work very hard."

As he spoke, Mora stood before an American flag that had been lowered to half-staff. His own fire badge was covered with a black elastic band, a show of respect and mourning for those lost in the line of duty.

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GARRET ZUPPIGER: A RED BEARD, AND A SENSE OF HUMOR

Garret Zuppiger, 27, loved to be funny, said Tony Burris, a trainer at a gym where many of the Hotshots worked out.

Burris said the two bonded over their hyper-manly ginger facial hair.

"We both had a red beard and so we would always admire each other's beards," he said. "We also had a few conversations about beer."

Zuppiger's humor was evident on his blog where he wrote about his grandmother's one-eyed Chihuahua, his "best hair day ever" and a hike with his mother on Camelback Mountain in Phoenix. There's also photos of a tongue-in-cheek project to build a "ski-chair," in which a living room recliner was placed atop two skis.

"Garret Zuppiger turns 25!" he wrote in a post several years ago. "Everyday is like a gift!!"

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Also among the 19 who died on Sunday:

— Joe Thurston, 32

___

Associated Press reporters Raquel Maria Dillon in Seal Beach, Calif., Sue Manning in Los Angeles; and Felicia Fonseca and Hannah Dreier in Prescott contributed to this story.

Lions 2013: Coach Warren Gatland wants 'smarter' play

Coach Warren Gatland says the Lions need to be 'smarter' if they are to beat Australia in the third Test and win a first series for 16 years.

The tourists were in sight of a 2-0 series victory before Adam Ashley-Cooper scored a late converted try as the Wallabies won 16-15 in Melbourne.
"It's just about game management," said New Zealander Gatland. "That's what Test match rugby is about.
"We weren't smart enough and didn't look after the ball well enough."

Continue reading the main story

“The momentum is with them, but we won't let that faze us. We've beaten them once”

Lions centre Brian O'Driscoll

The Lions were 15-9 ahead with five minutes left after five Leigh Halfpenny penalties to three from Australia's Christian Leali'ifano.

But Ashley-Cooper's late try was the culmination of extensive Australian pressure and Leali'ifano's conversion put the Wallabies in front. Halfpenny had a last-gasp chance to snatch the win but his penalty kick from the halfway line fell short.
"They dominated the turnover in the second half and we didn't control our territory well," added Gatland. "That put us under pressure. We were pretty comfortable at half-time but they never give up and it went their way. But it goes to show how close and tight the two teams are."
Gatland said of Halfpenny's late miss: "I have seen him kick them from there before. He just didn't strike that one well enough. It was a chance to be a hero at that moment, but unfortunately he hasn't hit it quite as well as he is capable of.
"He is such a professional, he realised the significance of that kick, and he is disappointed to miss it."
Lions captain Sam Warburton, who limped off near the end of the absorbing encounter, said his side were down but insists they will regroup for next Saturday's decider in Sydney.
"We're going through what Australia went through last week," said Warburton, referring to Australian Kurtley Beale's slip while taking the last kick of the first Test, which the Lions won 23-21.
"It's going to be won by a whisker next week and I hope it's us. Australia got hold of us when they got territory in our 22 and we found it difficult to get out. It's much easier said than done. Territory is everything in games like this. Australia came away with points and that's everything."

Lewis Hamilton takes pole for the British GP in a Mercedes front row to my sie news

Lewis Hamilton takes pole for the British GP in a Mercedes front row

By Andrew Benson Chief F1 writer at Silverstone

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Lewis Hamilton set a scintillating pace to take pole position for the British Grand Prix ahead of Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg.

Hamilton's margin over the field was a stunning 0.452 seconds as Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber took third and fourth on the grid.
Vettel's title rivals Kimi Raikkonen of Lotus and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso could manage only ninth and 10th.
Scot Paul Di Resta was fifth ahead of Toro Rosso's Daniel Ricciardo.

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Lewis Hamilton and David Coulthard fly with the Red Arrows

It was Di Resta's career-best qualifying position and Ricciardo, a contender to replace Webber next year, equalled his own highest grid position.
"It's an incredible feeling," said Hamilton. "It feels like [previous Silverstone pole] 2007.
"The crowd have been great - such a great turnout - that was a lap for them. I hope we can do something special in the race."
Hamilton's pole was his first since the Chinese Grand Prix in April and it came as a result of what team boss Ross Brawn described as "a very special lap".
"It's definitely a great feeling to have the fastest car and the Mercedes team did a great job," said Rosberg.
"We are confident we have improved and some of the other cars may be better than us but finishing top two can only be good for us."
Vettel edged out Webber by just 0.009secs as Red Bull put themselves in a strong position for the race.
"We will see what happens tomorrow," said Vettel. "I don't know if Lewis [Hamilton] found a short cut or he just found something special here - it was a phenomenal lap.
"It is always nice to position well in qualifying here. I am looking forward to the race tomorrow and we will see how we are with looking after tyres."
Mercedes are still concerned about their rear tyre usage, especially with higher temperatures forecasted for the race on Sunday.

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Lewis Hamilton proud of pole for British Grand Prix

The race looks set to be fought out by the Red Bulls and Mercedes, whose tyre wear in the cooler conditions of Friday was better than usual.
But Raikkonen and Alonso, who both admitted coming into this race that they needed to make up ground on Vettel, face a tough battle after struggling for pace all weekend.
Jenson Button won the internal McLaren battle by qualifying 11th and beating team-mate Sergio Perez by 0.4secs, but the team were way off the pace.
Ricciardo's sixth place on the grid was perfectly timed following Webber's announcement on Thursday that he will be leaving F1 at the end of the year.
Ricciardo is one of three contenders for the second red Bull seat in 2014, along with Raikkonen and the other Toro Rosso driver Jean-Eric Vergne, who qualified 13th after running wide on his final lap in second qualifying, which was on target to match Ricciardo's.
Englishman Max Chilton struggled in the Marussia - he qualified last, 1.7 seconds slower than team-mate Jules Bianchi.
Full qualifying result.

British Grand Prix Grand Prix, day three

• Sunday, 30 June: Race: Coverage on BBC One 12:10 BST, BBC Red Button 12:00 BST & Radio 5 live from 13:00 BST; live text commentary on the BBC Sport website. F1 Forum 15:30 BST. TV highlights 19:00 BST, BBC Three