U.S. Open Pickleball: Sunday singles championships kick off big week - Naples Daily News

U.S. Open Pickleball: Sunday singles championships kick off big week - Naples Daily News
Spring chill, summer warmth battleground to set up over northeastern US this week - AccuWeather.com
Opinion: As Kentucky Derby week starts, here's what the drug Lasix does, why it's controversial - USA TODAY
Strong U.S. growth, weak inflation leave Fed stuck happily on hold - Reuters India

Posted: 28 Apr 2019 07:32 PM PDT

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Pickleball ranks as one of the most fastest growing sports in the world, yet nowhere is it growing any faster than in mind and heart of Anthony Collica.

Collica, who started playing pickleball only six months ago, has almost immediately become enamored with it, not to mention experiencing some success on the courts. Collica took home a silver medal during the opening day of the Minto U.S. Open Pickleball Championships on Sunday at East Naples Community Park.

The game is played on a badminton-size court with a hard paddle and a ball that resembles a whiffle ball. Oscar Santiago Torres/ Naples Daily News via Wochit

And winning a medal and reaching the finals in his age 35 plus age bracket in one of the largest pickleball tournaments in the country only makes Collica feel that much better.

"This whole event today was a great experience," Collica said. "I have played in some tournaments over the last six months and I have never experienced anything like this. In a singles tournament like this, everybody is into the mental aspect of it. Everybody really knows what to do. The key out there was to recover from adversity no matter what you think you've gotten into. You have to know how to recover when you start hitting bad shots."

One of the many people at this pickleball love-in from out of town, Collica is a wealth management adviser and the vice president of a financial firm, and splits his time between Fort Lauderdale and the Detroit area. Even though he is getting into middle age, playing pickleball somehow makes Collica feel several years younger.

"I have been involved in a lot of sports all my life I and playing pickleball gives me a little nostalgia," Collica said. "It's that fun feeling that I had back when I was in high school. The pickleball community is great. What I like the most is the chance to compete against family members since I have a dad who plays the game and I also play with my brothers once in a while."

Naples' Simone Jardim started another trek toward a triple crown by defending her pro singles women's title with an 11-4, 11-9 win over Irina Tereschenko.

Tyson McGuffin took the men's pro singles title with an 11-5, 11-7 victory over Ben Johns. Fort Myers' Kyle Yates lost his second match, 2-11,11-6,11-6 to Frank Anthony Davis. Scott Moore won the men's senior singles title, and Jennifer Dawson won the women's senior singles crown.

Margo Chase-Wells won the age 65 + division with a hard-fought victory over Kathy White.

"I got through it by just saying to myself over and over turn sideways and then look at the ball," Chase-Wells said. "Turn sideways and then look at the ball. My opponent in the finals was a lot better than a lot of other people that I played earlier in the bracket and you could probably tell that in the final score.

"It was definitely a fight."

Chase-Wells is officially retired, but works as a certified pickleball instructor in her home area of Haddam, Connecticut. She retired from teaching physical education but found that coaching pickleball is just as rewarding if not more.

"I taught PE for 25 years. I thought I'd never want to teach or coach again," Chase-Wells said. "But pickleball's been special. Pickleball is rewarding and people are appreciative of it. It is great to see how the venue here has changed and grown. I love not only the competition but the social aspects of the tournament."

The U.S. Open Pickleball Championships have about players 2,200 players registered, from amateur kids to professional adults, and has drawn players from 47 states and 16 countries to East Naples Community Park. On Sunday, about 50 courts were in use for about 788 matches, and three tournament records were set.

Sunday singles festivities kicked off a big week of pickleball here.

On Monday is the men's and women's doubles championships, on Tuesday is the mixed age doubles. Wednesday is the men's senior pro doubles and men's skill doubles. Thursday is the women senior pro doubles and women skill doubles.

Friday is the pro doubles and senior pro mixed skill level, and the mixed pro and pro finals are on Saturday.

DIVISION WINNERS

Men's Pro Singles

Tyson McGuffin

Men's Senior Pro Singles

Scott Moore

Men's Singles Skill/Age 2.5/3.0 60+

Darrin Ward

Men's Singles Skill/Age 2.5/3.0 70+

Tony Gray

Men's Singles Skill/Age 2.5/3.0 75+

Alan Zuckerman

Men's Singles Skill/Age 3.0 19+

Brian Graver

Men's Singles Skill/Age 3.0 35+

Mark Young

Men's Singles Skill/Age 3.0 50+

Jeffrey Hamilton

Men's Singles Skill/Age 3.0 65+

William Gray

Men's Singles Skill/Age 3.5/4.0 19+

Fernando Sala

Men's Singles Skill/Age 3.5/4.0 35+

Hector Alvero

Men's Singles Skill/Age 3.5/4.0 50+

Paul Gallagher

Men's Singles Skill/Age 3.5/4.0 60+

Chuck Vietmeier

Men's Singles Skill/Age 3.5/4.0 65+

Matt Rumpsa

Men's Singles Skill/Age 3.5/4.0 70+

Doug Hastings

Men's Singles Skill/Age 3.5/4.0 75+

Ray Raphael

Men's Singles Skill/Age 3.5:80+

Grady Sparks

Men's Singles Skill/Age 4.5/5.0 19+

Matt Nielsen

Men's Singles Skill/Age 4.5/5.0 35+

Yohann Nograbat

Men's Singles Skill/Age 4.5/5.0 50+

Iggy Espinal

Men's Singles Skill/Age 4.5/5.0 60+

Tom Boyd

Men's Singles Skill/Age 4.5/5.0 65+

Stephen Wilkinson

Men's Singles Skill/Age 4.5/5.0 70+

Jim Hackenberg

Women's Pro Singles

Simone Jardim

Women's Senior Pro Singles

Jennifer Dawson

Women's Singles Skill/Age 2.5/3.0 70+

Debi Dorne

Women's Singles Skill/Age 2.5/3.0 19+

Brittany Hubschman

Women's Singles Skill/Age 2.5/3.0 50+

Janne Lorentzen

Women's Singles Skill/Age 2.5/3.0 60+

Michelle Friedman

Women's Singles Skill/Age 3.0 65+

Margaret Pfister

Women's Singles Skill/Age 3.5/4 19+

Olivia McMillan

Women's Singles Skill/Age 3.5/4.0 35+

Christee Chargot

Women's Singles Skill/Age 3.5/4.0 60+

Jana Spano

Women's Singles Skill/Age 3.5/4.0 60+

Suzanne Bernstein

Women's Singles Skill/Age 3.5/4.0 65+

Margo Chase-Wells

Women's Singles Skill/Age 3.5/4.0 70+

Susan Pandak

Women's Singles Skill/Age 4.5/5.0 19+

Anna Leigh Waters

Women's Singles Skill/Age 4.5/5.0 65+

Hilary Marold

Women's Singles Skill/Age 4.5/5.0 35+

Katie Gaines

Women's Singles Skill/Age 4.5/5.0 50+

Sarah Mitten

Spring chill, summer warmth battleground to set up over northeastern US this week - AccuWeather.com

Posted: 29 Apr 2019 11:47 AM PDT

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Spring chill, summer warmth battleground to set up over northeastern US this week AccuWeather.com

This week will be a tale of two seasons across the northeastern United States as spring chill holds firm in New England, while the warmest days so far this year ...

Opinion: As Kentucky Derby week starts, here's what the drug Lasix does, why it's controversial - USA TODAY

Posted: 29 Apr 2019 03:11 AM PDT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — As horse racing makes its annual re-entry into the mainstream this week with the Kentucky Derby, the public will discover a sport that has managed to one-up its regular level of dysfunction in recent weeks.

At the center of it is a diuretic called furosemide — commonly known around the racetrack as Lasix — which is administered to the vast majority of Thoroughbreds in American racing to help prevent them from bleeding through their nose as a result of exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH), a syndrome caused by the rupture of capillaries in their lungs due to high-stress athletic competition.

"It's the only medication we know of that scientifically reduces or mitigates EIPH in Thoroughbred racehorses," said Jeff Blea, a Southern California-based veterinarian and chairman of the American Association of Equine Practitioners' racing committee. "It's so prevalent in American racing partially because it works."

More: Who is the 2019 Kentucky Derby favorite? The latest Las Vegas betting odds

More: Get to know the 20 horses in the field for the 2019 Kentucky Derby

The debate over Lasix and whether it should be viewed as a legitimate way to treat a common condition in horses or as a performance-enhancing drug has been going on since it was introduced in horse racing in the 1970s. At this point, since there are so few horses that don't run on Lasix these days, there might not be any difference.

But on April 18, after a series of devastating headlines for horse racing that stemmed from 23 horses breaking down and being euthanized in the span of three months at Santa Anita Park, a large coalition of racetracks — including all three that host Triple Crown races — announced a gradual phase-out that would make all stakes races at those tracks Lasix-free by 2021. It will be allowed at all Triple Crown races this year.

On the surface, moving American racing away from Lasix — and in line with the rest of the major racing nations of the world, by the way — is a blast of good publicity for a sport that badly needs it leading up to its marquee annual event.

But in typical racing industry fashion, it was announced hastily, without the endorsement of every major racetrack and leaving out many of the stakeholders that make up the complex web of state racing commissions, interest groups and regulatory agencies that oversee the sport. It's even unclear whether a Lasix ban would withstand lawsuits — and there almost certainly will be lawsuits — without some type of federal legislation to create a uniform standard for medication rules and testing (one such bill was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in March).

Regardless, the Lasix debate sits right at the inflection point between a sport that badly needs medication and regulatory reform and a horse industry that could suffer economically in the short term after it's banned.

Though Blea was adamant he saw no correlation between Lasix usage and the breakdowns at Santa Anita, pointing toward a declining mortality rate at California tracks before this winter, the proposed phaseout is an acknowledgement that over-medication has led to a general weakening of the breed over several generations and created conditions where some injured horses don't show physical signs of pain or distress that would set off typical alarm bells before going to the track.

On the other hand, Lasix isn't the only culprit in that trend, and the AAEP has made several recommendations with regard to other drugs and how they're administered to help clean up the sport. And if Lasix is banned, it's simply a fact that a certain percentage of horses who have a tendency to bleed would either perform poorly or not be able to run at all, costing owners and trainers significant amounts of money. That inevitable narrowing of the horse population could, in turn, make field sizes smaller, which would make the sport less attractive to regular gamblers and hurt the racetracks' bottom line.

Bret Calhoun, who trains Derby contender By My Standards, said the impact of that potential future without Lasix was felt at a horse auction he recently attended in Ocala, Florida.

"It's dampened things a little bit," he said. "It doesn't seem like the California guys showed up in strength. Some owners are losing confidence.

"This has proven to be a very effective medication for horse, a safe medication. It's the humane thing to do. I think the things that have been going on in California have put a tremendous amount of pressure on the industry as a whole to put our best face forward, but there are things we can do that are better than what's proposed here."

But it's also true that the U.S. is the world's outlier when it comes to race-day medication. Though countries have different regulations and procedures to ensure safety, the commonality is that there's no Lasix on race day. In many cases, horses who are habitual bleeders are not allowed on the racetrack. That's just another part of the sport.

In the U.S., though, it's gotten to the point where most horses start their careers on Lasix whether they are documented bleeders or not. It wasn't always that way, particularly before 1995 when the major racing circuit in New York (including Belmont Park, which hosts the third leg of the Triple Crown) still operated under a Lasix ban. Back then, handicappers often looked for horses that were running on Lasix for the first time with the assumption that they had bled previously and thus would improve their performance. Now, it's hardly a factor since Lasix usage is practically a given.

How much has that evolution hurt the sport? It's hard to tell.

"I think as an industry, we're looking at everything we can to try to improve what's happening," said Elliott Walden, the president and CEO of WinStar Farm, which raced Triple Crown winner Justify in partnership last year. "What happened at Santa Anita over the winter isn't acceptable, and everybody's eyes are wide open on that.

"I'm not sure on what exactly will transpire with (the proposed Lasix phaseout). We've run horses in Dubai and (England) and felt like they ran their race in those situations, so I think the best horses will win with or without Lasix."

But as Blea points out, this drug has now been part of the genetic population for nearly 50 years, and a sudden pullback could have some unintended consequences. He'd prefer a more measured response backed by research and scientific consensus, but at this point, the debate has gone on too long for there not to be action — even if it's disjointed and chaotic, as things in horse racing tend to be.

"It's gotten really heated," Blea said. "At the end of the day, Lasix is good for the horse but not good for racing."

Strong U.S. growth, weak inflation leave Fed stuck happily on hold - Reuters India

Posted: 29 Apr 2019 10:46 AM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve is expected to hold interest rates steady at its policy meeting this week as policymakers balance recent stronger-than-expected U.S. economic growth against sluggish inflation.

Officials have given no signal in recent weeks of any change to the U.S. central bank's benchmark overnight lending rate, currently set in a range of 2.25 percent to 2.50 percent. Markets have bet heavily the Fed's "patient" approach means just that - with rates on hold until a run of good or bad news about the economy provides a compelling reason to move.

Data compiled by CME Group put the odds the Fed leaves rates unchanged this week at 97 percent.

"We do not expect a big change in tone," compared to the Fed's mid-March policy statement, with policymakers likely to be "more upbeat on growth, though with a more cautious reading of recent inflation developments," JP Morgan economist Michael Feroli wrote in a preview of this week's meeting.

The policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee is due to release its latest statement at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT) on Wednesday after the end of a two-day meeting. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will hold a press conference shortly after.

In the weeks since the Fed's March meeting, most of the incoming U.S. data has surprised in a positive way, diminishing the likelihood officials might be compelled to cut rates as President Donald Trump has demanded.

The gap in interest rates between different types of bonds, which narrowed in late March in what could be construed as a growing concern about recession, has since become larger as recession concerns eased.

Gross domestic product grew at an annualized rate of 3.2 percent for the first three months of the year, comparable to last year's pace. The 3 percent growth achieved in 2018 surprised many at the central bank, and in their March statement officials said they thought the economy had slowed in the first weeks of this year.

After adding a meager 33,000 jobs in February, U.S. employers added nearly 200,000 in March. The S&P 500 index also hit a new record high and U.S. retail sales rebounded in March after a lull.

"The GDP figures – along with the strong rebound in retail sales and durable goods orders in March – are a testament to the economy's resilience," analysts at Oxford Economics wrote last week.

It is the type of data, in fact, that until a few weeks ago might have set the stage for an interest rate increase.

But a round of volatility in stock and bond markets late last year, coupled with weak inflation and signs of a global economic slowdown, prompted the Fed to change its plans for further hikes and shift to a strategy of staying on hold until something changes. The Fed raised rates four times last year, and as late as December envisioned more increases this year.

INFLATION CONCERNS

Inflation in particular continues to fall short of the Fed's 2 percent goal, and was just 1.5 percent on an annualized basis in the most recent report. Some officials, most notably Fed Vice Chairman Richard Clarida, have said they also feel inflation expectations are nearing uncomfortably low levels.

Fed officials watch different measures of inflation expectations almost as closely as the actual inflation numbers, and view them as central to the future rate of price increases.

FILE PHOTO: The Federal Reserve Board building on Constitution Avenue is pictured in Washington, D.C., March 27, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo/File Photo

That's a strong reason, analysts say, for the Fed to hold off on rate hikes until it's clear inflation is moving higher.

Faced with the "dichotomy" of continuing economic growth and below-target inflation, "the Fed should keep policy on hold at its May FOMC meeting as it navigates the tug-of-war," between the two, analysts at Deutsche Bank wrote.

Graphic on Fed's split decision: tmsnrt.rs/2GQbzq1

Reporting by Howard Schneider; Editing by Paul Simao

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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