Hughes Gets Rocked as Yankees Lose Badly

nytimes.comBy Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)May 15th, 2013Seattle Mariners vs. New York Yankees Post Game RecapFinal Score: Mariners 12 Yankees 2The New York Yankees after a nice come from behind win against the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday night were blow out of the Bronx on Thursday by a sub-par offense club. The Yankees are now (25-15) on the season, and still have a two-game lead in the AL East.Yankees Starting Pitcher had the worst start of his career on Wednesday night, and picked up his third loss of the season, while seeing his ERA balloon to 5.88. Hughes only got two outs in the first inning, as he allowed seven runs on six hits, and two walks before getting pulled. This is Hughes’ second straight bad start, as he is showing that consistency is a very big issue.Brett Marshall made his first appearance this season for the Yankees, and got rocked like Hughes did. Marshall went 5.2 innings allowing five runs on nine hits, and five walks. Marshall was eventually pulled after 108 pitches for Alberto Gonzalez, who came in and got the final out in the ninth inning.Mariners Starter Hisashi Iwakuma was great in earning his fifth win of the season, as he handled business being spotted such a big lead early. Iwakuma went seven innings allowing only two runs on eight hits for the second straight good start from a Mariners pitcher.The hero of last year’s Postseason for the Yankees Raul Ibanez certainly likes to hit in Yankees Stadium, and that continued on Wednesday. Ibanez went two for five at the plate with a Grand Slam in the first inning, and followed it up with a two-run homerun in the fifth inning, which gave him six RBIs for the game.For the Yankees on offense there wasn’t much production run-wise on Wednesday. After the monster top half of the first inning for the Mariners, Vernon Wells hit a solo-homerun to get the Yankees on the board, and tie him with Robinson Cano for the team lead with 10 homeruns. Chris Stewart was the only other Yankee to touch home plate, as he also hit a solo-homerun in fifth inning, which was his third of the season.The rubber game of the series will be on Thursday night, as Andy Pettitte (3-2, 4.06) will be facing Aaron Harang (1-4, 7.30).
Source:http://gothamcitysportsnews.blogspot.com/2013/05/hughes-gets-rocked-as-yankees-lose-badly.html

Hughes Gets Rocked as Yankees Lose Badly Images

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Lawmakers hover as more homeowners rent rooms to visitors

For British student Carly Connor a trip to London for a city break would be impossible if she had to pay for a hotel so instead she rents a room in a Londoner's home.

Connor, 26, is among a growing number of people taking advantage of a surge in the number of homeowners offering to rent out a room for a night or longer, with the cash a welcome addition to recession-squeezed budgets.

 

This new wave of hospitality sweeping the travel industry was sparked by the success of "couch surfing", where people could go online to book a free bed in a home, and is being led by a blitz of new websites that let tourists bypass resorts and hotels.

"A lot of the time you find yourself with a host who is more than happy to point you in the direction of a few local hot spots that you otherwise would have missed entirely," Connor told Reuters.

But the increasing popularity of peer-to-peer rentals has lawmakers on the alert in some countries, scrutinising tax, health and safety, and rental infringements.

Martin Buck, a director at ITB, the world's largest travel fair, said the popularity of homestays was fuelled by websites like Airbnb, Wimdu, 9flats, and HouseTrip, where users post listings for short-term rentals of all or part of their home.

Listings on Airbnb, the biggest site, have surged to about 300,000 in 192 countries from 10,000 in late 2009, with the website taking a cut on all bookings. The listings include everything from New York apartments to Costa Rican tree houses.

But Buck said unregulated homestay sites and concerns that these were actually illegal hotels was a hot topic in many places including Berlin, the headquarters of Wimdu and 9flats.

"There is talk in some areas of Berlin of prohibiting it," he told Reuters. "But can you really prevent people from using their privately owned homes as they want? It raises a whole lot of constitutional and human rights questions."

HOME OR ILLEGAL HOTEL?

Renting out a room is legal in London, up to a level.

The British government's "Rent a Room Scheme" allows householders to earn 4,250 pounds a year tax-free from letting furnished accommodation.

For the past year, Peter Tompkins has charged about 700 pounds a week to rent a spare bedroom in his apartment in the clock tower above London's St Pancras train station from where views stretch to St Paul's Cathedral.

Tompkins said he uses Airbnb to rent the room, reassured by the company's 600,000 pound insurance guarantee to hosts, as well as a 24-hour support line. He said it was important to have a professional relationship with guests akin to a hotel.

"I think you ought to behave as a hotel or regulated organisation would, but I am conscious that there's no regulation on me. I just try and behave well," he told Reuters.

The growing popularity of Airbnb, which has processed around five million paid overnight stays since 2008, is starting to cause friction with some lawmakers.

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According to Inc., a U.S.-based magazine focused on growing private companies, Airbnb made around $100 million in 2012, with the estimate based on the site's six to 12 percent commission on each room booked.

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Wimdu is Airbnb's next-biggest competitor with 150,000 properties on its books since it began in 2011. It would not divulge its revenues. Rival 9flats has 90,000 properties.

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Airbnb, set up in 2008, maintains the law needs to distinguish between people who occasionally rent out rooms and landlords who illegally run residential buildings as hotels.

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Airbnb is currently lobbying authorities in Washington, DC, for a review on rental laws in the United States, seeking to craft a model for cities across the world to follow.

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Company spokesperson Christopher Lukezic said he understood this movement was "growing within unchartered waters" as in the previous homestay trend, couch surfing, no money changed hands.

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"Our typical host is a regular resident, who, on average, is only renting out their home for a few weeks a year, helping them to make ends meet," Lukezic told Reuters.

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"Not only does it help increase the number of tourists who can afford to visit a city but it also creates economic prosperity for the citizens of the city who are hosts, often in parts of the cities where there are no hotels."

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While lawmakers are raising concerns about the home-stay trend, the travel industry is unperturbed as it does not expect to see any profit squeeze on hotels.

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Robin Chadha, chief marketing officer of CitizenM, a Dutch boutique hotel group with a growing portfolio across Europe, said services like Airbnb have made city trips more affordable for longer stays and family groups.

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"But hotels will always be safer, offer more facilities and offer service, which apartments cannot," he said.

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(Additional reporting by Victoria Bryan, Editing by Belinda Goldsmith)

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Knicks Offense Crumbles as Pacers Take Game 3

AP Photo/Darron CummingsBy Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)Saturday, May 11th, 2013Game 3 RecapFinal Score: New York Knicks: 71 Indiana Pacers: 82The three day layoff between Game 2 and 3 did not play out as the Knicks had hoped as they struggled to do much of anything in Game 3 against a stingy Pacers team to fall down two games to one in the series.  Even the return of Amar’e Stoudemire was not enough for the Knicks tonight, who just could not get it going on the offensive end tonight to get a victory.  It was a tough game to watch as the pace was very slow and deliberate, playing right into the Pacers’ hands.  The Knicks will need a much more spirited effort in Game 4 Tuesday night to avoid going into a deep 3-1 hole in the series.-PositivesStoudemire was able to get through the game tonight without any problems being reported.  Being on a strict minutes restriction, Stoudemire was limited to only nine minutes but he made the most of his time on the court.  He scored seven points on three of eight from the field, including a three pointer at the end of the third quarter.  Stoudemire also recorded two rebounds and was moving very well on the court, showing a lot of activity and looking to be really excited to be back on the court.  This should be the capacity we see Stoudemire in the remainder of the series as the strict minute limit will keep Stoudemire on the bench more times than not.The defense for the Knicks tonight was not the problem in them getting the loss.  The Knicks actually stifled the Pacers throughout the night, as they went 28-80 from the field and 10 for 33 from the three point line, good for 35 and 30.3 percent respectively.  The defense was hounding for the Knicks as well, as they forced the Pacers into 17 turnovers as well.  Unfortunately for the Knicks, the defense well outpaced the offense tonight.Going along with the defense played by the Knicks throughout the game, they once again held Pacers All-Star forward Paul George in check.  George struggled from the field, shooting four of 17 from the field, and two of 12 from beyond the arc, resulting in 14 points.  Iman Shumpert has done an outstanding job on George throughout the series, making him uncomfortable and making things difficult for him on the offensive end, as George was forced into five turnovers throughout the game, giving him 16 total in the series thus far.-NegativesThe Knicks offense was as bad as it could get tonight, as they shot 35.2 percent from the field, going 25 of 71.  Carmelo Anthony was the only Knick player to break double-digits, as the rest of the Knicks struggled to score at all. Anthony did not shoot the ball well after a strong start, ending the game six of 16 from the field in big part because of the porous guard play throughout the night. Raymond Felton and Pablo Prigioni combined to go one of 11 from the field and Jason Kidd was once again held scoreless, moving his streak to seven games in a row without a point and 181 minutes played.The Knicks were unable to get into any type of rhythm on offense tonight and a telling stat for that were their three point attempts.  The Knicks managed to get off only 11 three pointers in the game, making three of them.  The Knicks offense relies so heavily on the three point shot that taking only 11 is not a winning formula.  If the Knicks are unable to get better guard play the remainder of the series they will be going home earlier than they had hoped.J.R. Smith was struggling with a virus throughout the day, hitting as high as 102 degrees with a fever earlier in the morning, but he suited up for the Knicks tonight; too bad his shooting was as hot as his temperature.  Smith once again struggled with his shot, going four of 12 from the field and zero of three from the three point line.  Smith played only 25 minutes tonight and looked to be struggling from his illness but he has been off for a couple of games now so being sick really can’t be used as an excuse.  Smith needs to get his game back on track as tonight was a perfect example of how Anthony cannot be the only person scoring for the Knicks in this series if the Knicks want to beat the Pacers.The Knicks were once again hammered in the paint by the Pacers, led by Roy Hibbert and David West.  The two combined for 24 rebounds, 13 of which were of the offensive variety.  The Knicks as a whole grabbed only 10 offensive rebounds as a team, as the Pacers grabbed 18.  On the night, the Pacers outrebounded the Knicks 53-40.  Hibbert dominated Chandler once again as his size is something that Chandler is having trouble contending with.  Mike Woodson will have to make some changes to get the Knicks back on track as in Game 2 the Knicks actually outrebounded the Pacers.  Marcus Camby is one player who Woodson should turn to to help the Knicks in the middle and balance out the size difference the Pacers hold over the Knicks.
Source:http://gothamcitysportsnews.blogspot.com/2013/05/knicks-offense-crumbles-as-pacers-take.html

Knicks Offense Crumbles as Pacers Take Game 3 Images

Knicks' offense crumbles in Game 3 loss - Knicks Blog - ESPN New York
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Indiana Pacers forward Paul George, right, gets tangled...
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... and 9 assists as he directs five double-figure scorers for the Knicks
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