Man Discovered in Van With Stolen Trophies

A man who had stolen trophies which were to be given to charity in his van has appeared in court. Wayne Platt, aged 41, of Wilton Street, Astley Bridge, was spotted by police officers asleep in his van in Savick Avenue, Breightmet on April 29 last year.

They discovered paintings, pictures and trophies that had been stolen from the Victoria and Albert pub in Lee Lane, Horwich, the day before. Platt, an amphetamine addict, was out of work and claimed he bought the items as he was attempting to make ends meet by selling things at car boot sales. He pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods and was sentenced at Bolton Crown Court. He was placed under the supervision of the probation service for six months.

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Grand Prix Trophies to be Designed by Valcourt

Valcourt's Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. said Tuesday its design and innovation team has been chosen to create the trophies for the 2011 Formula One Grand Prix du Canada in Montreal.

"Our staff is passionate about design, especially when it relates to power sports and when they saw this opportunity to showcase their talents and contribute to the Grand Prix du Canada, they were all over it." said Denys Lapointe, the design unit's executive vice-president.

A jury including François Dumontier, president of Octane Racing Group Inc., and other members of the group promoting the Formula One Grand Prix event and from BRP, have selected two of the six trophies concepts generated by the BRP design team and the finalist will be revealed in June.

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Brewing Medals Awarded in Hickory

The Asheville-area breweries scored big at Saturday’s Hickory Hops brew festival in Hickory, taking home many custom medals at the Carolinas Championship of Beer contest. The highly prized medals are often found on display at the breweries. A large crowd turned out for Hickory Hops, held on Union Square in downtown Hickory.

Eight Asheville-Buncombe breweries went home with a combined 35 medals. Among the locals, Lexington Avenue Brewery led the way, collecting seven awards - three gold medals, three silver and one bronze.

Pisgah Brewing claimed six medals (five silver, one bronze). Highland Brewing earned five medals (three silver, two bronze).

Green Man Brewing also took five medals (two silver, three bronze). Craggie Brewing earned one silver medal and one bronze). French Broad earned three bronze medals.

Wedge took one gold and two sliver medals. Asheville Brewing took a gold medal. 
And from Bryson City, Nantahala Brewing took a gold, silver and bronze medal.
Best of Show went to Natty Green’s for its Woody and Barrel Aged Sour Ale. Second place was awarded to Olde hickory’s Irish Walker. Third was given to Duck Rabbit’s Barleywine and honorable mention was presented to Foothills Barrel Aged Sexual Chocolate Imperial.

Human Planet Up For Seven Bafta Craft Awards

BBC documentary series Human Planet is leading the way at this year's British Academy Television Craft Awards with seven nominations for corporate awards.  The Human Planet series, which has explored life in the Arctic, jungles and oceans is up for best factual director, factual editing, three awards in factual photography and two in factual sound. Dramas Any Human Heart, Downton Abbey and Eric and Ernie have five nods apiece, and the BBC's Springwatch will receive the special recognition award.

Four nominations for trophies in total go to the contemporary remake of Sherlock Holmes, This Is England '86 and to Wonders of the Solar System with Professor Brian Cox. The Special Award is presented to a series or show that has been outstandingly creative. Springwatch follows the changes that occur in British wildlife during that season of the year.

The annual ceremony recognizes the people who work behind the scenes in television. The awards will be held at The Brewery in London on 8 May.

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Jr. ROTC Earns Eight Trophies

The Plainview High School Navy Junior ROTC added eight new trophies to its collection after competing in the Sabre Flight Drill Meet at Texas Tech University on April 2.
The cadets competed in physical fitness events, armed and unarmed drill competitions, and color guard.

Trophies were awarded to the PHS unit in the following categories:

First place: Male Physical Fitness and Drill Inspection Unarmed.
Second place: Drill Regulation Armed, Drill Exhibition Unarmed and Drill Sweepstakes Unarmed.
Third place: Mixed Color Guard, Drill Exhibition Armed and Drill Armed Sweepstakes
Teams competing consisted of the following cadets:
Male Physical Fitness Team: Edgar Moreno, Kevin Perez, Alex Flores and Payton Harrel.
Female Physical Team: Meagan Juanes, Jordan Matsu, Cheyenne Diaz and Kree Riddle.
Armed Drill Team: Alex Flores, Amador Flores, Caylan Vasquez, Luciano Martinez, Kylan Riley, Mario Baquera, Kevin Perez, Edgar Moreno, Jordan Matsu and Rose Contreras.
Unarmed Drill Team: Kree Riddle, Cheyenne Diaz, Meagan Juanes, Rose Contreras, Kylan Riley, Kevin Perez, Edgar Moreno, Jordan Matsu, Hope Avila and Jamie Gomez.
Color Guard 1: Amador Flores, Victor Lara, Fernando Gonzalez and David Bolding.
Color Guard 2: Luciano Martinez, Hope Avila, Kree Riddle and Jordan Matsu.

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Ernie Els Trains Trophy Winners

Ernie Els never won the Masters despite having one of the sweetest, most natural swings in golf.  But he's getting his revenge on Augusta, on Tiger Woods (who thwarted him so many times in his prime), on Phil Mickelson (who memorably crushed his green jacket visions in 2004) and the entire world of golf. For Els has helped unleash a slew of no-name South Africans on the game who keep grabbing the most important trophies in golf. 

Charl Schwartzel was just the latest, coming from nowhere to pull off one of the great finishes in Masters' history on Sunday: birdie, birdie, birdie, birdie ... Butler Cabin celebration.  Schwartzel stunned Adam Scott (who really should have won trophies, anything, long before now), Jason Day, Geoff Ogilvy and yes, Tiger too. And you can bet that no one is having a bigger laugh about the whole thing than Els.

The 41-year-old Els has said that the 26-year-old Schwartzel is "like a little brother" to him. Well, there little brother was Sunday winning the battle that big bro never could.

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Four Inter Trophies on Display

Sunday, April 17 is set to be a red-letter day for Inter Club Malta as the local branch of the European and Serie A champions’ supporters will have on display four of the five trophies won by the Nerazzurri in 2010.

Inter FC have accepted a request by the Inter Club Malta to bring over the Champions League trophy, the World Club Cup, the Italian championship trophy and the Coppa Italia. Last year, Inter also won the Italian SuperCup.

Next week, the prestigious silverware will be on show at the Cavalieri Hotel, St Julian’s, and Inter fans, along with Maltese football enthusiasts in general, will be given the opportunity to have a photo in a special session between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.

“This is something we really wanted to happen,” John Zammit, Inter Club Malta president told a news conference. “This season, Inter FC have taken the initiative to tour the Champions League trophy around the country for their fans to see and, perhaps, also reminisce the final against Bayern Munich in Madrid.”

“We wanted to be part of this experience and asked Inter to add the Coppa Italia and Scudetto trophy to the Champions Cup for the Malta leg. It was no easy task for us to convince them, and we also held a meeting in Milan on this same issue earlier this year.
It was only after the intervention of club president, Massimo Moratti, that we were granted permission to have the three trophies here.”

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Robin Roberts Memorabilia to be Auctioned

Robin Roberts Jr. probably won't be at Citizens Bank Park Tuesday when the trophies and memorabilia his late father accumulated over a lifetime will be auctioned.
"I think there's a college baseball game that night. I'll just watch that," Roberts said. "I don't know if I can watch the auction. It's very difficult."

He'd rather not see someone bid on the trophy the Phillies Hall of Famer won for being Michigan's best college basketball player; or on his 1950 National League championship ring, the one inscribed with "Whiz Kids"; or on the ball Babe Ruth signed for the pitcher.

The trophies, rings, bats, balls, uniforms, and plaques collected by the elder Roberts, who died last May at 83, will go on display Saturday at the ballpark in advance of Tuesday's auction. Hunt Auctions, which is conducting the sale, also included much other Phillies-related memorabilia.  Roberts and his three younger brothers had hoped to hang on to the trophies and collection, but dividing it all up equitably would have been too difficult a process.

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Six Winners Scoop Crystal Cabin Trophies

Nearly 200 invited guests from the aviation industry witnessed six winners collect their snow-white trophies at last night's Crystal Cabin Awards at Hamburg's prestigious Atlantic hotel.

Trophies for innovative products and concepts in the field of aircraft cabins were awarded to Elektro-Metall Export, Lufthansa Technik, Recaro, Thales, The IMS Company and Munich University of Applied Sciences. A total of 52 entries from 10 countries were whittled down to 21 for the final round of judging and awarding of the coveted trophies.

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The Calder Trophy is a Real Dilemma

The calendar has flipped to April.  The marathon, 82-game hockey season slate has been whittled down to just three contests.  And the ballots for the various NHL trophies, to be presented at the NHL Awards in Las Vegas on June 21, have been distributed to members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association.  There was much written last week, around the NHL, with writers making cases for players for the Hart or Vezina trophies, awarded to the league's most valuable player and top goaltender, respectively.

For my money, the most interesting trophy that still needs deciding is the only major award that no Flyer has ever won: the Calder Trophy, the hardware handed out to the rookie of the year.  This year, there will be close to 160 writers casting ballots for the five major trophies (Hart, Norris, Selke, Lady Byng and Calder) - and almost unanimously, through polls conducted throughout the season, each writer has room for just one rookie goaltender.  It should be an interesting contest for the Calder!

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MTV's O Music Awards Nominees Annoounced

Lady Gaga and Tyler the Creator lead MTV's innovative O Music Awards with three nominations each for these industry trophies.  MTV announced Tuesday the categories and nominees for its new Web-based awards show, a celebration of digital music. Categories include best fan cover, most viral dance and best music hashtag meme.

Lady Gaga and rapper Tyler the Creator are among the nominees for most innovative artist and must-follow artist on Twitter. Lady Gaga is also nominated for favorite animated GIF, a kind of avatar. Tyler the Creator, of the much buzzed-about hip-hop group Odd Future, is also nominated for his remix of Lykke Li's "Follow Rivers."

Winners will be decided by fan voting in social media, with the results shown in real-time. The trophies and awards will be presented in a live hour-long webcast April 28 on MTV websites and mobile apps.

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An Odd Year In Collegiate Sports

An athletic director (Gene Smith) from a school (Ohio State) whose football coach (Jim Tressel) will be suspended five games next season for violating NCAA rules watched a team on probation (Connecticut) win the national championship, then handed one of the most coveted trophies a in college sports to a basketball coach (Jim Calhoun) who will be suspended three games next season for illegal recruiting.

And they were both covered in confetti.

So forget Kemba Walker's drives and Jeremy Lamb's dunk and all those shots that left the Butler players' fingertips and never had a chance. That scene on that stage on this court here at Reliant Stadium late Monday should be the lasting image from Connecticut's 53-41 victory. The Huskies aren't the best national champion ever, but they might be the most fitting.

At a time when criticism of the NCAA has reached an all-time high thanks to a quarterback at Auburn winning the Heisman and BCS trophies despite the fact his father shopped his services for cash, basketball's national champion is coached by a man whose program was punished by the NCAA six weeks ago. In a season when analysts and fans consistently claimed parity reigned, basketball's national champion is coached by a man whose team finished ninth in the Big East with a 9-9 record.

Connecticut won the title?

Of course Connecticut won the title.

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Bruins Thornton Nominated for Masterson Trophy

Come awards time, Shawn Thornton isn't the type of player who garners a lot of recognition. The Bruins' tough guy has set new career-highs with nine goals and 18 points this season, but that won't exactly get him in the Hart Trophy conversation. He's a rare enforcer who you want to play a regular shift in a tight game, but he won't be challenging for any Selke Trophies either. And the Lady Byng? Forget it!

But, putting all those trophies aside, Thornton is up for an award this year, one he very much deserves to be considered for. The Professional Hockey Writers' Association announced Monday that its Boston chapter has made Thornton its nominee for the Masterton Trophy this year. 

One of hockey’s coveted trophies, it’s awarded each year to the "player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey," with one player from each team nominated.

The award, which was first presented in 1968 to honor Bill Masterton who died that January from a head injury suffered in a game while playing for the Minnesota North Stars. This trophy has morphed into almost a comeback player award with players overcoming devastating injuries or illness winning most of the recent Mastertons. But the PHWA has tried to stress that the Masterton Trophy isn't just about overcoming injuries, but also about players conducting themselves with class on and off the ice and giving back to the community.
 

Thornton certainly fits that profile. Last year's winner of the club's Johnny Bucyk Award for his community work, Thornton has become a fixture in the local community while living year-round in the Boston neighborhood of Charlestown. Last summer he organized the first annual Putts and Punches for Parkinson's golf tournament to raise money for the American Parkinson Disease Association. He's also one of the driving forces behind the annual Cuts for A Cause charity event, in which fans can bid for the privilege of shaving the heads of participating Bruins with proceeds going to the Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center.

Thornton's perseverance and dedication can't be questioned. He refused to give up on his NHL dream even after spending four seasons in the Toronto organization without ever getting a sniff of the NHL. Another five years with the Blackhawks yielded just 31 games in the NHL between the endless bus trips around the AHL. Thornton finally got his break with Anaheim, splitting the 2006-07 season between the Ducks and their AHL affiliate in Portland and playing 15 postseason contests to earn a Stanley Cup ring. He came to Boston the following year and has developed into a key leader on and off the ice.

The Bruins have won four Masterton trophies, with Charlie Simmer (1985-86), Gord Kluzak (1989-90), Cam Neely (1993-94) and Phil Kessel (2006-07). Thornton is a long shot to make it five this year, but he's been a long shot to do just about everything he's accomplished in the NHL, but is certainly a worthy candidate for this meaningful award.

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Miranda Lambert Wins at CMAs

Miranda Lambert walked away with awards in four categories at Sunday night’s Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas. Lambert was named top female vocalist at the 46th annual awards ceremony. Her song, “The House That Built Me” won video, single and song of the year. Lambert led the categories with seven nominations.

The talented Taylor Swift took home the prestigious Entertainer of the Year award. The award is the only one determined by popular vote.” This is the first time that I've ever won this and I'm just losing my mind," said the 21-year-old, whose album "Speak Now" sold 1 million copies in its first week alone when it was released last fall. "The fact that this is from the fans makes it so special."

After a stellar year, Lady Antebellum won three trophies. The group, which consists of Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood, won album of the year as artists and producer as well as top vocal group for the second straight year. Lambert was not eligible for the album award, having won it last year for her current release.

For his part, Brad Paisley seemed genuinely surprised when he won best male vocalist over Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton, George Strait and Keith Urban. "I am honestly shocked," he said, "This is way too many of these for me," he said having won five trophies in the category. "I don’t want to know who got paid what," he quipped, quickly adding, "No, it’s all very fair."

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Maya Moore Garners Third Wade Trophy

UConn senior Maya Moore has been taking some heat from her mother, Kathryn for her basketball accomplishments.  Being too good on the court is causing Kathryn problems in her home.

Kathryn is running out of room to store Moore's trophies in the house.  But, she is going to need to clear some more space as Saturday Maya became the first player in history to win the Wade Trophy as the nation's top player three times.  Former LSU star Seimone Augustus (2005, 2006) and former Old Dominion star Nancy Lieberman (1979, 1980) each won the award twice. Moore is one of five UConn players to win the Wade Trophy. Rebecca Lobo (1995), Jennifer Rizzotti (1996), Sue Bird, 2002) and Diana Taurasi (2003) have also been honored with the Wade Trophy.

Moore, a four-time State Farm All-American, was also named the National Player of the Year by The Associated Press for the second time, and also earned the Lowe's Senior Class Award.   Moore collected 37 of a possible 39 votes in the AP trophies race. Baylor's Brittney Griner received the other two votes.  To commemorate her historical accomplishment. Moore was presented with a framed poster by Beth Bass, the executive director of the WBCA, during the Wade Trophy ceremony at the Westin hotel,

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Barcelona Catalans Want More Trophies

Barcelona attacker Pedro has let everyone know that the Catalans are ready to realize their potential.  He added that they want to win a lot more trophies in the upcoming years.  The Blaugrana are on course for a third successive Spanish crown and have reached the Copa del Rey final.  They are the favorites to win the Champions League, but the Spaniard believes there are still areas that need improvement.

"You can always improve with the team. There are tactical things, then your finishing in front of goal, speed as well. We are very ambitious as a team, we want to win soccer trophies and we want to continue our development," Pedro said on the official UEFA website.  The versatile attacker pointed out that many teams concentrate heavily on defense when playing against Barcelona, and that the Blaugrana have to learn from this to continue their development as a soccer powerhouse.

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Trophies Glitter at CMAs

Surprise performers at the 46th Academy of Country Music awards in Las Vegas on Sunday night included Steven Tyler and Rihanna, but the night belonged to artists  Taylor Swift and rising star Miranda Lambert. Taking the stage to collect the award for Entertainer of the Year, the 21-year old Swift said: "This is the first time that I've ever won this and I'm just losing my mind."

Aerosmith singer and American Idol judge Tyler sang with Carrie Underwood – award winner of the TV talent show in 2005 – on a high-energy version of Walk This Way. The influence of the CMAs in all sectors of the US music industry was demonstrated when Rihanna joined country singer Jennifer Nettles for a Nashville-influenced version of the R&B star's latest single California King Bed.

The 27-year-old Lambert was the biggest winner of the night, picking up trophies such as female vocalist of the year as well the song, video and single of the year awards for “The House That Built Me”.

The new artist award went to Mississippi group the Band Perry, who also picked up single of the year for “If I Die Young”. Nashville band Lady Antebellum won Album of the Year and Brad Paisley was named top male vocalist for the fifth year running. Previous trophies for the prestigious Entertainer of the Year award include Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks.

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