Big Hurt makes a big error Ritchie's woes continue amid Thomas' baserunning mistake

Devil Rays 6

White Sox 2

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.--Todd Ritchie continues to slide, not helpedby the fact that one of his teammates didn't.

Ritchie continued on his path toward 20 losses, while after a 6-2defeat Saturday to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Carlos Lee and FrankThomas had an animated discussion about a fifth-inning baserunningblunder.

Thomas was thrown out at the plate after he didn't slide whiletrying to score from second base on a single by Royce Clayton.Television replays appeared to show that Thomas just beat the throwto the plate as he came in standing.

Thomas, who didn't officially lift his media boycott, stilloffered an …

Davox and eGain seal e-commerce partnership agreement

Davox Corporation, a developer of customer contact solutions, and eGain Communications Corp., a provider of customer service infrastructure for ecommerce, have unveiled a strategic agreement to jointly market, sell and integrate eGain's real-time Web collaboration and e-mail management solutions with Davox's customer contact telephony capabilities. This alliance is intended to enable customer contact centers to deliver a higher level of customer service by using an integrated solution for phone, e-mail and live Web …

Spain beats U.S. for 7th in women's field hockey

Rocio Ybarra scored on a penalty corner in the second extra period as Spain defeated the United States 3-2 Wednesday in the seventh-place game of the Olympic women's field hockey tournament.

The Americans took the lead when Angela Loy scored in the 59th minute to give her team a 2-1 lead.

American Carrie Lingo was sent off after getting a yellow card late in regulation, and Spain took advantage when Raquel Huertas scored in the 68th …

On the scent of success

BRAINTREE band Hounds play the BandCrash Christmas gig inChelmsford this Friday with a real sense of purpose in their mindsThe electro-rock trio have had an eventful few months which has seentheir music used in a horror film and The Prodigy's manager MikeChampion take them under his wing.

Singer/guitarist Olly is in an ebullient frame of mind as hetalks about what Hounds have been up to and what lies ahead in 2010.

He's particularly looking forward to returning to barhouse.

"We've done a couple of gigs there recently. It's been goodplaying there. Back in the day there was the Army and Navy and the YClub, then there were years without any venue like that. I …

Who's skilling the great chefs of Chicago? // From accredited schools to one-shot courses, there's a class for every need of interest

The art of cooking encompasses a working knowledge of art, math,history, a sense of style and, more important, experience in thekitchen. In short, one must master the finer points of cookingbefore attempting to create an edible masterpiece.

Whether by the often tried method of trial and error or underthe tutelage of a master chef, the first thing one must do is acquireat least a rudimentary understanding of the basic language and skillsassociated with cooking, beginning with the term itself.

Sometime during the 1980s and the early '90s the term "cooking"evolved into "culinary arts," making the subject more appealing.This new image not only propelled cooking into the …

Amid Europe's crisis, UK skeptics seek looser ties

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — It shunned the euro to keep its cherished pound. Now could Europe's deepening debt crisis see Britain turn its back entirely on its struggling neighbors?

Delegates at an annual rally of the governing Conservative Party this week are looking to the continent's economic woes as an opportunity to revive old debates about Britain's relationship with Europe.

Costly bailouts and meddling judges are cited as new evidence to support the long cherished goal of Britain's skeptics: Leaving the European Union.

"The tide is moving irrevocably towards a referendum, regardless of whether or not the prime minister wants one," Conservative Party lawmaker …

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Lebanon has been conquered and colonized many times over in the last three millennia. Among the famous invaders: Alexander the Great, Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar and the Muslim warrior Saladin.

Others include Persians, Romans, Egyptians, Christian Crusaders, Ottoman Turks, the French and English in World War I and, more recently, Israelis. Lebanon's rival Christians and Muslims also upset the peace, most notably in the 1975-90 civil war.

Many invaders left monuments and other remnants of their civilizations that can be visited in day trips from Lebanon's urbane capital, Beirut. You can go east to the Roman ruins at Baalbek, north to the Crusader-era …