Mars lander prepares for 3-month digging mission

NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander spent its first full day in the Martian arctic plains checking its instruments in preparation for an ambitious digging mission to study whether the site could have once been habitable.

The three-legged lander set down Sunday in relatively flat terrain covered by fissures outlining polygon shapes. The geometric cracks are likely caused by the repeated freezing and thawing of buried ice.

Images beamed back late Monday showed the elbow joint of Phoenix's trench-digging robotic arm still partly covered by a protective sheath. The sheath was supposed to fully unwrap after landing.

Mission scientists downplayed the problem, …

Advertisers looking for more horsepower

It's no secret. NASCAR is already hot. Numerous high-profilesponsors have discovered the sport has an intensely loyal and --thanks to an increasingly high profile presence on television --growing fan base that is an ideal target for many types ofadvertisers.

But months ago, Wally Hayward, CEO of Relay Sports and EventMarketing in Chicago, was already looking beyond NASCAR to hook upwith the next big thing in sports sponsorship. And Hayward thinks hehas found it in the somewhat unlikely arenas where rodeo cowboys andbull riders bravely strut their stuff.

"Rodeo and bull-riding fans are passionate about those sports, andthe audiences are as All-American as they come," …

James Cotton blows harmonica at Blues Festival

Among the legendary blues specialists and entertainers appearing at the 19th Annual Blues Festival honoring Muddy Waters, Thursday, May 30 to Sunday, June 2 will be James Cotton and his Five-Star Band.

Cotton is scheduled to perform at 7:25 p.m. Friday, May 31 following the performance of Muddy Waters Alumni Association at 6 p.m. featuring Pinetop Perkins, Carey Bell, Luther Johnson, John Primer, Willie Smith and Calvin "Fuzzy" Jones.

Climaxing the evening when Cotton plays will be Bo Diddley at 8:40 p.m. who will be reunited with Billy Boy Arnold, Jody Williams, Clifton James, Ken Saydak and Robert Stroger.

Legendary harpist Cotton with the assistance of producer …

Phelps returns to Michigan, his 2nd home

Olympic swim star Michael Phelps returned to the University of Michigan, his home for four years before the Beijing Games.

"It feels good to be back," he said Saturday. "It feels good to be back in the maize and blue."

Phelps was honored with other Olympians with ties to the school before Saturday's football game against Wisconsin. He sported a Wolverines football jersey with his name and No. 8, representing the record-setting gold medals he won last month.

Phelps lived and trained in Ann Arbor after emerging as a star at the Athens Games in 2004 and returned to campus for the first time this week since leaving for workouts June …

Lyons beats Oak Park as Kowalski fans 13

Scott Kowalski struck out 13 and top-ranked Lyons scored eightruns in the first two innings on its way to an 11-5 victory overvisiting Oak Park on Tuesday.

The win completed a three-game sweep for Lyons (12-2, 8-1) againstits West Suburban Silver rivals.

Lyons had homers from Kevin Diete, Matt Bolt and Brian Hochberg,while Paul Coglianese homered for Oak Park (6-8, 2-4).

This sweep puts us in great shape in the conference and puts OakPark in a deep hole," said Kowalski, who struck out seven of thefirst 10 batters and allowed only one earned run.

*Minooka defeated host Morris 12-5 in the Suburban Prairie Whiteopener for both teams. Minooka (11-4, 1-0) has …

Bulgaria to host WTA Tournament of Champions

LONDON (AP) — The WTA says the Tournament of Champions will move from Bali to a new venue in Sofia, Bulgaria from 2012.

The tournament features the six highest-ranked players who have won a title during the year, but have not qualified for the end-of-season WTA Championships.

Bali will host the event for the last time Nov. 2-6 this year before it moves to the Arena Sofia for three years from 2012. The venue will be opened in July.

Bulgaria hasn't hosted a WTA tournament for 22 years.

Somali pirates hijack German-owned ship

A U.S. Navy spokesman says Somali pirates have hijacked a German-owned ship with its 11 Romanian crew members in the Gulf of Aden.

Lt. Nate Christensen, a spokesman for the Bahrain-based U.S. 5th Fleet, says the ship was seized Tuesday afternoon in an area 75 miles (120 kilometers) south of Yemen.

The new seizure brings to 19 the number of ships being held by Somali pirates.

Andrew Mwangura of the East African Seafarers Assistance Program said Wednesday the crew are unhurt.

Piracy has become perhaps the biggest money-maker in Somalia because the pirates almost always get paid.

Their wealth is all the more shocking in light of Somalia's deep poverty. There has been no effective central government in nearly 20 years, plunging the arid country into chaos.