editorials and opinion

By DUSTY SAUNDERS
Scripps Howard News Service
Monday, May 14, 2007

Ted Johnson has a vacant look in his eyes as he stares into the camera.

The former New England Patriots linebacker, attired in a dark suit, has "cleaned up" for his HBO interview with Bernard Goldberg after spending the previous 11 days in a darkened apartment.

"I don't shave . . . don't shower . . . don't brush my teeth . . . you can't care," Johnson says in a negative, disheartened tone.

Now living in a shadowy, mixed-up world, Johnson is one of several former NFL players who have been victims of numerous helmet-crushing hits and are suffering from debilitating memory loss, confusion, dementia and even suicidal depression.

Their stories, which debut Monday night on HBO's Emmy-winning Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel should be a wake-up call to the NFL, which, according to HBO, hasn't paid much attention to the growing problem.

But based on Goldberg's interview with Dr. Ian Casson, a spokesman-physician for the NFL, little attention will be paid in the future.

Casson tells Goldberg there's "no clear evidence" coaches, doctors and trainers are endangering the lives of players by allowing them to play after they have suffered what could have been severe head injuries.

In a smirking tone, Casson says such accusations are "overblown."

Tell that to Johnson, who recalls suffering a major concussion in a Patriots-Giants preseason game in August 2002. Four days later, coaches insisted he return to hard-knocking contact, where he suffered another concussion.

During the next several seasons, Johnson was cleared for playing by coaches, trainers and doctors. Now he exists in a shadow world, telling Goldberg he's addicted to heavy medication he's forced to take to survive.

But at least Johnson is a survivor _ so far.

Andre Waters, former "hard- hitting" defensive back with the Philadelphia Eagles, committed suicide in November. Doctors and pathologists agreed: The brain of the 44-year-old Waters was muddled because of too many hits on NFL fields.

NFL fans can recall tight end John Mackey, one of the league's all-time best. It's sad to watch Mackey, in hesitant style, trying to answer Goldberg's simple, direct questions.

Mackey has a form of dementia that has removed nearly all of his short-term memory.

The finger-pointing at the lax NFL policies regarding head injuries is done by several noted physicians and Harvard-educated medical consultant Chris Nowinski, who survived pro wrestling before getting involved in sports medicine.

Bennet Omalu, a Pittsburgh- area doctor, outlines specifically how Waters' suicide-by gunshot death was the direct result of head injures suffered in the NFL.

The revelations surrounding the death of Waters and the problems facing Mackey, Johnson and other former players aren't new.

But Real Sports puts them into a concise focus.

So why is the NFL seemingly unconcerned with an obvious problem?

Johnson's succinct answer: "Money, my man. It's just about making money."

By CLIFF GUILLIAMS
Scripps Howard News Service
Monday, May 14, 2007

The known versus the unknown.

That's next Saturday's story line in Baltimore, where the 132nd Preakness Stakes will match 3-year-old colts going 1-3/16 miles.

Representing the known are Street Sense and Hard Spun, one-two finishers on May 5 in Kentucky Derby 133. Third-finishing Curlin was nearly six lengths behind Hard Spun and had no influence on the outcome.

Street Sense will likely face 10 challengers, including Hard Spun. That duo is a cut above the rest and battle tested. Combined, they've won nine of 14 starts with three seconds, two thirds and $3.8 million in earnings. That's chicken feed to what they'll fetch in year's to come as stallions, especially Hard Spun, who, as one of the last sons of Danzig, will be highly coveted.

In the Derby, Street Sense exhibited athleticism, benefited from a golden rail trip and won going away by 2-1/4 lengths.

The stars were aligned for him to pass 17 rivals on the rail. But don't think for an instant he needed the rail or was lucky to win. He could easily have come around horses and gotten the job done.

Hard Spun, meantime, proved critics who questioned his distance ability wrong. After making all the early pace, he wasn't stopping. Street Sense simply rolled from the back.

In the Preakness, run at a 16th-of-a-mile less than the Derby, Hard Spun doesn't have to be on the lead. Trainer Larry Jones prefers he isn't, but it may be necessary. If jockey Mario Pino can harness his speed, watch out.

In the days to come, you'll hear about the Preakness being shorter than the Derby. How a speed horse can steal it. How Pimlico's tighter turns compromise a come-from-behind horse.

Forget about it. As the great Hall of Famer Angel Cordero Jr., says, "if you're good enough, you can win it from the parking lot....'

Street Sense, who can be positioned anywhere, will be the Preakness favorite. He is a fine colt, gives everything he has, does it willingly and has lots to give. His pedigree with respect to the classic distances is solid, and he's in the hands of a two-time Derby winning horseman, Carl Nafzger, who is immune to the pressure and pitfalls of the classics.

In their first Derby attempt, Jones and wife Cindy, left a lasting impression. It would come as no surprise if Western Kentucky's first racing couple wins the Preakness and makes it back to future Derbys.

The "unknowns" expected to challenge for the Black-Eyed Susans (actually daisies with the center painted black) are Mint Slewlep (fourth in Aqueduct's Withers), Teuflesberg (17th in the Derby), King of the Roxy, Xchanger, Flying First Class, Starbase, Derby third Curlin, C P West, Chelokee and Sedgefield (fifth in the Derby).

The Preakness field is limited to 14. Most will be out for air, get hot and dirty and bypass the June 9 Belmont Stakes.

By RAY McNULTY
Scripps Howard News Service
Monday, May 14, 2007

Maybe, if we're lucky, what happened on Mother's Day at The Players Championship merely set the stage for an unforgettable Father's Day at the U.S. Open.

Because Phil Mickelson proved something on this special Sunday on the Stadium Course at the TPC at Sawgrass.

He proved he's back.

Back from the agony of his stunning, 72nd-hole defeat at Winged Foot last June.

Back from the major disappointments that followed at last year's British Open and PGA Championship and last month's Masters.

Back to being the world's No. 2 golfer.

More importantly, Mickelson proved that he's back to playing the type of championship-caliber golf that makes him Tiger Woods' rival _ and, really, his only rival _ on the PGA Tour.

So maybe, just maybe, next month at Oakmont Country Club, we'll finally get the major-championship Sunday we've been waiting for.

Woods versus Mickelson.

Coming down the back nine.

Playing for a U.S. Open championship.

"I'm really excited about the direction I'm headed," Mickelson said after a near-flawless final round that carried him to his first Players Championship triumph in 14 tries.

And he should be.

He was the only golfer in a strong field to complete the tournament without an over-par round. He made all 59 of his putts from inside five feet and did not three-putt any green. He went 26 consecutive holes without a bogey, a remarkable run that began on No. 10 Saturday and ended on No. 18 Sunday, when he needed only a double-bogey to win.

Thing is, his final-round 69 could've been better.

He birdied three of his first seven holes and added another on No. 11. But he missed five other makeable birdie putts.

"It was a good round, but I'd like to get the putter hot," Mickelson said. "I'd like to imagine what the round would be if the putter was hot."

Certainly, putting will play a more-decisive role on the demanding greens at Oakmont.

But at least one expert likes Lefty's chances.

NBC analyst Johnny Miller was so impressed by Mickelson's performance in The Players that he told his audience: "If next week were Oakmont, he'd be the favorite. No doubt about it."

And Miller ought to know.

He won the 1973 U.S. Open there, shooting a final-round 63.

Mickelson' victory, though _ particularly, the way he closed out the tournament _ actually evoked memories of another major: The Masters title he won in 2006.

"It looked kind of eerily similar in that I shot 69, was 4-under through 17, had a three-shot lead walking up 18 and ended up bogeying the last hole when I had the tournament in hand," Mickelson said. "And they both felt great."

This one, however, surely felt different.

The Players isn't a major.

And he won this tournament with golf guru Butch Harmon as his new swing coach.

The two men began working together three weeks ago, after Mickelson grew frustrated with his inability to hit the ball as well as he did when he won at August in 2006.

Since then, Mickelson has tied for third at the Byron Nelson Championship in Dallas and the Wachovia Championship in Charlotte and, now, won a tournament that is widely regarded as golf's fifth major.

"I'm excited about the way my ball-striking seemed to get better as the week went on," Mickelson said. "It seemed to get better from Dallas to Wachovia and from Wachovia to here. So I believe that if I keep working at these things and progressing, I should be ready to take on the ultimate tough challenge at Oakmont."

Harmon said Mickelson's showing at The Players was just the "tip of the iceberg" and he expects bigger and better things in the coming weeks and months.

"Obviously, he's got as much talent as anybody in the world, other than maybe Tiger," Harmon said. "And I think if we can get him (playing) out of the fairway, he can rival Tiger, maybe.

"He's got a short game as good or better than Tiger's. It's just a matter of trying to get him to play a little bit more conservatively, not quite as aggressively. That might be a little bit bigger problem than his swing." Harmon laughed.

Woods, when he reads or hears Harmon's remarks, probably won't.

You see, Harmon used to be Woods' swing coach _ and that can only pour more fuel on the Woods-Mickelson rivalry.

But will both players be at the top of their games when they get to Oakmont, where the 107th U.S. Open tees off four weeks from Thursday? Woods rebounded from three disappointing rounds by firing a Sunday 67. And Mickelson, with Harmon in his corner, seems to be playing with more poise and confidence than ever.

"I can't wait for Oakmont, because that's what we're gearing up for," Mickelson said, later adding that "I'm not where I want to be yet, but I feel like I'm on the right path."

We can only hope this is merely a setup for an Open showdown with Woods on Father's Day at Oakmont.

(Ray McNulty is sports columnist for Scripps Treasure Coast (Fla.) Newspapers, The Stuart News, Fort Pierce Tribune and Vero Beach Press Journal. On the Web at www.tcpalm.com.)

By RICK DEL VECCHIO
San Francisco Chronicle
Monday, May 14, 2007

The family of a 4-year-old boy who police say fatally shot his father in their Vallejo, Calif., home over the weekend declined to speak publicly, but a neighbor called him a sweetheart.

Darlene Miranda said the boy often played in the front yard while his parents sat on the front steps. His blond hair was usually tied in a long braid, and he once hugged her when she walked past his home.

"A little sweetheart," she said.

No one answered the door of the neat gray bungalow where the victim, 32-year-old Brian Sparks, and his wife, Carol Sparks, lived with their son. An American flag hung in the front window, and yellow police tape could be seen in a trashcan at the curb in front of the home.

Family members outside told reporters to leave. And Vallejo Police Sgt. Kenny Park later said the victim's father, who also lives in Vallejo, was not ready to talk about the tragedy.

"He might be willing to talk in a couple of days, but right now he's upset and wants to be left alone," said Park, who said investigators were not releasing any additional information about the case.

The Vallejo Times-Herald described Brian Sparks as an electrician on disability leave because of a work-related injury. Both that paper and KTVU news quoted a neighbor saying that Brian Sparks collected guns.

Carol Sparks reported the shooting Saturday afternoon, calling it accidental and identifying the boy as responsible, police said.

There has been no determination of responsibility for the tragedy, according to a Vallejo Police Department announcement. Police said the boy and his mother were cooperating with investigators.

Neighbor Bruce Branco said he met the boy's mother when the two worked together at a hardware store.

"To me, they were nice people," he said. "I didn't see anything wrong. This is kind of tragic.

"I'm still wondering why that baby went after that gun. A 4-year-old doesn't have much of a mind yet. How does he learn to use a gun like that?"

(E-mail Rick Del Vecchio at rdelvecchio@sfchronicle.com.)

Scripps Howard News Service
Monday, May 14, 2007

This is the Scripps Howard News Service OPED budget for Monday, May 14, 2007. If you have questions or comments, SHNS editors can be reached at 202-408-1484. For all SHNS content and archives, visit our Web site at www.shns.com.

COMMENT

THOMASSON (Thomasson, SHNS _ Column) -- WASHINGTON: Each day Fred Thompson waits to get into the presidential race will make it that much harder. 750.

GAILEY (Gailey, St. Petersburg Times _ Column) -- There will be no Gailey column today.

CRISP (Crisp, SHNS _ Column) -- In spite of Iraq's complexity, nearly everyone agrees on one thing: Iran's involvement is essential to any resolution in Iraq. 750.

NURSES (Halamandaris, The Providence Journal) --Where will we find the nurses. 700.

SCRIPPS HOWARD EDITORIALS

EDBUSH (Dale McFeatters, SHNS) _ President Bush says his administration will regulate vehicle greenhouse emissions -- but gently. 350.

EDCHRYSLER (Dale McFeatters, SHNS) Germany's Daimler unloads the U.S.'s Chrysler. 300.

By SCOTT OSTLER
San Francisco Chronicle
Monday, May 14, 2007

As the clocked ticked down on the Utah Jazz's 115-101 win over the Golden State Warriors in Game 4 on Sunday night, a fan in the expensive seats fled down a corridor saying, "Well, all good things must come to an end."

So this series was best-of-five? Who knew?

I think I saw one fan in the parking lot checking his dipstick with a yellow T-shirt. One bus was marked, "Ye of little faith."

Not all the Warriors' faithful are jumping off the bandwagon, but this is test-of-faith time.

If you're sticking around to see how this thing ends, what you should know is that this is a situation made for the Warriors. The wild dogs are underdogs to the bone, and a task like needing to win three in a row, two of the games in Utah, doesn't bother them.

The Warriors didn't go into Sunday night's game expecting to lose, but they weren't looking for another crazy one-sided win like Game 3.

"I think they (the Jazz) were embarrassed (by their Game 3 blowout loss)," said their coach, Jerry Sloan.

If they weren't embarrassed during that game, you can bet they were after Sloan critiqued their performance. Sunday they played Sloan ball. Hard, tough, efficient.

That's the type of player Sloan was and that's the type of game he coaches. Jerry West still has bruises from driving the lane on Sloan back in the 1960s. Sloan could foul you with his stare.

Sloan didn't make so much of a strategic adjustment from Game 3 to Game 4 as an attitude adjustment. He told his guys, essentially, "OK, you played one game your way, now we're going back to doing it my way."

As in: Eschewing the wild three-pointers early in the clock, pounding the ball in to Boozer, who had 10 shots in Game 3 and 19 Sunday. Boozer turned the wild dogs into puppies with his 34 points and 12 rebounds.

"(The Warriors are) quicker at every position," Sloan said. "We have to play with some semblance of order. ... I can't play (Boozer) if we're not going to get the ball inside. We settled for jump shots (in Game 3). We had opportunities to throw (Boozer) the ball in the last game and we didn't do it. If he gets to touch the ball, then the ball comes back (outside) and you have better shots."

And the Warriors have to play like they're quicker at every position. They've still got the element of surprise on their side because they're playing a whole different game than has been seen this deep in the playoffs in a long time _ several non-superstars who are too small and too quick. Some nights.

Sunday, as Nelson said, "We just didn't have enough juice. ... Baron (Davis) didn't have the same zip in his game tonight, he just didn't have it."

With Davis not penetrating, the Warriors in the second half reverted to the lazy guys who camp around the arc and pass the ball around. No cutting, slashing, driving. Just three-ball-a-palooza. They shot 5-for-21 from beyond the arc in the second half.

And they didn't put enough squeeze on Boozer, who shot 6-for-8 from the floor in the second half. Of course, he is Boozer.

"Boozer is a major, major star," Nelson said. "We can't handle him. Yao Ming couldn't handle him, he ate Yao Ming up."

Apparently Boozer is still hungry for light snacks, because he dominated the Warriors inside, although they did hold him to one offensive rebound.

So it will come down to a fascinating clash of styles, and it's almost as if the two teams are playing different sports. One is playing badminton and the other roller derby. The Jazz kill the Warriors on the backboard, just pulverize 'em. The Warriors run circles around the Jazz.

The Warriors run and run, the Jazz pound and pound.

They're almost a cartoon, the Jazz, with Boozer and AK-47 and Sgt. Sloan, muscle on muscle. They bring guys off the bench who look like NFL linemen. The Warriors go to their bench for ballet dancers.

Back in training camp, when the Jazz were eating steak and pumping iron, the Warriors were counting calories with Jenny Craig.

But the Warriors didn't get this far by being intimidated by more muscular teams, of which the NBA has about 29.

We know this: Neither team is going to change styles now. "We're not able to change our whole structure," Sloan said.

Looking at the last 10 minutes of Sunday's game, and looking at the next game in the far-off land of Utah, you have to think the Warriors don't have a chance.

But isn't that where you came in? Might as well stick around, put on that T-shirt one more night, Believe for one more game.

Scripps Howard News Service
Monday, May 14, 2007

Here is the Scripps Howard News Service NEWS budget for Monday, May 14, 2007. If you have questions or comments, SHNS editors can be reached at 202-408-1484. For all SHNS content and archives, visit our Web site at www.shns.com.

WASHINGTON

ORGANDONORS (Powelson, SHNS) -- WASHINGTON: Organ donors and their surviving relatives should be recognized with a new congressional medal, say a bipartisan group in Congress and organizations promoting organ transplants. 550.

NATIONAL

ARMYRECRUITING (Lazarus, San Francisco Chronicle) -- All companies know how hard it can be to attract talented personnel when a business is experiencing difficulties. So imagine what the Army is up against, trying to recruit soldiers at a time when it's all but certain they'll be shipped overseas to serve in a deadly and unpopular war. 650.

WOPBURGER (Meadows, SHNS) -- As controversies go, this one isn't exactly a whopper. It's more of a -- well, let's just say it's about a wopburger and what happens when the menu at an iconic Colorado restaurant collides with ethnic sensibilities and political correctness in the 21st century. 550.

DIVERSITYINNEWS (Garofoli, San Francisco Chronicle) -- Seeing nonwhite men on the Sunday shows is as rare as seeing them on the floor of the U.S. Senate. According to a study, at least 77 percent of the 2,150 guests who appeared on the four major Sunday shows in 2005-06 were men; at least 82 percent were white. 650.

TRANSPIONEER (Vega, San Francisco Chronicle) -- Transgender pioneer Theresa Sparks capped a riches-to-rags-and-back-to-riches tale with her election as president of the San Francisco Police Commission. 700.

FREESHOES (Flippin, SHNS) -- SAN ANGELO, Texas: The mayor and City Council will salute an old soldier with a bad leg Tuesday for uncommon service to veterans, homeless women, abused girls, nursing-home residents and anyone else who needs a free pair of comfortable house shoes. 600.

TEACHER-PROTEST (Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle) -- Recommended for weekend use. A "honk for peace" case tests the limits of free speech. 750.

KILLDAD (Del Vecchio, San Francisco Chronicle) -- A 4-year-old shot his father to death over the weekend at their home in Vallejo, Calif., police say. 300.

HEALTH AND SCIENCE

BURYCARBONDIOXIDE (Hopey, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) -- Carbon capture and sequestration isn't sexy. Too many syllables, for one thing. Simplified, it boils down to this -- instead of putting carbon dioxide in the air, why can't you bury it? 600.

BERYLLIUM (Munger, SHNS) -- OAK RIDGE, Tenn.: A spike in abnormal beryllium tests last fall created a scare at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant, where exposures to the metal have been linked to chronic beryllium disease, an incurable, sometimes-fatal respiratory impairment. 600.

INTERNATIONAL

AIDSVICTIM (Priest & Jimenez, Toronto Globe and Mail) -- TORONTO: A Kenyan woman who came to Canada in search of a better life, only to become infected with the AIDS virus in a sexual assault by a Canadian man, faces possible deportation for being a burden on the health-care system. 550.

TALIBAN (Smith, Toronto Globe and Mail) -- KANDAHAR, Afghanistan: Signs of disorder emerged in Taliban ranks as insurgents grappled with the news that Mullah Dadullah, their most powerful field commander, had been killed. 600.

By LISA PRIEST and MARINA JIMENEZ
Toronto Globe and Mail
Monday, May 14, 2007

A Kenyan woman who came to Canada in search of a better life, only to become infected with the AIDS virus in a sexual assault by a Canadian man, faces possible deportation for being a burden on the health-care system.

The 29-year-old, who cannot be named due to a court-ordered publication ban, was infected more than five years ago by Adrien Sylver Nduwayo, who is now serving the toughest prison sentence in Canada -- 15 years -- for intentionally infecting others with HIV.

In the process, the Vancouver, British Columbia-area nurse and mother of two has become a victim not only of Nduwayo's crime, but of the immigration system. That's because some HIV immigrants with significant health needs, such as requiring many months of costly antiretroviral therapy, can be deemed a burden on the health-care system.

This victim of crime could face a one-way trip back to Kenya, where access to antiretroviral medication is uncertain.

"It's just not right," the woman said. "It was a deliberate spread, it was very devastating. It still upsets me to think about it."

But had she been a refugee as Nduwayo once was, she would have access to the best the Canadian health-care system has to offer. By the late 1990s, he had become a Canadian citizen.

Individuals seeking permanent residence in Canada who are assessed as likely to pose an excessive demand on Canadian health and social services -- determined as costing $18,200 or more in health and social services over a five-year period -- are considered inadmissible on health grounds, according to Melanie Carkner, a spokeswoman for Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

In fact, in sentencing Nduwayo, Justice John Truscott of the British Columbia Supreme Court noted that the Kenyan woman "is not allowed to emigrate to Canada as a skilled worker, and may not be allowed to stay in the country the next time she has to apply for a work permit. Even if she can remain in the country, she may not be able to continue working as a nurse."

The woman knows she is in legal jeopardy. "I don't know what the decision is going to be for my immigration," she confirmed in a telephone interview. "... I went to see two lawyers who said: 'There is no way you would be allowed to immigrate.' "

With her dreams of traveling the world as a nurse gone, her day-to-day struggle is focused on survival. There are weekly doctor appointments, tests for liver and pancreas function and drugs to keep the disease -- which would otherwise kill her -- at bay.

At one point, her CD4 count was as low as 190; in a recent interview she said it was up to 260. CD4 cells are an important type of white blood cell and are part of the body's defense against infection. HIV attacks CD4 cells and uses them to make more copies of HIV. In doing so, the CD4 cell becomes unable to do its job of protecting the body. Though a normal count in a healthy, HIV-negative adult can vary, it usually hovers between 600 and 1,200 CD4 cells per cubic millimeter of blood.

It is cruelly paradoxical, given that she emigrated disease-free from Kenya, where AIDS is endemic.

By LEN BOSELOVIC
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Monday, May 14, 2007

With shareholders clamoring for a greater voice in how much executives of publicly held companies are paid and Congress threatening to make it the law of the land, nary a word is being heard in defense of those who _ when they're not winging their way in the comfort of the company's Gulfstream G-IV _ are going about the grim business of enhancing shareholder value from their posh aerie at headquarters.

But a recent study by three business-school professors indicates chief executive officers have a more cultivated sense of fairness on the matter of compensation than more visceral students of the topic give them credit for. The study, published last fall in Organization Science, indicates that when CEOs are overpaid, those farther down the corporate ladder tend to be overpaid, as well.

"Our study suggests that CEOs are concerned with fairness as well as self-interest, and that their ability to garner compensation for themselves can also have far-reaching consequences for the fortunes of others," the authors conclude.

The study was conducted by Rutgers University's James B. Wade, Stanford University's Charles A. O'Reilly III and Penn State University's Timothy G. Pollock.

Their work was based on surveys a human-resource-consulting firm conducted at more than 120 companies between 1981 and 1985. Despite the age of the data, Pollock believes that more recent data would corroborate their conclusion that CEOs contemplate the fairness of what they're paid vs. what their employees are paid.

"I think they do think about it more than people anticipate," he said. "But it's also a question of what they think is fair vs. what other people think is fair."

Their study concludes that if a CEO is overpaid by 64 percent, an executive one rung down the ladder will be overpaid by 26 percent and those four levels down will be overpaid by 12 percent.

As refreshing as this perspective on CEO pay is, don't forget the Second Law of Executive Compensation: For every pay study there is an equal and opposite study. (The First Law of Executive Compensation? Too much is not enough.)

The opposing study is provided by Craig G. Rennie of the University of Arkansas and Jeffrey T. Brookman and Saeyoung Chang of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. Their review of the data reaches a conclusion most critics of executive pay won't find as hard to believe.

Based on two studies of what happens to executive pay following layoff announcements, the trio concludes that CEOs who initiate layoffs are paid more in subsequent years than CEOs at similar companies that don't downsize. Nearly all of the pay increase that the ax-wielding CEOs realize results from their holdings of restricted stock and stock options, awards granted annually but which generally vest over periods of up to 10 years.

That's because layoff announcements boost the value of a company's stock, something compensation packages are designed to encourage.

Based on their study of more than 200 layoff announcements between 1993 and 1999, downsizing the work force typically results in one-time labor savings of $65 million and a $40 million to $95 million increase in the value of all of a company's stock.

CEOs who implement layoffs receive less cash compensation (salary and bonus) the year before and the year of the cutbacks than CEOs at companies with no layoffs, reflecting poor performance the layoffs are supposed to address.

However, once they announce layoffs, CEOs begin to take home more. Their stock-based compensation is 20 percent higher the year of the announcement than the stock-based compensation of CEOs at non-layoff firms, the researchers found. A year later, it is nearly 43 percent higher.

The results were similar when the researchers included salary and bonus.

Their second study looked at more than 500 layoff announcements from 1993 to 2003, examining the differences in CEO stock-based pay at companies with layoffs and companies without them. For every $1 change in the price of their stock, CEOs responsible for layoffs received an average of $899,000 vs. the $461,000 received by CEOs at nonlayoff firms.

(Len Boselovic can be reached at lboselovic@post-gazette.com

By PERRY FLIPPIN
Scripps Howard News Service
Monday, May 14, 2007

San Angelo's mayor and City Council will salute an old soldier with a bad leg Tuesday for uncommon service to veterans, homeless women, abused girls, nursing home residents and anyone else who needs a free pair of comfortable house shoes.

Since 1993, Robert Stanley and his wife of 63 years, Lu Ella, have prepared and delivered more than 100,000 pairs of shoes -- strictly private charity -- to recipients from eastern New Mexico to the Piney Woods of Deep East Texas.

"We just can't believe it," said Lu Ella. "This is just something we've always done because..."

"We wanted to," said Robert, finishing her sentence. "It's just something we like to do."

On April 25, State Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, introduced the Stanleys to a standing ovation before the Texas House of Representatives in Austin.

"It's a great honor anytime you're in the Capitol of Texas and everybody on the floor and gallery is clapping and coming to shake your hand and saying, 'I appreciate what you've done for our country,' " said William Murray, commander of San Angelo's chapter of Disabled American Veterans.

Murray joined the Stanleys three years ago in the house shoe project and nominated Stanley for the state's Outstanding Disabled Veteran of the Year Award. Stanley, with Lu Ella, will receive the award June 22 at the state DAV convention in Austin. Each state winner qualifies for a shot at the national award.

The Stanleys and Murray spend four hours in the early mornings and fours hours late in the day sorting and pairing new house shoes manufactured by the R.G. Barry company in China.

Barry closed its San Angelo manufacturing plant more than three years ago and relocated first to Mexico, then to China. Stanley said Barry is sending many more rejects from China than from Mexico -- and Mexico's performance was bad. The merchandise shows no obvious defects and wearers have no complaints. Usually, they just need a match -- same size, color, design. The Stanleys patiently sort through box after box to find pairs for men, women and girls. Then they assemble the house shoes and deliver them to veteran's hospitals, nursing homes and other places that need them.

Stanley served in the Army in the Southwest Pacific, where he loaded 500-pound bombs in B-24s and B-25s.

One day, a GI accidentally dropped a bomb fuse that detonated on the tarmac. The explosion ripped a gash just above Stanley's left knee, leaving a seven-inch scar. A doctor diagnosed gangrene and prepared to amputate the leg, but a Mississippi nurse asked for a 24-hour delay while she treated the wound with penicillin.

It worked. Stanley was told he would never walk again without crutches or canes.

"I had trouble getting around for three or four years," he recalled, but the Waco Veterans Hospital furnished skilled medical care and rehabilitation.

After World War II, Stanley found work as a bootmaker for M.L. Leddy in San Angelo. Five years later, he opened his own boot shop which flourished until the oil boom faded. He sold his shop and went to work in the oil patch, still making boots in his time off.