ispell cognizance: March 2013

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

BUSINESS: Niagara Peninsula Energy earns prestigious industry ...

Special to Bullet News

Niagara Peninsula Energy Inc. (NPEI) has been recognized by the Electricity Distributors Association (EDA) for demonstrating excellence in Customer Service as a result of NPEI?s successful 2012 ?Go Paperless? campaign that ran from September 1 to November 30, 2012. The program was made available to all customers: 51,000 active customers, including all residential and business customers.

The program set out with the following key messages:

? Save time

? Encourage Paperless billing: free, easy, secure, and eco-friendly

? Incentive building in savings

? Use of the online tool, providing an easy access to login and register to My Account to manage their own information. My Account provided customer access to account information including service and mailing addresses, services, usage and read information, bill access, access to customer forms including pre-authorization forms, and ability to provide move information online without a call into the utility

? Encourage customers to view personal consumption profile, educating them on time of use, peak periods and pricing

We are tremendously honoured to be recognized by our peers and receiving this award,? stated Brian Wilkie, President and CEO, NPEI. Educating and providing innovative tools to our customers is harmonious with our continuing efforts to be customer centric focused.?

Niagara Peninsula Energy Inc. provides electricity distribution and related services to approximately 56,000 residential and business customers in the City of Niagara Falls, Town of Lincoln, Town of Pelham and Township of West Lincoln.

Source: http://www.bulletnewsniagara.ca/2013/03/26/business-niagara-peninsula-energy-earns-prestigious-industry-award/

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At the Supreme Court, Waiting Through Sleet, Snow, and an Onslaught of Questions From Journalists

The wintry mix of sleet and snow has become something of a constant for those camping outside of the Supreme Court on Monday. But it?s not the only D.C. element descending upon them. There are few events like a long line to draw in reporters.

?I?ve had it to here with interviews,? Donna Clarke tells me, sitting beneath a blue umbrella and donning a bright-yellow poncho. Despite her best efforts, her newspaper has begun the process of being soaked through. ?I can?t keep answering the same questions.?

Donna Clarke sits under her umbrella battling the elements while waiting for her chance to hear oral arguments in the Supreme Court over Proposition 8.? (Chet Susslin)

Clarke has been interviewed more than 20 times already today as one of the more than 50 people who have been camped out ahead of the oral arguments for two historic Supreme Court cases involving gay marriage the justices will hear Tuesday and Wednesday. The only way she is willing to speak is if she?s the one doing the interview.

?I happen to be a private person,? she tells me after asking me what brings me here (editors wanted a color story) and whether I had personal opinions on the matter (not as a journalist, I told her). ?But here I am sitting out in front of the Supreme Court, freezing and surrounded by journalists. I keep thinking, ?Why am I here?? ?

The reason Clarke gives for coming to Washington with her partner all the way from California is one that gets echoed throughout the line: It?s thrilling to witness history in the making. Sure, the kindness of neighbors in this (mostly) progressive Hooverville, the Starbucks donations from passersby, and the pizza being delivered from ThinkProgress all helps, but it?s the history that makes the rain, the journalists, and the endless hours of sitting on a sidewalk bearable.

Just ask Jason Wanacott, who has been in line since 10 a.m. Friday, and says that he personally has done more than 200 interviews.

?That?s not even an exaggeration,? he says. ?I was the only person in line here for a while on Friday, and at one point I had 16 people around me all asking me questions at the same time.?

But Wanacott isn?t complaining. He?s psyched to be here. A self-described ?huge supporter of gay rights,? Wanacott has been documenting his experience on his blog,?Blonde Millennial.

?It was ridiculous, this morning I was blogging under like five inches of snow in my sleeping bag on my cellphone,? he said. ?I am not going to forget this experience.?

He?s certainly not the only one for whom this memory won?t soon fade.

For their 25^th?anniversary, Frank Colasonti Jr. and his partner James Ryder left their home outside of Detroit wearing long johns, hoodies, and jackets ready for a few nights of sleeping on a sidewalk.

?At first we both wanted to go, then my partner got reluctant, and now after actually being here, we?re both onboard wholeheartedly,? Colasonti told me, while Ryder was out buying more camping equipment. Colasonti said he brought three pairs of gloves and two were already completely soaked. ?We?re happy to be celebrating [our anniversary] here in the hopes that the two issues will be overturned so we can officially get married and live happily ever after.?

Correction:?A previous version of this story mispelled the last name of a woman waiting outside the Supreme Court. The woman's name is Donna Clarke.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/supreme-court-waiting-sleet-snow-onslaught-questions-journalists-140633085--politics.html

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Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Protein-rich breakfasts prevent unhealthy snacking in the evening, study finds

Mar. 26, 2013 ? Breakfast might be the most important meal of the day, but up to 60 percent of American young people consistently skip it. Now, Heather Leidy, an assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology, says eating a breakfast rich in protein significantly improves appetite control and reduces unhealthy snacking on high-fat or high-sugar foods in the evening, which could help improve the diets of more than 25 million overweight or obese young adults in the U.S.

Leidy is the first to examine the impact of breakfast consumption on daily appetite and evening snacking in young people who habitually skip breakfast. In her study, 20 overweight or obese adolescent females ages 18-20 either skipped breakfast, consumed a high-protein breakfast consisting of eggs and lean beef, or ate a normal-protein breakfast of ready-to-eat cereal. Every breakfast consisted of 350 calories and was matched for dietary fat, fiber, sugar and energy density. The high-protein breakfast contained 35 grams of protein. Participants completed questionnaires and provided blood samples throughout the day. Prior to dinner, a brain scan using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was performed to track brain signals that control food motivation and reward-driven eating behavior.

The consumption of the high-protein breakfast led to increased fullness or "satiety" along with reductions in brain activity that is responsible for controlling food cravings. The high-protein breakfast also reduced evening snacking on high-fat and high-sugar foods compared to when breakfast was skipped or when a normal protein, ready-to-eat cereal breakfast was consumed, Leidy said.

"Eating a protein-rich breakfast impacts the drive to eat later in the day, when people are more likely to consume high-fat or high-sugar snacks," Leidy said. "These data suggest that eating a protein-rich breakfast is one potential strategy to prevent overeating and improve diet quality by replacing unhealthy snacks with high quality breakfast foods."

People who normally skip breakfast might be skeptical about consuming food in the morning, but Leidy says it only takes about three days for the body to adjust to eating early in the day. Study participants ate egg and beef-based foods such as burritos or egg-based waffles with applesauce and a beef sausage patty as part of a high-protein breakfast; Leidy also suggests eating plain Greek yogurt, cottage cheese or ground pork loin as alternatives to reach the 35 grams of protein.

Future research will examine whether regularly consuming high-protein breakfasts improves body weight management in young people.

The article, "Beneficial effects of a higher-protein breakfast on the appetitive, hormonal, and neural signals controlling energy intake regulation in overweight/obese, 'breakfast skipping,' late-adolescent girls," was published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology is a joint effort by MU's College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources; College of Human Environmental Sciences; and School of Medicine. Funding for the research was provided by the Beef Check-off and the Egg Nutrition Center/American Egg Board.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Missouri-Columbia, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Journal Reference:

H. J. Leidy, L. C. Ortinau, S. M. Douglas, H. A. Hoertel. Beneficial effects of a higher-protein breakfast on the appetitive, hormonal, and neural signals controlling energy intake regulation in overweight/obese, 'breakfast-skipping,' late-adolescent girls. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2013; 97 (4): 677 DOI: 10.3945/ajcn.112.053116

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/health_medicine/nutrition/~3/--yKGM76OC4/130326151127.htm

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Miami Dolphins Offer To Repay Portion Of Public Costs To Renovate Stadium

The Miami Herald:

The Miami Dolphins have offered to repay Miami-Dade County for a portion of the public costs of renovating Sun Life Stadium, and to pay millions of dollars in penalties should the team fail to bring major events to South Florida, including four Super Bowls over the next three decades, The Miami Herald has learned.

Read the whole story at The Miami Herald

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/26/miami-dolphins-offer-to-r_n_2956851.html

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New urgency in battle against 'bound legs' disease

Mar. 25, 2013 ? The harm done by konzo -- a disease overshadowed by the war and drought it tends to accompany -- goes beyond its devastating physical effects to impair children's memory, problem solving and other cognitive functions.

Even children without physical symptoms of konzo appear to lose cognitive ability when exposed to the toxin that causes the disease, researchers report in the journal Pediatrics.

"That's what's especially alarming," said lead author Michael Boivin, a Michigan State University associate professor of psychiatry and of neurology and ophthalmology. "We found subtle effects that haven't been picked up before. These kids aren't out of the woods, even if they don't have the disease."

Konzo means "bound legs" in the African Yaka language, a reference to how its victims walk with feet bent inward after the disease strips away motor control in their lower limbs. Its onset is rapid, and the damage is permanent.

People contract konzo by consuming poorly processed bitter cassava, a drought-resistant staple food in much of sub-Saharan Africa. Typically, the plant's tuber is soaked for a few days, then dried in the sun and ground into flour -- a process that degrades naturally occurring cyanide.

"As long as they do that, the food's pretty safe," said Boivin, who began studying konzo in 1990 as a Fulbright researcher in the Democratic Republic of Congo. "But in times of war, famine, displacement and hardship, people take shortcuts. If they're subsisting on poorly processed cassava and they don't have other sources of protein, it can cause permanent damage to the nervous system.

"Konzo doesn't make many headlines because it usually follows other geopolitical aspects of human suffering," he added. "Still, there are potentially tens of millions of kids at risk throughout central and western Africa. The public health scope is huge."

To find out if the disease affects cognitive function, Boivin and colleagues from Oregon Health and Science University turned to the war-torn Congo. They randomly selected 123 children with konzo and 87 neighboring children who showed no signs of the disease but whose blood and urine samples indicated elevated levels of the toxin.

Using cognitive tests, the researchers found that children with konzo had a much harder time using working memory to solve problems and organize visual and spatial information.

They also found that konzo and non-konzo children from the outbreak area showed poor working memory and impaired fine-motor skills when compared to a reference group of children from a part of the region unaffected by the disease.

Konzo's subtler impacts might seem minor compared to its striking physical symptoms, but Boivin noted that the cognitive damage is similar to that caused by chronic low-grade exposures to other toxic substances such as lead.

Scientists eventually may be able to prevent such damage by creating nontoxic cassava varieties and introducing other resilient crops to affected regions, Boivin said. Meanwhile, public health education programs are under way to help stop outbreaks.

"For now," he said, "if we could just avoid the worst of it -- the full-blown konzo disease that has such devastating effects for children and families -- that's a good start."

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Michigan State University, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Journal Reference:

Michael J. Boivin, Daniel Okitundu, Guy Makila-Mabe Bumoko, Marie-Therese Sombo, Dieudonne Mumba, Thorkild Tylleskar, Connie F. Page, Jean-Jacques Tamfum Muyembe, and Desire Tshala-Katumbay. Neuropsychological Effects of Konzo: A Neuromotor Disease Associated With Poorly Processed Cassava. Pediatrics, March 25, 2013 DOI: 10.1542/peds.2012-3011

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/EtYMhGXG9Rg/130325094026.htm

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Monday, March 25, 2013

Kerry, Karzai bury hatchet in Kabul meeting

Secretary of State John Kerry walks to a meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, Monday, March 25, 2013. Kerry embarked on talks Monday with Karzai amid concerns Karzai may be jeopardizing progress in the war against extremism with his anti-American rhetoric. The session came shortly after the U.S. military ceded control of its last detention facility in Afghanistan, ending a longstanding irritant in relations. (AP Photo/Jason Reed, Pool)

Secretary of State John Kerry reaches to shakes hands with Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the end of their joint news conference at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, Monday, March 25, 2013. Kerry and Karzai made a show of unity Monday, shortly after the U.S. military ceded control of its last detention facility in Afghanistan, ending a longstanding irritant in relations between the two countries. Kerry, in Afghanistan for an unannounced visit, said he and Karzai were "on the same page" when it comes to peace talks with the Taliban. (AP Photo/Jason Reed, Pool)

Secretary of State John Kerry meets with Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, Monday, March 25, 2013. Kerry embarked on talks Monday with Karzai amid concerns Karzai may be jeopardizing progress in the war against extremism with his anti-American rhetoric. The session came shortly after the U.S. military ceded control of its last detention facility in Afghanistan, ending a longstanding irritant in relations. (AP Photo/Jason Reed, Pool)

Secretary of State John Kerry and Afghan President Hamid Karzai take questions during their joint newss conference at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, Monday, March 25, 2013. Kerry and Karzai made a show of unity Monday, shortly after the U.S. military ceded control of its last detention facility in Afghanistan, ending a longstanding irritant in relations between the two countries. Kerry, in Afghanistan for an unannounced visit, said he and Karzai were "on the same page" when it comes to peace talks with the Taliban. (AP Photo/Jason Reed, Pool)

KABUL (AP) ? U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Afghan President Hamid Karzai made a show of rare, recent unity between their two nations on Monday, as the U.S. military ceded control of its last detention facility in Afghanistan, ending a longstanding irritant in relations.

Kerry arrived in the Afghan capital of Kabul on an unannounced visit amid concerns that Karzai may be jeopardizing progress in the war against extremism with anti-American rhetoric. After a private meeting, Kerry said he and Karzai were "on the same page" on security and reconciliation issues and brushed aside suggestions that relations were in peril.

Karzai had infuriated U.S. officials by accusing Washington of colluding with Taliban insurgents to keep Afghanistan weak even as the Obama administration pressed ahead with plans to hand off security responsibility to Afghan forces and end NATO's combat mission by the end of next year.

At a joint news conference after their talks, Karzai told reporters his comments had been misinterpreted by the media. Kerry said officials sometimes make comments in public that reflect an idea that they have heard expressed by others.

"I am confident the president (Karzai) does not believe the U.S. has any interest except to see the Taliban come to the table to make peace and that we are completely cooperative with the government of Afghanistan with respect to the protection of their efforts and their people," Kerry said. He noted that he had specifically raised the collusion comment with Karzai and was satisfied with what he had heard in response.

"We're on the same page," Kerry said. "I don't think there is any disagreement between us and I am very, very comfortable with the president's explanation."

For his part, Karzai said "today was a very good day," citing the turnover of the detention facility at the U.S.-run Bagram military base north of Kabul. He also expressed gratitude for the sacrifices made for his country by Americans. However, he defended allegations he has made about American troops abusing Afghan civilians, saying they were not meant to "offend" anyone but rather to protect his people.

"When I say something publicly, it is not meant to offend our allies but to correct the situation," he said. "I am responsible for the protection of the Afghan people. I am the president of this country. It is my job to provide all the protection I can to the people of this country."

The news conference came near the beginning of Kerry's 24-hour visit to the country ? his sixth since President Barack Obama took office but his first as Obama's secretary of state,

He referred frequently to U.S. respect for Afghanistan's sovereignty and said the handover of the detention facility was testament to that respect.,

Earlier Monday, the U.S. military ceded control of the Parwan detention facility near the U.S.-run Bagram military base, a year after the two sides initially agreed on the transfer. Karzai had demanded control of Parwan as a matter of national sovereignty.

The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Joseph Dunford, handed over Parwan at a ceremony there after signing an agreement with Afghan Defense Minister Bismullah Khan Mohammadi. "This ceremony highlights an increasingly confident, capable and sovereign Afghanistan," Dunford said.

The long-running dispute over the center had thrown a pall over ongoing negotiations for a bilateral security agreement to govern the presence of U.S. forces in Afghanistan after 2014.

An initial agreement to hand over Parwan was signed a year ago, but efforts to follow through on it constantly stumbled over American concerns that the Afghan government would release prisoners that it considered dangerous.

The U.S. concerns are not without foundation. Zakir Qayyum, a former Guantanamo detainee, was released into Afghan custody in 2007. Freed four months later, he rejoined the Taliban and reportedly has risen to become the No. 2 leader in the Taliban.

A key hurdle in the dispute over Parwan was a ruling by an Afghan judicial panel holding that administrative detention, the practice of holding someone without formal charges, violated the country's laws. The U.S. argued that international law allowed administrative detentions and that it could not risk the passage of some high-value detainees to the notoriously corrupt Afghan court system.

An initial deadline for the full handover passed last September; another passed earlier this month.

The detention center houses about 3,000 prisoners and the majority are already under Afghan control. The United States had not handed over about 100, including some who do not have the right to a trial because the U.S. considers them part of an ongoing conflict.

There are also about three dozen non-Afghan detainees, including Pakistanis and other nationals who will remain in American hands. The exact number and nationality of those detainees has never been made public.

Both Kerry and Karzai lauded the transfer of the facility. Karzai said an Afghan review board would carefully consider any intelligence provided by the U.S. or others about detainees they deem to be too dangerous to free.

The pair also called on the Taliban to take advantage of the offer to open a political office in Doha, Qatar, from where they could engage in reconciliation talks with the Afghan Peace Council and potentially negotiate an end to hostilities.

Kerry said the Taliban should not ignore the opportunity because the United States is committed to Afghanistan's security beyond 2014 and will not allow gains made over the past decade to be lost. He noted that Obama has not yet decided how many U.S. troops should stay after next year and that the Taliban should not count on a complete American withdrawal.

There are about 100,000 coalition troops in Afghanistan, including about 66,000 from the United States. Although there is no decision on a residual force, U.S. officials have said as many as 12,000 U.S. and coalition forces could remain.

Karzai said that peace talks with the Taliban would require the involvement of Pakistan because any Afghan peace process without that country was doomed to failure. Pakistan, particularly its intelligence service, has close ties to members of the Taliban.

Kerry, who arrived in Kabul from Amman, Jordan, had hoped to travel to Pakistan on this trip to the region but put it off due to elections there. Instead, he met late Sunday in Amman with Pakistani army chief for Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, officials said.

The pair had a private dinner at the residence of the U.S. ambassador to Jordan as Pakistan continued to seethe in the aftermath of the return from exile to the country of former president Pervez Musharraf, himself a former army chief.

In Kabul, Kerry also planned to meet civic leaders and others to discuss continued U.S. assistance to the country and how to wean it from such aid as the international military operation winds down. Upcoming national elections also were on his agenda.

Kerry praised what he said was Afghanistan's commitment to "safe, secure" and transparent elections next year that will see a successor to Karzai voted into power.

_____

Patrick Quinn in Kabul and Rahim Faiez in Bagram, Afghanistan contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-03-25-Afghanistan-Kerry/id-8f6f96b59cac4beea4cf4d3ccf718835

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Last-minute scramble for $320 million Powerball jackpot

The drawing for the Powerball jackpot, now at 320 million takes place Saturday. The jackpot is the sixth highest ever. People in 42 states and Washington, D.C., were scrambling for tickets, even with odds at about 175 million to one. NBC's Lester Holt reports.

By Becky Bratu, Staff Writer, NBC News

A winning ticket for Saturday night's $338 million Powerball jackpot was sold in New Jersey, lottery officials said early Sunday.

The winning numbers in the drawing were: 17, 29, 31, 52, 53, 31. The drawing took place Saturday.

Before the drawing, the jackpot had been estimated at $320 million, but late ticket sales pushed that to $338 million -- the fourth-largest Powerball prize ever. The lump-sum option is $211 million.

The Multi-State Lottery Association said a grand prize-winning ticket was sold in New Jersey.?

People in 42 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands scrambled for Powerball tickets until the last minute, even with odds at about 175 million to one.

No ticket had matched the six numbers in Wednesday night's Powerball drawing, and no one had won the jackpot since early February.

Bob King in Boston told NBC affiliate WHDH his daughter is getting married next month and winning the lottery could help.

?I don?t hold out hope of winning, but you can?t win unless you play, right?? King told WHDH.

?Well there's a lot of states in it, so it's a one in a million shot, but everybody has a chance,? Frank Weber of Chicopee, Mass., told NBC affiliate WWLP.

Roanna Fightei from Hardin, Mont., said she would use the winnings to help others.

"Something positive to help -- I would most definitely use more than I needed to help others," she told NBC affiliate KULR. "It's just better to love one another, and to help everybody out there. I believe it comes back at you."

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653381/s/29ea3856/l/0Lusnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A30C230C174330A340Elast0Eminute0Escramble0Efor0E320A0Emillion0Epowerball0Ejackpot0Dlite/story01.htm

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Sunday, March 24, 2013

Michigan State easily advances past Memphis 70-48

Michigan State forward Branden Dawson (22) jumps around after a defensive play by a teammate late in a third-round game of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Memphis, Saturday, March 23, 2013, in Auburn Hills, Mich. Michigan State won 70-48. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Michigan State guard Gary Harris reacts to hitting a 3-pointer against Memphis in the first half of their third-round game of the NCAA college basketball tournament in Auburn Hills, Mich., Saturday March 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Memphis guard D.J. Stephens (30) blocks a shot by Michigan State forward Adreian Payne (5) in the first half of a third-round game of the NCAA college basketball tournament on Saturday, March 23, 2013, in Auburn Hills, Mich. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Memphis guard D.J. Stephens (30) defends against a shot by Michigan State forward Branden Dawson (22) in the first half of a third-round game of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 23, 2013, in Auburn Hills, Mich. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Memphis guard Joe Jackson (1) is forced to pass the ball against the defense from Michigan State guard Keith Appling (11) in the first half of a third-round game of the NCAA college basketball tournament Saturday, March 23, 2013, in Auburn Hills, Mich. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) ? Here we go again for Michigan State. Make it to the NCAA tournament, prepare for any possibility in the first two games, and then focus on the next stop.

It's a March tradition for Tom Izzo and the Spartans.

Gary Harris scored 16 of his career-high 23 points in the first half and third-seeded Michigan State pulled away for a 70-48 victory over sixth-seeded Memphis on Saturday, putting the Izzo-led program in the regional semifinals for the fifth time in six years and the 11th time in his career.

"We can enjoy it on the bus ride home," Michigan State's Adreian Payne said before the team's 90-mile ride back to campus. "Once we get back to East Lansing, it's going to be time to work."

The Spartans (27-8) will play the winner of Sunday's Duke-Creighton game on Friday in the Midwest Regional semifinals at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Michigan State and the winner of the Kansas-North Carolina game on Sunday are the only schools to make it to the round of 16 five times in the last six years, according to STATS LLC. Date it back a little more, and the Spartans and Blue Devils are the only teams to make it to the regional semifinals in at least 10 of the last 15 seasons.

"The way it's changed since 2000 is, a high seed used to get you out of the first weekend," Izzo said. "Now it barely gets you out of the first game, as we're all seeing."

Izzo improved to 18-3 in the second game at an NCAA tournament site, proving again he gets his players prepared to play very well with only one day to prepare.

The Spartans' top post players ? Payne and Derrick Nix ? combined for 27 points and 18 rebounds. Payne had a career-high five blocks, boosting his stock if he skips his senior season to enter the NBA draft.

The Tigers (31-5) advanced in the NCAA tournament for the first time in Josh Pastner's four seasons. Memphis' Geron Johnson scored 13 of his 16 points in the first half, and Joe Jackson finished with 12 points.

The Conference USA champions are headed home because they struggled to stop Harris on the outside or his teammates inside all afternoon.

With only Gonzaga going into the tourney with more wins, Memphis' D.J. Stephens insisted his team is one of the best in the country even after it was easily eliminated.

"No disrespect, but we know that we are a better team than Michigan State," the high-flying forward said after scoring three points, grabbing six rebounds and blocking four shots. "We just gave this game away."

Pastner said the Spartans had a lot to do with that.

"They're good enough to win the whole national championship," he said.

Michigan State led by as much as 13 in the first half, creating that cushion when Harris made his fifth shot ? and fourth 3-pointer ? with 7:59 left.

"He wants to play in the big games on the big stage," Izzo said.

Memphis responded with a 12-2 run to pull within three, and the Spartans led 32-29 at halftime.

But the Tigers fell off the pace in the second half because they were overmatched physically by a Big Ten power after going undefeated during their regular season in Conference USA.

Keith Appling made his first and only shot to put Michigan State up by nine points with 13:17 to go, but the team's leading scorer left for good five minutes later when his right shoulder took the brunt of Johnson's drive into the lane.

Appling said he'll be ready to play in the next round.

"It was very painful, but I could've gone back in if I had to," he said.

Before Appling was hurt, he had a towel thrown at him by Nix, his teammate since high school, in a heated huddle during a timeout.

"It was just miscommunication with the ball screen and stuff, so we went at it," Nix said. "That's my best friend. I love him to death. I treat him like a little brother. We're over it. We won the game and let it go."

Appling said the argument helped bring the team together.

"We can fight, but at the end of the day, we all love each other," he said.

Izzo, who has lamented the team's lack of leadership all season, looked dumbfounded at Nix, upset that the senior center would lose his cool at a time like that.

After the game, though, the hard-driving coach said the exchange was something that happens all the time ? including with 2000 national championship teammates and close friends Mateen Cleaves and Morris Peterson ? without cameras rolling.

"Some things happen in public, some things happen in private," Izzo said.

The Spartans forced Memphis into a half-court game, and it struggled against their in-your-face defense.

Michigan State limited the Tigers to sub-30-percent shooting and outrebounded them by 20, a part of the game Pastner was worried about for good reason. The Spartans turned 14 offensive rebounds into 22 second-chance points.

"They just killed us on the boards," Jackson said. "Every time that we had a chance to cut the lead, they got an offensive rebound and they scored."

Izzo has built his program on defense and rebounding, and it has served him very well. Michigan State is two wins away from its seventh Final Four under Izzo.

The Spartans and rival Michigan, which routed VCU earlier in the day in the same sold-out arena near their campuses, are in the same round of 16 for the first time.

___

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Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-03-23-BKC-NCAA-Memphis-Michigan-St/id-de8047ff9f5f4fa1b1a15f6d3357ac53

March Madness Live Google Keep ncaa scores Splash Ncaa Basketball Tournament NCAA Bracket 2013 Robert Morris

One grand-prize winning ticket sold for $338 million Powerball jackpot, lottery officials say