"ATHENS, Greece - A Greek cruise ship that struck a volcanic reef and forced the evacuation of hundreds of tourists sank on Friday,15 hours after it began taking on water off the coast of a Mediterranean island. A Frenchman and his daughter were missing, officials said.
Passengers on Thursday climbed down rope ladders to coast guard boats below in a three-hour rescue that involved Greece's military, commercial ships and local fishermen from the island of Santorini. Passengers on the cruise were mostly American, and also included groups from Canada and Spain.
The Sea Diamond struck rocks in the sea-filled crater formed by a volcanic eruption 3,500 years ago. Tourists gathered on clifftop towns and villages to watch the rescue.
The 469-foot Sea Diamond was operated by Louis Cruise Lines, part of a Cyprus-based tourism group. The Merchant Marine Ministry said 1,195 passengers and 391 crew members were on board.
'Whoever is responsible for this will be held accountable in the strictest way,' Tourism Minister Fanny Palli Petralia said. 'Greece is a major tourism destination and incidents like this must not be allowed to occur. ... Authorities handled the rescue very well.'
Authorities on Santorini said they were working to contain a small oil spillage from the sunken ship."
***Meanwhile, halfway around the world, there was eerily similar but more disastrous news...
After leading the Eastern Conference at this season's All-Star break, the Wizards are limping into the playoffs. They could still be bumped from postseason play, mathematically speaking, but although Washington will be lucky to win even one more game this season, with the East comprised mostly of flotsam and other sorts of wreckage, it's unlikely their collapse will be that complete. The Wiz currently possess a 39-35 record with eight regular-season games to play. There is little doubt that they will finish with a losing record, a futile second-half combination of poor play and bad luck."WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Put the Hibachi in storage. Gilbert Arenas is essentially done for the season.
The Washington Wizards point guard had surgery Thursday for a left knee injury that will sideline him for two to three months. Even the most optimistic scenario has him coming back only if his team manages to make the NBA finals without him.
'You start feeling good about yourself, and then everything goes wrong,' said (the also injured) Caron Butler. 'I'm telling you, we don't need a weight room, we need a preacher.'"
Only the return of a certain 7'7" superhero could save them now . . .
* * *
In life, it's uncanny how frequently such bizarre parallels do occur. Both vessels suffered slow, steady declines that hit their nadir at about the same moment. Of the two events, the sunken cruise liner is reported to have a better chance of successful recovery.
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20 comments:
Yep, it's official, you're Captain Segue from here on out...
i've seen the costume - it's awesome
I'm betting Rob can get it cheap too. Think about it, very few kids want to dress up as Capt. Segue anymore and Rob can fit into those small sized costumes that are surely sitting on the clearance rack.
Bully for you, Rob.
Rob has dressed as Tattoo from Fantasy Island the last 12 Halloweens.
as much as i wish it were me, whitney is actually captain segue.
i did go as one half of the devito/schwarzeneggar due from twins for halloween one year. i'll let you guess which one. i was mighty mouse one year, as well. that was awesome.
this post is the iceberg to the titanic that is g:tb's customary witty banter
Only one solution..time to get drunk...
Hey, it's Good Friday. Most of G:TB's readership is in church, quite obviously.
And what we should be doing is figuring out a wager on the Wizards. Over/under on how many games (including playoffs) they'll win from here on out?
Or, perhaps, who will win another game first - the freefalling Wiz or the 1-5 Nats (only win courtesy of Jorge Julio)?
OK, so the Nats have played 7 games this year. They're 1-6. And I read this telling stat in the Express this morning:
Washington has been outscored 13-0 in the first inning this season and 22-0 in the first three innings in 2007.
Not good times at RFK...
Where's Captain Segue when we need him?
hunkered down in front of the mets' season opener.
SportsGuy might kill himself (or perhaps SportsDad):
Doc Rivers will have an opportunity to coach the Celtics next year and beyond. According to league sources, the club is prepared to offer Rivers a contract extension following this season. Rivers’ original four-year deal ends after next season, and he has stated he didn’t want to be in a lame duck position, though he did stop short of saying he would leave if the team didn’t extend his contract. Now it appears that issue will be moot. While the salary figures and length of the new contract have yet to be discussed, both sides seem willing and eager to get something done.
why is sportsguy gonna kill sportsdad?
Look at Johnny Sentence Syntax...golf clap for you.
This day couldn't be any longer...just shoot me now.
me too, brother. my correction of your grammar was the greatest contribution i've made to society today, and it's not from lack of trying.
Yer days aren't as long as Geoff Geary's....coming into the game with a 2-run lead, here is his stat line:
0.2 IP's
2 Hits
2 Walks
5 Earned Runs
The Phillies bullpen is unbelievably terrible (oh, and don't sleep on the Nats bullpen - they're a shining star on pile of poop). Good thing Tom and I have two of them on our fantasy team...
And just for gas and giggles, they trotted Jon Lieber's bones out there to give up another 4 runs in the inning...i love baseball.
Good lord...please keep Mr. Gordon out of this mess.
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