Road bike specially made for ex-NBA center stolen

MURRAY, Utah (AP) — At 7-foot-6, former NBA center Shawn Bradley needs just about everything custom-made, from clothes and chairs to countertops and doorways.

Yet the Utah resident remained dumbfounded Thursday over why someone would steal a bike so large it is probably useless to anyone but him.

The road bike has an 80 centimeter carbon fiber-aluminum frame — about 50 percent larger than that for a normal-sized person. Trek never even included a serial number when it built the bicycle in 2006 because it is so unique.

"It's a stolen bike, not the end of the world," Bradley said from his home in Murray, about 10 miles south of Salt Lake City. "It's just kind of a weird …

Michelin grants 3rd star to French eatery

There are three new stars in the firmament of French gastronomy: "L'Auberge du Vieux Puits," in a village in southern France, has climbed to the Michelin Red Guide's top ranking, where it joins 25 others at the summit of fine dining, Michelin announced Monday.

One restaurant, "La Maison de Marc Veyrat," on Lake Annecy in the Alpine foothills, lost its perch at the top _ and all of its stars _ with the departure a year ago of chef Marc Veyrat, always distinguishable by his large black hat.

In the Michelin Red Guide's 2010 edition, 10 eating establishments in France gained two-star status, bringing the total in that category to 77.

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False start just a bump on Tracy's road to victory

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. On a day where driver after driver yanked offhis helmet and climbed out of his car in disgust, no one's daystarted worse than Paul Tracy's.

On the front straightaway of the first lap, a malfunctioningthrottle sensor shut off Tracy's Honda engine. After spending half aminute restarting his engine, he was 23rd-dead last among the cars onthe track after one lap.

No one's day wound up being better, though. In a race ofattrition, Tracy guided his Team Kool Green Reynard to victory Sundayin the Motorola 220 at Road America.

"It's always satisfying to win, but this is one of the mostsatisfying wins I've ever had," Tracy said after a race in which …

Tigers 9, White Sox 1

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Palestinians: Israel must back 2-state solution

Israel must declare its support for the eventual establishment of a Palestinian state if peace talks are to resume, the chief Palestinian negotiator said Saturday.

In neighboring Jordan, senior officials from several Arab states reiterated their support for an Arab peace initiative offering recognition to Israel in exchange for an Israeli withdrawal from the territories it occupied in the 1967 Mideast War, including land the Palestinians want for a state.

However, Israel's previous centrist government did not accept the initiative, and it is even less likely to win the support of the new right-wing coalition led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

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Forecasts

It'll be chilly for the first week of January with highs around40 Monday and …

Australia Ferry Crash Kills 3

SYDNEY, Australia - A passenger ferry collided with a pleasure boat under Sydney's iconic harbor bridge Wednesday night, killing at least three people and injuring eight others, officials and witnesses said.

The ferry plowed over the smaller boat, throwing its passengers into the water in the collision, which occurred about 10:45 p.m., witnesses and New South Wales state police said.

All of the casualties were aboard the smaller boat. Two men and a woman were killed, and police divers were searching Thursday for a 14-year-old girl who was thrown from the wooden pleasure cruiser, police said.

"The boat basically just disintegrated," said witness Clive Marshall, …