FTC ends long Google probe with mild reprimand

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators on Thursday closed a long-running investigation of Google with a relatively mild agreement that is likely to disappoint rivals and critics of the Web search giant.

Under the agreement, Google agreed to end the practice of "scraping" reviews and other data from rivals' websites for its own products, and to allow advertisers to export data to independently evaluate advertising campaigns, the Federal Trade Commission said.

FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said Google also agreed to license standard patents on "fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms."

At a press conference, Leibowitz said that the Commission had scoured through some 9 million pages of documents and taken sworn testimony from key Google executives on the way to resolving its investigation in a "sensible" fashion.

"This was an incredibly thorough and careful investigation by the Commission, and the outcome is a strong and enforceable set of agreements," he said.

The FTC defended the itself from likely criticism that it had gone too soft on Google.

Reuters reported in December that Google's critics, anticipating a weak conclusion to the FTC's investigation, may be ready to take their grievances to the Justice Department.

"Even though people would like us to bring a big search bias case, the facts aren't there," Leibowitz said, adding that it was "mistaken" for Google's critics to think that criticizing the FTC's deliberations might benefit them in other jurisdictions.

(Reporting by Diane Bartz, writing by Ros Krasny; editing by John Wallace and Nick Zieminski)

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NHL, union resume talks in hopes to save season

NEW YORK (AP) — After a long night of talks, the NHL and the union returned to the bargaining table, but not for long.

The sides met at the league office Thursday about three hours later than scheduled. The players' association said it had been updating members on negotiations.

Players and union staff began arriving at NHL headquarters a little before 1 p.m. EST, although executive director Donald Fehr wasn't with them. The group left the building about an hour later but expected to return later in the day.

With the lockout in its 110th day, both sides understand the urgency to save a shortened season. They still have several key issues to work out — pensions and salary cap limits, among them.

Commissioner Gary Bettman has said that the league told the union a deal needs to be in place by next week so a 48-game season can begin Jan. 19. All games through Jan. 14 along with the All-Star game have been canceled, claiming more than 50 percent of the original schedule.

The sides met in small groups throughout the day Wednesday. They then held a full bargaining session with a federal mediator at night that lasted nearly five hours and didn't wrap up until about 1 a.m. Thursday.

The biggest detail to emerge from those talks was that Fehr is still the executive director of the players' association, which passed on its first chance to declare a disclaimer that would dissolve the union and turn it into a trade association.

Last month, players voted overwhelmingly to give its executive board the right to declare the disclaimer, but that permission expired at midnight Wednesday. The disclaimer would allow individual players to file antitrust lawsuits against the NHL. Fehr wouldn't address the issue, calling it an "internal matter."

"The word disclaimer has yet to be uttered to us by the players' association," Bettman said. "It's not that it gets filed anywhere with a court or the NLRB. When you disclaim interest as a union, you notify the other side. We have not been notified and it's never been discussed, so there has been no disclaimer."

The thought was that the union wouldn't take action Wednesday if it saw progress was being made. Neither side would characterize the talks or address what, if any, movement toward common ground was reached.

"There's been some progress but we're still apart on a number of issues," Bettman said. "As long as the process continues I am hopeful."

A deal can't be done without a resolution on pensions. Bettman called the pension plan a "very complicated issue." A small group meeting on the pension issue was held Wednesday morning before the players' association presented its offer.

"The number of variables and the number of issues that have to be addressed by people who carry the title actuary or pension lawyer are pretty numerous and it's pretty easy to get off track. That is something we understand is important to the players."

The union's proposal Wednesday makes four offers between the sides since the NHL restarted negotiations Thursday with a proposal. The league presented the players with a counteroffer Tuesday night in response to one the union made Monday.

Fehr believed an agreement on a players-funded pension had been reached before talks blew up in early December. That apparently wasn't the case, or the NHL has changed its offer regarding the pension in exchange for agreeing to other things the union wanted.

The salary-cap number for the second year of the deal — the 2013-14 season — hasn't been established, and it is another point of contention. The league is pushing for a $60 million cap, while the union wants it to be $65 million.

In return for the higher cap number players would be willing to forgo a cap on escrow.

"We talk about lots of things and we even had some philosophical discussions about why particular issues were important to each of us," Bettman said. "That is part of the process."

The NHL proposed in its first offer Thursday that pension contributions come out of the players' share of revenues, and $50 million of the league's make-whole payment of $300 million will be allocated and set aside to fund potential underfunding liabilities of the plan at the end of the collective bargaining agreement.

Last month, the NHL agreed to raise its make-whole offer of deferred payments from $211 million to $300 million as part of a proposed package that required the union to agree on three nonnegotiable points. Instead, the union accepted the raise in funds, but then made counterproposals on the issues the league stated had no wiggle room.

"As you might expect, the differences between us relate to the core economic issues which don't involve the share," Fehr said of hockey-related revenue, which likely will be split 50-50.

The NHL is the only North American professional sports league to cancel a season because of a labor dispute, losing the 2004-05 campaign to a lockout. A 48-game season was played in 1995 after a lockout stretched into January.

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Depardieu, in tax fight, gets Russian citizenship

MOSCOW (AP) — The Kremlin has cast Gerard Depardieu in one of the most surprising roles of his life — as a new Russian citizen.

The announcement Thursday that President Vladimir Putin has approved Depardieu‘s application for citizenship is almost a real-life analogue to the French actor’s 1990 comedy “Green Card,” in which his character enters into a sham marriage in order to work in the United States.

But in this version, taxes appear to be at the heart of the matter. Depardieu has waged a battle against a proposed super tax on millionaires in his native country.

French President Francois Hollande plans to raise the tax on earned income above €1 million ($ 1.3 million) to 75 percent from the current 41 percent, while Russia has a flat 13-percent tax rate.

A representative for the former Oscar nominee declined to say whether he had accepted the Russian offer.

Thursday was a holiday in Russia and officials from the Federal Tax Service and Federal Migration Service could not be reached for comment on whether the decision would require Depardieu to have a residence in Russia.

But it’s clearly an image buffer for Russia, calling attention to the country’s attractive tax regime and boosting Putin’s efforts to show that the economic chaos of the early post-Soviet period has passed.

“The distinctiveness of our tax system is poorly known about in the West. When they know about it, we can expect a massive migration of rich Europeans to Russia,” Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin bragged on Twitter.

Others aren’t so sure.

Political analyst Pavel Svyatenkov told the state news agency RIA Novosti that the move was “very good, very high-quality PR for Russia” but he was didn’t think it would ignite a flood of new residents.

“I don’t expect a massive movement of rich people to here, for the reason that Russia remains a pretty poor country by Western measurements and here there are bigger problems with crime and corruption,” he said.

As Depardieu’s criticism of the proposed tax roiled his country, French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault called him “pathetic.”

Depardieu responded angrily in an open letter.

“I have never killed anyone, I don’t think I’ve been unworthy, I’ve paid €145 million ($ 190 million) in taxes over 45 years,” the 64-year-old actor wrote. “I will neither complain nor brag, but I refuse to be called ‘pathetic’.”

Depardieu said in the letter that he would surrender his passport and French social security card. In October, the mayor of a small Belgian border town announced that Depardieu had bought a house and set up legal residence there, a move that was slammed by Hollande’s newly-elected Socialist government.

Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, the French government spokeswoman, didn’t comment directly on Depardieu’s tax fight. But she drew a clear distinction between people who have personal or professional reasons to live abroad and “French citizens who proclaim loudly and clearly that they they’re exiling themselves for fiscal reasons.”

She said Putin’s offer “is an exclusive prerogative of the Russian chief of state.”

Depardieu has had increasingly high-profile ties with Russia.

Last October he visited Grozny, the capital of the Russian province of Chechnya, to celebrate the birthday of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov. And in 2011, he was in Russia’s Arkhangelsk region to play the lead role in the film “Rasputin.”

He is well known in the country, where he appears in an ad for Sovietsky Bank’s credit card and is prominently featured on the bank’s home page.

“You have to understand that Depardieu is a star in Russia,” Vladimir Fedorovski, a Russian writer living in France, told the Europe 1 network on Thursday. “There are crowds around Depardieu. He’s a symbol of France. He’s a huge ambassador of French culture.”

Depardieu has made more than 150 films and was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as Cyrano de Bergerac in the 1990 film of the same name.

The Kremlin statement gave no information on why Putin made the citizenship grant, but the Russian president had expressed sympathy with the actor in December, days after Depardieu reportedly said he was considering Russian citizenship.

“As we say, artists are easily offended and therefore I understand the feelings of Mr. Depardieu,” Putin said.

Although France’s highest court struck down the new tax on Dec. 29, the government has promised to resubmit the law in a slightly different form. On Wednesday, the French government estimated the court decision to overturn the tax would cost the country €210 million ($ 275 million) in 2013.

In an interview, Depardieu told the Sunday Parisien the court decision made no difference.

France’s debt burden is around 90 percent of national income — not far off levels that have caused problems elsewhere in the 17-country eurozone.

Depardieu is not the only high-profile Frenchman to object to the super tax. Bernard Arnault — chief of the luxury goods and fashion giant LVMH and worth an estimated $ 41 billion — has said he would leave for Belgium.

____

Hinnant contributed from Paris. Silvie Corbet also contributed from Paris.

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CDC: 1 in 24 admit nodding off while driving

NEW YORK (AP) — This could give you nightmares: 1 in 24 U.S. adults say they recently fell asleep while driving.

And health officials behind the study think the number is probably higher. That's because some people don't realize it when they nod off for a second or two behind the wheel.

"If I'm on the road, I'd be a little worried about the other drivers," said the study's lead author, Anne Wheaton of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the CDC study released Thursday, about 4 percent of U.S. adults said they nodded off or fell asleep at least once while driving in the previous month. Some earlier studies reached a similar conclusion, but the CDC telephone survey of 147,000 adults was far larger. It was conducted in 19 states and the District of Columbia in 2009 and 2010.

CDC researchers found drowsy driving was more common in men, people ages 25 to 34, those who averaged less than six hours of sleep each night, and — for some unexplained reason — Texans.

Wheaton said it's possible the Texas survey sample included larger numbers of sleep-deprived young adults or apnea-suffering overweight people.

Most of the CDC findings are not surprising to those who study this problem.

"A lot of people are getting insufficient sleep," said Dr. Gregory Belenky, director of Washington State University's Sleep and Performance Research Center in Spokane.

The government estimates that about 3 percent of fatal traffic crashes involve drowsy drivers, but other estimates have put that number as high as 33 percent.

Warning signs of drowsy driving: Feeling very tired, not remembering the last mile or two, or drifting onto rumble strips on the side of the road. That signals a driver should get off the road and rest, Wheaton said.

Even a brief moment nodding off can be extremely dangerous, she noted. At 60 mph, a single second translates to speeding along for 88 feet — the length of two school buses.

To prevent drowsy driving, health officials recommend getting 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night, treating any sleep disorders and not drinking alcohol before getting behind the wheel.

__

Online:

CDC report: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr

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Depardieu, in tax fight, gets Russian citizenship

MOSCOW (AP) — The Kremlin has cast Gerard Depardieu in one of the most surprising roles of his life — as a new Russian citizen.

The announcement Thursday that President Vladimir Putin has approved Depardieu's application for citizenship is almost a real-life analogue to the French actor's 1990 comedy "Green Card," in which his character enters into a sham marriage in order to work in the United States.

But in this version, taxes appear to be at the heart of the matter. Depardieu has waged a battle against a proposed super tax on millionaires in his native country.

French President Francois Hollande plans to raise the tax on earned income above €1 million ($1.3 million) to 75 percent from the current 41 percent, while Russia has a flat 13-percent tax rate.

A representative for the former Oscar nominee declined to say whether he had accepted the Russian offer.

Thursday was a holiday in Russia and officials from the Federal Tax Service and Federal Migration Service could not be reached for comment on whether the decision would require Depardieu to have a residence in Russia.

But it's clearly an image buffer for Russia, calling attention to the country's attractive tax regime and boosting Putin's efforts to show that the economic chaos of the early post-Soviet period has passed.

"The distinctiveness of our tax system is poorly known about in the West. When they know about it, we can expect a massive migration of rich Europeans to Russia," Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin bragged on Twitter.

Others aren't so sure.

Political analyst Pavel Svyatenkov told the state news agency RIA Novosti that the move was "very good, very high-quality PR for Russia" but he was didn't think it would ignite a flood of new residents.

"I don't expect a massive movement of rich people to here, for the reason that Russia remains a pretty poor country by Western measurements and here there are bigger problems with crime and corruption," he said.

As Depardieu's criticism of the proposed tax roiled his country, French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault called him "pathetic."

Depardieu responded angrily in an open letter.

"I have never killed anyone, I don't think I've been unworthy, I've paid €145 million ($190 million) in taxes over 45 years," the 64-year-old actor wrote. "I will neither complain nor brag, but I refuse to be called 'pathetic'."

Depardieu said in the letter that he would surrender his passport and French social security card. In October, the mayor of a small Belgian border town announced that Depardieu had bought a house and set up legal residence there, a move that was slammed by Hollande's newly-elected Socialist government.

Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, the French government spokeswoman, didn't comment directly on Depardieu's tax fight. But she drew a clear distinction between people who have personal or professional reasons to live abroad and "French citizens who proclaim loudly and clearly that they they're exiling themselves for fiscal reasons."

She said Putin's offer "is an exclusive prerogative of the Russian chief of state."

Depardieu has had increasingly high-profile ties with Russia.

Last October he visited Grozny, the capital of the Russian province of Chechnya, to celebrate the birthday of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov. And in 2011, he was in Russia's Arkhangelsk region to play the lead role in the film "Rasputin."

He is well known in the country, where he appears in an ad for Sovietsky Bank's credit card and is prominently featured on the bank's home page.

"You have to understand that Depardieu is a star in Russia," Vladimir Fedorovski, a Russian writer living in France, told the Europe 1 network on Thursday. "There are crowds around Depardieu. He's a symbol of France. He's a huge ambassador of French culture."

Depardieu has made more than 150 films and was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as Cyrano de Bergerac in the 1990 film of the same name.

The Kremlin statement gave no information on why Putin made the citizenship grant, but the Russian president had expressed sympathy with the actor in December, days after Depardieu reportedly said he was considering Russian citizenship.

"As we say, artists are easily offended and therefore I understand the feelings of Mr. Depardieu," Putin said.

Although France's highest court struck down the new tax on Dec. 29, the government has promised to resubmit the law in a slightly different form. On Wednesday, the French government estimated the court decision to overturn the tax would cost the country €210 million ($275 million) in 2013.

In an interview, Depardieu told the Sunday Parisien the court decision made no difference.

France's debt burden is around 90 percent of national income — not far off levels that have caused problems elsewhere in the 17-country eurozone.

Depardieu is not the only high-profile Frenchman to object to the super tax. Bernard Arnault — chief of the luxury goods and fashion giant LVMH and worth an estimated $41 billion — has said he would leave for Belgium.

____

Hinnant contributed from Paris. Silvie Corbet also contributed from Paris.

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Google puts Motorola campus on market

Smartphone maker Motorola Mobility will move its headquarters from Libertyville to the Merchandise Mart in the summer of 2013, relocating 3,000 employees to downtown Chicago, the company and Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced Thursday. (Source: WGN - Chicago)

Tribune staff

10:47 a.m. CST, January 3, 2013

Google has put up for sale Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc.'s 1.1 million-square-foot headquarters in Libertyville.

The asking price for the property is not being disclosed, according to a spokeswoman for Binswanger, exclusive agent on the property.

The 20-year-old corporate campus, which was used for office space and research and development labs, consists of four connected, multistory buildings and includes a daycare center, cafeteria, full-service gym and other recreational facilities. Renovations to the buildings were undertaken in 1998 through 2005. There also is parking for 3,400 vehicles.

In May, Google completed its acquisition of Motorola Mobility, making it a wholly owned subsidiary. Two months later, the company announced it would move Motorola Mobility's headquarters to the Merchandise Mart in downtown Chicago in 2013.

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Simon, TV star support 'real families' formed by gay marriage

"Modern Family" actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who plays Mitchell on the show, joined Lt. Governor Sheila Simon in Chicago on Wednesday at the James R. Thompson Center to launch marriage equality days of action. (Posted on Jan. 2, 2013)

Jesse Tyler Ferguson, a star of ABC’s “Modern Family,” joined Lt. Governor Sheila Simon this morning in Chicago to advocate for gay marriage in Illinois.

Simon, Ferguson and other supporters are heading to Springfield Thursday for “Bow Tie Lobby Day,” where they’ll encourage legislatures to wear bow ties in support of the marriage equality bill that could come before the senate this week.

Ferguson said his role as part of a gay couple on the popular television show has helped him use “wit and humor” to tackle a serious issue. The nation’s forward movement on marriage equality has been encouraging, he said, and he wants to continue the call to action in Illinois.

His fiancé Justin Mikita accompanied him to the press event.

“I’m looking forward to raising a family with Justin and having our kids grow up in an equal America. I had a hard time coming out and certainly had struggles with my parents. … If the 12-year-old me had been able to turn on the TV and see a sitting president say he supports marriage equality, it would have made all the difference for me and certainly given me a lot of hope,” Ferguson said.

Modern Family’s popularity and presence in American homes has also helped the issue of marriage equality forward, Ferguson said.

“I think it’s a bit like a Trojan horse. A lot of people who were not comfortable with marriage equality … turn on the television and see a show that has a lot of different families in it — and one of those families just happens to be gay. They’re realizing they have a great time watching the show, then they’re watching a gay couple that’s having a lot of the same problems and issues they have. They realize ‘Oh they’re not so different from me.’ And at that point, we’re in their living rooms,” he said.

Simon sought to counter the argument put forth in a letter from Cardinal Francis George and his bishops on Tuesday that same-sex marriage laws create a “legal fiction.”

"The state has no power to create something that nature itself tells us is impossible," George and the bishops wrote in a letter to priests.

Simon argued that adoption is similarly a “legal fiction” that helps citizens form a family unit — and one that she also supports.

“Families are not a constant thing and the law of how we build our families has changed greatly over time. … There are a lot of ways we put together families that don’t involve reproduction,” Simon said.

Ferguson and Simon were joined by openly gay state representatives Rep. Kelly Cassidy and Rep. Deb Mell, and Mell’s wife Christin Baker.

Cassidy said she hopes for a roll call in the senate tomorrow.

“I do this not just as a legislator but a mom of three kids,” Cassidy said. “I want the world to be better for them. I want them to know our family is like any other in this state. And they want that too.”

Ferguson and Mikita recently launched “Tie The Knot,” a foundation that sells bow ties with profits going to charitable organizations that support gay marriage. The two planned to head to Naperville this afternoon to visit The Tie Bar, a boutique that sells their ties.

Simon called on Illinois residents and their extended families to reach out to their legislators in support of gay marriage.

“I think the people who really make the difference are the moms and dads who take their kids to soccer practice, who go to church on Sunday, who are working with us in our offices, who are real families in the state of Illinois and deserve real recognition for that status,” Simon said.

bdoyle@tribune.com

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Apple testing new iPhone, iOS 7: report

(Reuters) - Apple Inc has started testing a new iPhone and the next version of its iOS software, news website The Next Web reported.

The company's shares rose as much as 4.3 percent but eased a little to trade up 3 percent at $546.11 by mid-day on the Nasdaq.

Application developers have found in their app usage logs references to a new iPhone identifier, iPhone 6.1, running iOS 7 operating system, the website reported.

Apple's iPhone 5 bears the identifiers "iPhone 5.1" and "iPhone 5.2" and is powered by the iOS 6 operating system.

Developer logs show that the app requests originate from an internet address on Apple's Cupertino campus, suggesting that Apple engineers are testing compatibility for some of the popular apps, the website said.

"Although OS and device data can be faked, the unique IP footprint leading back to Apple's Cupertino campus leads us to believe this is not one of those attempts," the website said.

Raymond James analyst Tavis McCourt, however, expects the next version of the iconic smartphone to be called iPhone 5S and not iPhone 6.

Apple typically tags the interim version of its phones with an "S" before moving on to a new version. iPhone 3GS followed iPhone 3G and the iPhone 4S followed iPhone 4.

McCourt also said he wouldn't be surprised if Apple looked at an earlier launch because of the stress on its supply chain caused by late-year launches.

Apple launched iPhone 5 in September and it has been reported that the new iPhone will be released in the middle of 2013.

Techradar.com reported last month that Apple could unveil the next version of its iPhone as early as the spring of 2013.

(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee and Chandni Doulatramani in Bangalore; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)

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Ray Lewis to retire after playoffs

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Ray Lewis spent 17 seasons instilling fear in his opponents while serving as an inspirational leader for the Baltimore Ravens.

Now he's poised and eager to become a full-time dad.

Lewis announced Wednesday he will end his brilliant NFL career after the Ravens complete their 2013 playoff run.

Lewis has been sidelined since Oct. 14 with a torn right triceps. The 13-time Pro Bowl middle linebacker intends to return Sunday to face the Indianapolis Colts in what will almost certainly be his final home game.

"Everything that starts has an end," the 37-year-old Lewis said. "For me, today, I told my team that this will be my last ride."

Lewis will walk away from the game because he wants to spend more time with his sons. While working to return from his injury, Lewis watched two of his boys play on the same high school football team in Florida. He intends to see Ray Lewis III perform as a freshman next year for the University of Miami, where the elder Lewis starred before the Ravens selected him in the first round of the 1996 draft.

"God is calling," Lewis said. "My children have made the ultimate sacrifice for their father for 17 years. I don't want to see them do that no more. I've done what I wanted to do in this business, and now it's my turn to give them something back."

That's why Lewis will pull off his No. 52 uniform for the last time after the Ravens lose or claim their second Super Bowl title.

"It's either (that or) hold onto the game and keep playing and let my kids miss out on times we can be spending together," Lewis said. "Because I always promised my son if he got a full ride on scholarship Daddy is going to be there, I can't miss that."

Lewis was the AP Defensive Player of the Year in 2000, the same season he was voted Super Bowl MVP following Baltimore's 34-7 rout of the New York Giants. Lewis was also Defensive Player of the Year in 2003, and is the only player in NFL history with at least 40 career sacks and 30 interceptions.

"I never played the game for individual stats," Lewis said. "I only played the game to make my team a better team."

Lewis has been with the Ravens since they moved from Cleveland. After being drafted 26th overall in Baltimore's first draft, Lewis became a fixture at middle linebacker — and a beloved figure in Baltimore. He remained that way even after his alleged involvement in a double-murder in Atlanta in early 2000.

In June of that year, a judge approved a deal allowing Lewis to avoid murder charges and jail time by pleading guilty to a misdemeanor and testifying against two co-defendants. Within a year, Lewis was in the Super Bowl, leading the Ravens to their only NFL championship.

Hundreds of games later, he's ready to call it a career.

"I'll make this last run with this team, and I'll give them everything I've got," he said. "When it ends, it ends. But I didn't come back for it to end in the first round."

The news of his decision to retire quickly resounded throughout the NFL.

Colts coach Chuck Pagano, who served as Lewis' defensive coordinator last year, said, "I thought, shoot, the guy could play forever and would play forever. Great person, great man, great player, just an unbelievable human being — what he's done for that organization, that city and for that matter, so many people. He's obviously a first-ballot Hall of Famer and will be sorely missed."

Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy said, "I don't know, at least in my time in the league, if there's been a defensive player that's had as big an impact. ... He's really an incredible example of leader. Talk about somebody opening up his chest and giving it to his football team."

Lewis was respected by his peers, too, even those who were on the receiving end of his crushing tackles.

"He definitely inspired me," Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson said. "Just the passion and how he is dedicated to his craft to be the best. You don't see too many guys who play like that. That's definitely what makes him the best linebacker to ever play the game."

Indianapolis standout linebacker Dwight Freeney said, "He's meant a lot to the league in general, but defensive guys especially. This is a league where the most focus goes on offense, quarterbacks and running backs, and very few times do you see a defensive guy get highlighted in commercials or whatever. You see Ray on there, so it's kind of like he's one of us. And you feel good when you see him, the things he's done for the game and how he motivates guys."

Lewis is the key figure in a defense that has long carried a reputation for being fierce, unyielding and downright nasty. He led the Ravens in tackles in 14 of his 17 seasons, the exceptions being those years in which he missed significant time with injuries (2002, 2005, 2012).

Baltimore linebacker Terrell Suggs, who is almost always upbeat, said of the announcement: "It was sad. It affected me, because for the past 10 years of my career I've been sitting right next to the man and going to war on Sundays. It's going to one hard last ride, and we need to make it one to remember."

When Lewis tore his triceps against Dallas, it was feared he was done for the season. But he would have none of that.

"From the time I got hurt, everything I've done up to this point has been to get back with my team to make another run at the Lombardi (Trophy)," he said.

Well, not everything. Lewis spent time watching his boys play football, which caused him to call his rehabilitation "bittersweet." After spending countless hours from Monday through Thursday working to return from the injury, he hopped on a plane toward Florida to be with his boys.

"I got to be there every Friday," Lewis said. "Me being who I am, not having a father myself, that damaged me a lot. I didn't want my kids to relive that.

"One of the hardest things in the world is to walk away from my teammates. But the now I'm going to step into other chapters of my life.

"I knew I couldn't split my time anymore. When God calls, he calls. And he's calling. More importantly, he calls me to be a father. It's OK to be Daddy. Yes, this chapter is closing, but the chapter that's opening is overwhelming. That's what excites me the most."

Lewis could have made the announcement during the offseason.

"I think my fans, my city, I think they deserved for me to just not walk away," he said. "We all get to enjoy what Sunday will feel like, knowing that this will be the last time 52 plays in a uniform in Ravens stadium."

___

AP Sports Writers Michael Marot and Jon Krawczynski and National Writer Nancy Armour contributed to this story.

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A Minute With: Singer Trey Songz on new movie “Texas Chainsaw 3D”

LOS ANGELES, January2 (Reuters) – R&B and hip-hop artists have appeared in horror films before, but 28-year old singer Trey Songz tackles a brand new incarnation of the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” franchise with “Texas Chainsaw 3D.”

The film, which opens in U.S. theaters on Friday, follows a young woman who inherits a lavish, isolated mansion. When she visits it for the first time with her three friends, one of whom is played by Songz, they realize there is horror awaiting them in the basement.

Songz, a Grammy-nominated artist with hits like “Say Aah,” “Can’t Be Friends” and “Bottoms Up,” took a break from his world tour to talk to Reuters about his first movie role as a lead actor.

Q: Is acting something you’ve had your eye on?

A: “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, but music comes first. I wanted to make sure when I did choose a role, I had time to really get in to it. (Director) John (Luessenhop) came to the studio to meet me for the first time and I told him to give me 24 hours to figure it out. I had just come off tour, I was recording an album and the four weeks I was set to have for vacation would be the four weeks I’d be shooting the film.”

Q: What did you think about during that 24-hour period?

A: “Making sure I wouldn’t be carrying the weight of the film. My name means so much in the music world that I was worried I’d have to carry the film, but I think the franchise carries the weight of the film. Luckily, (my character) Ryan is a likeable guy. There wasn’t too much stress on me mentally and it didn’t take too much away from me as a person in order to be him … I couldn’t ask for a better stepping-stone as a first-time actor.”

Q: You’ve stated that you are the first black actor in the “Texas Chainsaw” franchise. What does that mean to you?

A: “I think it means something not only to me, but to the franchise. Ryan was originally envisioned as a white male. The fact that the studio, the producers and the director went out on a limb and put a black man in such a strong part in a classic movie first made in the 70s, when things were so different, speaks volumes too.”

Q: Your single “Heart Attack,” off your fifth and current album “Chapter V,” was nominated for a best R&B song Grammy, making it your third nomination. What would a win mean?

A: “Right now I feel like I’m in the Grammy club, but not in the V.I.P. I’m just looking at the V.I.P. going, ‘I got to drink. I want a bottle, just let me in the V.I.P. please!’ But all jokes aside, the Grammy is the most elite award you can win as a musician so it would mean so much.”

Q: You moved around a lot as child, partly because you had a stepfather who worked in the military and partly because of your mother’s work opportunities. What was that like?

A: “When you’re a young, single mother, you’re dependent on welfare. Your mother is struggling and we would move around a lot – Virginia, Florida, Kansas, New Jersey, Baltimore … I went to eight different schools before ninth grade.”

Q: How does that impact you today?

A: “I’ve never really been settled. I don’t think I’ve ever known what it was like to be a person that was used to sitting still. I think it’s given me the ability to detach from any situation. It’s so easy to remove myself from the closest of situations just because I’ve had to do it my whole life.”

Q: Do you ever want to know what it feels like to be settled?

A: “I do. I don’t know when it will happen. I don’t even know how to. When I sit still for a couple of days, I get fidgety. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”

Q: I suppose acting is another way to keep yourself from sitting still. Will there be more acting in store for you?

A: “I’ve set a goal for myself to land a couple of films a year. Recently, I shot a movie starring Paula Patton entitled ‘Baggage Claim.” It’s an urban film where I get to be comedic as well as sexy.”

Q: Comedic and sexy – it’s great that you see yourself that way. What confidence!

A: Some things just are what they are!

(Reporting by Zorianna Kit; Editing by Patricia Reaney and Jackie Frank)

Music News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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