Column: Seattle isn't just sleepless, it's loud!

That dull roar still rumbling between your ears a day later is not your imagination.
It's the echo from the 49ers-Seahawks game Sunday night, when an already notoriously loud hometown crowd outdid itself. How?
Start with CenturyLink Field, a U-shaped stadium with cantilevered roofs extending over most of the 67,000 seats in the grandstands, a configuration designed to bounce back sound. Then throw in some fans presumably hopped up on espresso and, thanks to a later starting time, some more who stopped at Safeco Field on the way over to quaff 24-oz. beers offered through a promotion at a mere $4.50 each.
Next, mix in their dislike for a nasty NFC West rival and especially coach Jim Harbaugh, who smacked the Washington Huskies every chance he got when he was at Stanford and has been tormenting Seahawks coach Pete Carroll ever since.
Finally, throw in that early, unexpected lead and — voila! — a near-perfect sound storm.
Just know it could have been worse.
"Obviously, they were jacked up last night," said Fred Gaudelli, the innovative producer of "Sunday Night Football" on NBC. "But in my mind, it's one of the underrated sports towns in America. Actually, the special challenge there is always to convey how loud it actually is.
"We knew that going in, plus we knew the 49ers were the team their fans hate the most. So at Wednesday's regular 'brainstorming session,' we turn to our head audio engineer and said, 'How do we make viewers understand you can't hear the person next to you most of the time, even if he's yelling?' We wanted to be ready."
Gaudelli knows what can happen to a team that ventures into Seattle without preparing for the wall of noise.
In 2005, the visiting New York Giants collected 11 false-start penalties in a single game, the start of a five-year span when opponents piled up league-leading totals, averaging twice as many there as the Seahawks. The Carolina Panthers once practiced for a game there by dragging loudspeakers down to the practice field and simulating the sound of a jet engine. If that sounds over the top, it is, by about 18 decibels. Jets are routinely measured at around 130, Century Link's best is only 112.
Gaudelli and his crew hatched a plan to demonstrate that by having sideline reporter Michele Tafoya speak into a microphone as the sound reverberated, then take a step back and try again. When they ran through it before the game, he had a stadium staffer simulate the crowd noise over the PA system. At the point Tafoya's words were drowned out the system was cranked to 50 percent of volume.
"So I asked the guy, is it really going to be that loud? He looked at me," Gaudelli chuckled into the phone, "and said, 'Double it.'"
The guy was right. That much was apparent at the start of the broadcast, when Tafoya interviewed Carroll — remember, the game hadn't even begun — and didn't dare stand anywhere but uncomfortably close.
Uncomfortable might be the right word to describe the 49ers as well, at least in the early going, when they had to burn timeouts as relatively inexperienced quarterback Colin Kaepernick was having trouble getting the play calls from his sideline. Right about then, he probably wished the 49ers had devoted more time to mastering their silent snap counts.
"The crowd's explosive, it really is," Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson said. "They love us so much, and it brings so much energy to our football team. They keep us in the game, obviously, and they keep us alert."
Experts have been arguing over the worth of home-field advantage for decades. Most concluded that in those places where it's statistically significant, it's usually because of a number of factors and not just one, such as noise. Since CenturyLink opened up in 2002, Seattle is 58-29 at home, a 67 percent winning clip that ranks the Seahawks sixth in the NFL over that span. That's a far cry from New England's league-best 72-15 record (83 percent).
But the Seahawks haven't had Tom Brady at quarterback, and their road record is dismal enough (33-55) that the boost the fans at CenturyLink have provided might be best measured by their last four playoff appearances. If that's not exact enough, try this: After a 2001 earthquake shook a viaduct that runs along the water and near the stadium, the University of Washington set up a lab to track future "seismic events." One of them actually occurred during Marshawn Lynch's thundering, winning, 67-yard touchdown run in a memorable upset of the then-defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints on Jan. 9, 2011.
Yet while we know how Seattle fans make so much noise, why remains the subject of much speculation. Gaudelli, like a lot of people, blames coffee. But I'm going with a theory advanced Sunday night by announcer Al Michaels, who suggested the locals roar non-stop because showcase games gives them a rare chance to remind the rest of the country they're there.
"For media people on the East Coast," he said half in jest, "Seattle might as well be Bulgaria.

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Hunt leads SMU to 43-10 win over Fresno State

 Margus Hunt knew he had eight hours to fill on the flight over the Pacific Ocean, so he asked the SMU staff to put together film of Fresno State for him to study. He hit the Bulldogs like a tidal wave Monday night in the Hawaii Bowl.
The 6-foot-8 defensive end raced around right tackle to blindside Derek Carr and force a fumble. Hunt smashed into running back Robbie Rouse on a delayed handoff and forced another fumble. On a three-man rush, he sacked Carr in the end zone for a safety.
It was an inspiring performance by the senior from Estonia, and it set the tone for the Mustangs' 43-10 win.
"That was a lot of fun," Hunt said. "We knew from the get-go it was going to be a Monday night football game, the only game in the nation. We wanted to show our skills and make some plays. To me personally ... this is where it all started. It's good to end on this note."
The Mustangs (7-6) also returned two interceptions for touchdowns, giving them eight for the season to tie the NCAA record set last year by Southern Miss. Hayden Greenbauer picked off Carr and returned it 83 yards with 1:14 left, the final blow to a miserable night for the Bulldogs (9-4).
SMU had seven sacks, more than double the most Fresno State had given up in a game all year.
Garrett Gilbert was effective with his arm and his legs, running for a 17-yard touchdown for the first score of the game and throwing a perfect strike to Darius Johnson for a 21-yard score to answer the Bulldogs' only touchdown. He rushed for 98 yards on 18 carries and threw for 212 yards.
But this game was decided by the Mustangs' defense, with Hunt leading the way. He was voted the game's MVP.
"We tried some slide protections to 92 (Hunt). You know, they beat us," Fresno State coach Tim DeRuyter said. "We tried going empty to spread things out and get it out quick, we tried to max protect. Everything we tried didn't work."
Fresno State, the Mountain West Conference champion, has lost its last four bowl games.
SMU, which went 25 years without a bowl after its NCAA death penalty, now has played in a school-record four straight bowls, winning three of them. Hunt was a mystery when that run started in 2009, a gold medalist in the shot put and discus in Beijing at the 2006 Junior World Championships who came to SMU for track and field and turned to football when it was his only hope of scholarship money.
SMU coach June Jones has a knack for taking a chance on athletes from other sports, and he liked what he saw, from the 82-inch wing span to the 4.7 speed in the 40.
"It's not hard for me to see a world-class athlete who can run like that, has strength like that, has an arm length like that," Jones said. "The first scrimmage we had ... the only thing I didn't know was if he was going to be tough enough. The first play we ran a trap and hit him real hard, and he wanted to fight. I said, 'OK, we may have a player here.'
"His best football is ahead of him," Jones said. "I was really excited, on a national stage, for him to have that kind of a game."
The Bulldogs turned in a dud.
Fresno State, which had averaged just over 47 points in its last five games, was shut out in the first half for the first time in two years. Carr was too busy running for his life to get the Bulldogs into any kind of offensive rhythm. And when the Bulldogs finally scored with 10:21 left in the third quarter, Gilbert led the Mustangs on a 75-yard drive that he finished with a pinpoint pass to Johnson in the corner for a touchdown.
"That drive there put the game away in essence," Gilbert said. "For us to respond like that and put six points on that board was big."
It allowed Jones to walk out of Aloha Stadium with yet another win.
He was the coach at Hawaii for eight years, leaving after its unbeaten regular season in 2007. Jones now has won 10 straight games in Aloha Stadium, dating to a December 2006 loss to Oregon State.
"I just want to say 'Aloha' to the seniors," Jones said during the trophy presentation. "We said we were going to do it and we did it."
Without hardly breaking a sweat.
The 10 points matched the fewest Fresno State has scored this year, dating to its 20-10 loss to Boise State. Carr was 33-of-54 passing for 362 yards, but most of that came late in the game when the Bulldogs were trying to catch up.
He was overwhelmed by the Mustangs' defensive front, particularly Hunt, who had two sacks, two forced fumbles and three tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
"When you go three-and-out, it feels like there's no rhythm at all," Carr said.
After a dull, scoreless opening quarter, Gilbert shook off one tackle and scored on a 17-yard run. The defense took over from there.
Hunt blew past right tackle Alex Fifita and blindsided Carr, dropping him flat as the ball came loose and was scooped up by Aaron Davis, who returned it 23 yards to the Fresno State 16 until he fumbled it out of bounds. SMU had to settle for a field goal. On the next series, Carr scrambled backward and couldn't escape an 18-yard sack to the 6, and then Hunt sacked him in the end zone for a safety.
Hunt wasn't finished. On second-and-7 from the 33, Carr gave it to Robbie Rouse on a delayed handoff, right about the time Hunt showed up to disrupt the play and cause another fumble that Taylor Reed recovered. That drive went backward, and Chase Hover connected from 48 yards.
Jones' only concern was having to settle for field goals, fearing that might come back to haunt the Mustangs given Fresno State's explosive offensive. Not to worry. The SMU defense dominated to the very last score.

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Rafael Nadal's comeback delayed by stomach bug

 Rafael Nadal's return to competition has been delayed by a stomach virus.
The Spaniard was scheduled to play in an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi on Thursday after missing seven months because of tendinitis in his left knee. But he said on his Facebook page Tuesday that his doctors ordered him to pull out when he was running a fever, telling him his body needed rest.
"My rehab has gone well, my knee feels good and I was looking forward to competing," he said.
The 11-time Grand Slam champion hasn't played since June, when he lost to 100th-ranked Lukas Rosol in the second round at Wimbledon.
The injury prevented Nadal from defending his Olympic singles gold at the Olympics in London, where he was supposed to be Spain's flag bearer at the opening ceremony. He also had to pull out of the U.S. Open and Spain's Davis Cup final against the Czech Republic, which his teammates lost without him.

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On the back roads of golf, tales from the tour

Dave Kindred, a preeminent American sports writer who has worked his trade for the better part of four decades, was walking down the right side of the first fairway at Kiawah Island with the final group at the PGA Championship when he mentioned he had been teaching a writing class to college students. Like most great columnists, Kindred's strength is his power of observation, and he has tried to pass that along. "The one thing I tell them," he said, "is that if you really pay attention to what you're covering, you'll see something you've never seen before." He stopped and kneeled to watch Carl Pettersson, playing in the last group that Sunday with Rory McIlroy, hit his approach to the green. Pettersson was just inside the red hazard line, so he was careful not to ground his club. Brushing the top of the grass was OK. Moments after his shot, he was approached by PGA rules official Brad Gregory and told there might be a problem. In a bizarre development, Pettersson's club nicked a leaf on the way back, a violation of Rule 13-4c for moving a loose impediment in a hazard. After an exhaustive video review, Pettersson was given the bad news — a two-stroke penalty — on the fourth hole. Pay attention and you never know what you'll see. That much was true in a wild year of golf. Phil Mickelson lost his bid at the Masters by hitting two shots right-handed. Rory McIlroy was confused by the time zone and needed a police escort to get to the final day of the Ryder Cup on time. Tiger Woods never found his golf ball, was not penalized and still missed the cut. Those have been well-documented. What follows is the 2012 edition of "Tales from the Tour," the obscure moments that keep golf so interesting and entertaining. ___ Kyle Stanley is a quiet man. This was a quiet celebration. One week after he made triple bogey on the 18th hole at Torrey Pines and then lost in a playoff, he rallied from eight shots behind on the final day with a 65 in the Phoenix Open to win his first PGA Tour event. It was a remarkable turnaround. One week he faced the media after his meltdown and fought back tears. The next week he was a winner. Stanley was invited to a Super Bowl party that night at the home of Jim Mackay, the longtime caddie of Phil Mickelson. He was late to the party because of the media obligations that come with winning. When he finally arrived, Stanley knocked and then walked in the door holding the oversized winner's check over his head. He quietly placed it above the TV, and then sat down to watch the game, a player at peace. ___ No other golfer spends more time with the media after every round than Ryo Ishikawa, who is treated like a rock star in Japan. When he signs his card, even when it's late in the day, it's not unusual for the 21-year-old to spend close to an hour fulfilling his media obligations. That's where "The Chair" comes in. His handlers have a white folding chair for Ishikawa as he endures two interviews with different television stations. A dozen or so reporters form a semi-circle around him as they wait and listen, occasionally jotting down notes. Then, it's their turn. They spent close to 15 minutes with Ishikawa after his round at Innisbrook, going over the clubs he used and shots he hit on just about every hole — this after a 73 that left him 12 shots out of the lead. Finally, he was finished. He got up from the chair and walked around the clubhouse toward the parking lot. The Japanese reporters followed him, walking in a group about 20 yards behind. One of them was asked where they were going. "Now we wave goodbye," the reporter explained. Indeed, they stood on a sidewalk and waved as Ishikawa's car drove by them. ___ Butch Harmon was talking retirement in the spring. He turned 69 this year. A Vietnam War vet, he has been teaching most of his life, working for Sky Sports and traveling the world, which is starting to take its toll. He worries about the day when his attention span is short or he doesn't care as much as he once did. "It's not there, but it's coming," he said. "I will never step away. I'll always teach. I love to teach." The next morning, he was on the range at Quail Hollow waiting for Phil Mickelson to arrive. Gary Christian , a 40-year-old PGA Tour rookie from England, walked over and introduced himself. Christian said he was fascinated to watch so many Americans use the leading edge of the club on wedge shots. They chatted for a few minutes and after Christian walked away, Harmon said, "Who was that?" Harmon nodded when told about Christian's back story, how he came to America on a college scholarship, supported himself by selling steak knives and toiled in the minor leagues for 15 years before finally making it to the big leagues. Still no sign of Mickelson. A few minutes later, Harmon walked over to Christian. He spent a few minutes observing, and then pulled a wedge from the bag and gave an impromptu lesson. He'll always teach. He loves to teach. ___ You've seen the sign at the baggage claim to check your luggage because some bags may look alike. That goes for golf travel bags, too. Nick Watney and Angel Cabrera arrived in San Francisco for the U.S. Open about the same time, on different flights. Cabrera kept waiting at oversized luggage for his bag to come out, and he began to think the airlines had lost it. There was only one golf bag there, and it belonged to Watney. That's when the light came on. Cabrera's agent called the person in charge of U.S. Open courtesy cars and asked them to stop Watney on his way out. Sure enough, Cabrera's golf bag was in his trunk. ___ The relationship three-time major champion Padraig Harrington has with reporters is unlike that of any other player, especially the Irish media. He was giving an interview to Greg Allen of Irish radio station RTE, and after they finished, Harrington began making small talk. He asked Allen, "I heard you lost your sunglasses?" Allen's shoulders slumped as he told Harrington he had misplaced his glasses and didn't know where to look for them. Harrington didn't commiserate. He smiled. "They're in my locker," he said. "You left them behind the other day." ___ Sung Kang received elite training in South Korea's national program that is producing more and more top players, but he worked equally hard on his English and speaks beautifully for someone who has played the PGA Tour only the last few years. Turns out he has been coming to America twice a year since 2002 to work on his golf, and he devoted just as much effort to the language. In Florida? California? "Dallas," Kang said. "I went to the Hank Haney schools, so I would work with Haney and learned English there in Texas." Some things, however, still get lost in translation. Kang was asked if he ever bought cowboy boots from all that time spent in Dallas. "No," he said. "I don't really like the NFL. I'm more of a Lakers fan." ___ The British Open has a massive scoreboard in the press center where a group of volunteers, most of them women in their early 20s, move ladders on rails from side to side as they post the score of every hole for every player. Press officers often check to see which players they should bring in for interviews the first two rounds as the leaderboard is taking shape. In the second round, Adam Scott had a 67 to get within one shot of the lead with several players still on the course. The announcement over the intercom: "Can we see a show of hands for Adam Scott?" Six young women posting scores all raised their hands. ___ About two dozen fans waiting for autographs behind the ninth green on the Magnolia Course at Disney got more than they expected. Brian Harman emerged from the scoring trailer after the final PGA Tour event of the year and said, "Who's left-handed?" One man came forward, and it turned out to be his lucky day. Harman went over to his bag, removed all the irons and handed them to the fan. Turns out Harman wanted to try something different at Disney, so he used irons with graphite shafts. He described it as the worst ball-striking week he had all year. "I just wanted to try some different stuff," Harman said. "And now I know what was not the answer." No other sports organization comes close to the amount of charity produced by the PGA Tour. Harman took it to a new level.

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Thousands enjoy merry Christmas in Bethlehem

Thousands of Christians from the world over packed Manger Square in Bethlehem Monday to celebrate the birth of Jesus in the ancient West Bank town where he was born. For their Palestinian hosts, this holiday season was an especially joyous one, with the hardships of the Israeli occupation that so often clouded previous Christmas Eve celebrations eased by the United Nations' recent recognition of an independent state of Palestine. Festivities led up to the Midnight Mass at St. Catherine's Church, next to the fourth-century Church of the Nativity, built over the grotto where tradition says Jesus was born. "From this holy place, I invite politicians and men of good will to work with determination for peace and reconciliation that encompasses Palestine and Israel in the midst of all the suffering in the Middle East," said the top Roman Catholic cleric in the Holy Land, Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal in his annual address. "Please continue to fight for a just cause to achieve peace and security for the people of the Holy Land." In his pre-Christmas homily, Twal said the road to actual freedom was still long, but this year's festivities were doubly joyful, celebrating "the birth of Christ our Lord and the birth of the state of Palestine." "The path (to statehood) remains long, and will require a united effort," added Twal, a Palestinian citizen of Jordan, at the patriarchate's headquarters in Jerusalem's Old City. Then he set off in a procession for the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Jesus' traditional birthplace. There, he was reminded that life on the ground for Palestinians has not changed since the U.N. recognized their state last month in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. Twal had to enter the biblical town through a massive metal gate in the barrier of towering concrete slabs Israel built between Jerusalem and Bethlehem during a wave of Palestinian suicide bombings in the last decade. The Israeli military, which controls the crossing, said it significantly eased restrictions for the Christmas season. Israel, backed by the United States, opposed the statehood bid, saying it was a Palestinian ploy to bypass negotiations. Talks stalled four years ago. Hundreds of people greeted Twal in Manger Square, outside the Church of Nativity. The mood was festive under sunny skies, with children dressed in holiday finery or in Santa costumes, and marching bands playing in the streets. After nightfall, a packed Manger Square, resplendent with strings of lights, decorations and a 17-meter (55-foot) Christmas tree, took on a festival atmosphere, as pilgrims mixed with locals. A choral group from the Baptist Church in Jerusalem performed carols on one side of the square, handing out sheets of lyrics and encouraging others to sing along with songs such as "We Wish You A Merry Christmas." Vendors sold balloons, cotton candy and corn on the cob, bands played Christmas songs and tourists packed cafes that are quiet most of the rest of the year. Pilgrims from around the world wandered the streets, singing Christmas carols and visiting churches. Devout Christians said it was a moving experience to be so close to the origins of their faith. "It's a special feeling to be here, it's an encounter with my soul and God," said Joanne Kurczewska, a professor at Warsaw University in Poland, who was visiting Bethlehem for a second time at Christmas. Pastor Al Mucciarone, 61, from Short Hills, New Jersey, agreed. "We come here to celebrate Jesus. This is a very important town. Great things come from small events. The son of God was born in this small village. We hope all will follow Jesus," he said. Audra Kasparian, 45, from Salt Lake City, Utah, called her visit to Bethlehem "a life event to cherish forever. It is one of those events that is great to be a part of." Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also visited Bethlehem and said "peace will prevail from the birthplace of Jesus, and we wish everyone peace and happiness," according to the official Palestinian Wafa news agency. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a special Christmas greeting too, wishing Christians "a year of security, prosperity and peace." Christmas is the high point of the year in Bethlehem, which, like the rest of the West Bank, is struggling to recover from the economic hard times that followed the violent Palestinian uprising against Israel that broke out in late 2000. Tourists and pilgrims who were scared away by the fighting have been returning in larger numbers. Last year's Christmas Eve celebration produced the highest turnout in more than a decade, with some 100,000 visitors, including foreign workers and Arab Christians from Israel. The Israeli Tourism Ministry predicted a 25 percent drop from that level this year, following last month's clash between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza, which put a chill on tourist arrivals. Foreign tourists heading to Bethlehem must pass through Israel or the Israel-controlled border crossing into the West Bank from Jordan. Outside the town's quaint Manger Square, Bethlehem is a drab, sprawling town with a dwindling Christian base - a far cry from the pastoral village of biblical times. About 22,000 Palestinians live in Bethlehem, according to the town council, but combined with several surrounding communities has a population of some 50,000 people. Overall, there are only about 50,000 Christians in the West Bank, less than 3 percent of the population, the result of a lower birthrate and increased emigration. Bethlehem's Christians make up only a third of its residents, down from 75 percent a few decades ago. Elias Joha, a 44-year-old Christian who runs a souvenir store, said even with the U.N. recognition, this year's celebrations were sad for him. He said most of his family has left, and that if he had the opportunity, he would do the same. "These celebrations are not even for Christians because there are no Christians. It is going from bad to worse from all sides ... we are not enjoying Christmas as before." Located on the southeastern outskirts of Jerusalem, Bethlehem has the highest unemployment in the West Bank, but the tourist boom of Christmas offered a brief reprieve. Officials say all 34 hotels in the town are fully booked for the Christmas season, including 13 new ones built this year. Israel turned Bethlehem over to Palestinian civil control a few days before Christmas in 1995, and since then, residents have been celebrating the holiday regardless of their religion. Many Muslims took part in celebration Monday as well. Christians across the region marked the holiday. In Iraq, Christians gathered for services with tight security, including at Baghdad's Our Lady of Salvation church, the scene of a brutal October 2010 attack that killed more than 50 worshippers and wounded scores more. Earlier this month, Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, who is responsible for the Vatican's outreach to the Middle East's Catholic communities, traveled to Iraq and presided over a Mass to rededicate the church following renovations. In his homily, he remembered those who were killed and expressed hope that "the tears shed in this sacred place become the good seed of communion and witness and bear much fruit," according to an account by Vatican Radio. The exact number of Christians remaining in Iraq is not known, but it has fallen sharply from as many as 1.4 million before the U.S.-led invasion nearly a decade ago to about 400,000 to 600,000, according community leaders cited by the U.S. State Department. In the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI lit a Christmas peace candle set on the windowsill of his private studio. Pilgrims, tourists and Romans gathered below in St. Peter's Square for the inauguration Monday evening of a Nativity scene and cheered when the flame was lit. Later, the pope led Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, prayed that Israelis and Palestinians live in peace and freedom, and asked the faithful to pray for strife-torn Syria as well as Lebanon and Iraq. The ceremony began at 10 p.m. local time Monday with the blare of trumpets, meant to symbolize Christian joy over the news of Christ's birth in Bethlehem. The basilica's main bell tolled outside, and the sweet voices of the Vatican's boys' choir wafted across the packed venue. Christmas Eve Mass at the Vatican traditionally began at midnight, but the start time was moved up years ago so as to give the 85-year-old pontiff more time to rest before his Christmas Day speech. That address is to be delivered at midday Tuesday from the basilica's central balcony.

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Morales mum on Cuba trip after Chavez surgery

Bolivian President Evo Morales made a lightning trip this weekend to Havana where ally Hugo Chavez is convalescing after cancer surgery, but was mostly silent Monday on the details of his trip or even whether he met with the ailing Venezuelan leader. The secrecy surrounding his visit was sure to add to the uncertainty surrounding Chavez's condition, despite reassurances Monday from Venezuelan officials that the president was slowly improving. The Venezuelan leader has not been seen or heard from since his Dec. 11 surgery. Venezuelan officials have given few specifics about his condition and have offered no information about his long-term prognosis. Luis Vicente Leon, a pollster who heads the Venezuelan firm Datanalisis, said the government's daily but vague updates on the president's health seem designed to calm anxious Chavez supporters rather than keep the country fully informed. For government opponents, however, he said the updates likely raise more questions than they answer. "It's more for the Chavez movement than the country in general," Leon said. "There's nothing that one can verify, and the credibility is almost nil." Morales did not speak to the foreign media while in Havana. Journalists had been summoned to cover his arrival and departure, but hours later that invitation was canceled. No explanation was given, though it could have been due to confusion over Morales' itinerary as he apparently arrived later than initially scheduled. Cuban state media published photos of President Raul Castro receiving Morales at the airport and said he came "to express his support" for Chavez, his close ally, but did not give further details. At an event in southern Bolivia on Monday, Morales made no mention of his trip to Cuba, even though aides had told reporters that he might say something about Chavez's recovery. Later, Morales' communications minister did not respond directly to a question about whether the two South American presidents had met face-to-face, saying only that he "was with the people he wanted to be with" and had no plans to return to Cuba. "The report that President Morales has given us is that Chavez is in a process of recovery after the terrible operation he underwent," Amanda Davila told The Associated Press. Morales is the second Latin American leader to visit since Chavez announced two weeks ago that he would have the operation. Rafael Correa of Ecuador came calling the day of the surgery. Uruguay's Jose Mujica has expressed interest in making the trek. The visits underscore Chavez's importance to regional allies as a prominent voice of the Latin American left, as well as how seriously they are taking his latest bout with cancer. Chavez underwent his fourth cancer-related operation of the last year-and-a-half on Dec. 11, two months after winning reelection to a six-year term. Venezuelan officials say Chavez is stable and his recovery is progressing, though he was treated for a respiratory infection apparently due to the surgery. If Chavez is unable to continue in office, the Venezuelan constitution calls for new elections to be held. Chavez has asked his followers to back his vice president and hand-picked successor, Nicolas Maduro, in that event. In Caracas, Venezuelan Information Minister Ernesto Villegas read a statement Monday saying that Chavez is showing "a slight improvement with a progressive trend," is keeping up with events back home and sends Christmas greetings to Venezuelans. Maduro and several Cabinet ministers attended a Christmas Eve Mass in Caracas to pray for the president. Maduro again assured Venezuelans that the president was recovering, though he and other officials continued to strongly suggest that Chavez would not return in time for his Jan. 10 inauguration. Opposition leaders have argued that the constitution does not allow the president's swearing-in to be postponed, and say new elections should be called if Chavez is unable to take the oath on time. But Attorney General Cilia Flores insisted the constitution lets the Supreme Court administer the oath of office at any time if the National Assembly is unable to do it Jan. 10 as scheduled. "Those who are counting on that date, hoping to thwart the Revolution and the will of the people, will end up frustrated once again," Flores said. "What we have is a president who has been re-elected, he will take over, will be sworn in on that day, another day, that is a formality." Jaqueline Farias, the head of government for the Caracas area, told the AP outside the church that "we are very happy because each hour the 'commandante' is showing signs that he is overcoming this phase of the operation, his fourth operation." When asked if the president was breathing on his own, she said she didn't know and walked off, refusing to answer more questions. Dozens of Chavez supporters gathered outside the church, some carrying posters of the president or wearing red T-shirts decorated with a photograph of just Chavez's eyes. Some women rushed to the church after seeing footage of the Mass on state television and yelled at security guards to let them inside. "Chavez is going to be mad, if he sees this," said Andres Sanchez, an unemployed Chavez supporter watching a woman shouting at a guard that she wanted to pray for Chavez, too. "He told the ministers to talk to the people." "Venezuela without Chavez is like a ship without a rudder," Sanchez said, his voice wobbling. "I pray to God that he recovers because he is a man who loves the people, the children, the elderly and everyone a little bit.

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Catholic Church urges Irish to oppose abortion law

The head of Ireland's Catholic Church urged followers in his Christmas Day message to lobby against government plans to legalize abortion. Ireland, the only EU member state that currently outlaws the procedure, is preparing legislation that would allow limited access to abortion after the European Court of Human Rights criticized the current regime. The death last month of an Indian woman who was denied an abortion of her dying foetus and later died of blood poisoning has intensified the debate around abortion, which remains a hugely divisive subject in the predominantly Catholic country. "I hope that everyone who believes that the right to life is fundamental will make their voice heard in a reasonable, but forthright, way to their representatives," Cardinal Sean Brady said in a Christmas message on Tuesday. "No government has the right to remove that right from an innocent person." Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny, a regular Mass goer, is bringing in legislation that would allow a woman to have an abortion if her life was at risk from pregnancy. The country's Supreme Court ruled in 1992 that abortion was permitted when a woman's life was at risk but successive governments have avoided legislating for it because it is so divisive. The death of Savita Halappanavar, who repeatedly asked for an abortion while she was miscarrying in an Irish hospital, highlighted the lack of clarity in Irish law that leaves doctors in a legally risky position. Halappanavar's death re-ignited the abortion debate and prompted large protests by groups both in favor of and against abortion. Kenny and his conservative Fine Gael party have been criticized for tackling the abortion issue and some party members have indicated that they may not be able to back the law. Relations between the Irish government and the once dominant Catholic Church are at an all-time low in the wake of years of clerical sex abuse scandals. Kenny told parliament last year that the Vatican's handling of the scandals had been dominated by "elitism and narcissism" and accused it of trying to cover up the abuse. The speech prompted the Vatican to recall its ambassador, or nuncio, to Ireland. Brady, who has faced calls this year to resign over accusations he failed to warn parents their children were being sexually abused, said in his Christmas message that he wanted relations with government to improve. "My hope is that the year ahead will see the relationship between faith and public life in our country move beyond the sometimes negative, exaggerated caricatures of the past.

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