Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) won a federal trade
ruling that will force Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. (MMI) to alter
software on some of its Android-based mobile phones to keep
bringing them into the U.S.

A U.S. International Trade Commission judge found that
Motorola Mobility infringed a patent covering a program by
Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft called ActiveSync, which
lets users generate meeting requests among a group. Six other
patents weren’t violated, the judge ruled.

The ruling still must be reviewed by President Barack Obama, who can override the order on public policy grounds.

“We hope that now Motorola will be willing to join the
vast majority of Android device makers selling phones in the
U.S. by taking a license to our patents,” David Howard,
Microsoft’s deputy general counsel, said in an e-mailed
statement.

An exclusion order would affect Droid 2, Droid X, i1, Cliq
XT, Devour, Backflip, Charm and Clip models, according to a
filing with the ITC.

Android Fight

Motorola Mobility said it was disappointed and would
explore options including an appeal. “Motorola Mobility will
not experience any impact in the near term,” Jennifer Erickson,
a company spokeswoman, said in an e-mail.

The ruling probably will push Motorola to reach a
settlement and pay Microsoft a licensing fee instead of having
to modify the phone software, said Charlie Wolf, an analyst with
Needham Co in New York.

“These cases usually end up with the parties settling,”
Wolf said.

The case is part of a broader effort by Microsoft and Apple
Inc. to curtail the growth of mobile devices that run on Google
Inc. (GOOG)’s Android operating system. Google licenses Android for
free to further its mobile-advertising business.

The platform has become the most popular for smartphones,
with more than half of a market for mobile devices that Yankee
Group has projected will reach $360 billion this year.

Licensing Deals

Microsoft contends it should be paid royalties by makers of
mobile devices that run on Android. The software maker has
reached licensing deals with Samsung Electronics Co. and HTC
Corp. (2498)

Motorola Mobility, which is being bought by Google, refused
to pay and instead struck back in a case at the trade agency.

Microsoft’s willingness to license is different from Apple,
which wants makers of Android smartphones to make changes to its
devices, Wolf said.

“I would expect Motorola to get together with Microsoft to
resolve this,” he said.

Xbox, Windows

Microsoft has capitalized on patents it said cover features
of Android, and said it has struck licensing agreements with
makers of more than 70 percent of all Android devices sold in
the U.S. Microsoft’s only litigation with Android-device makers
is with Motorola Mobility, following a settlement reached last
month with Barnes Noble Inc. (BKS)

The software maker filed the ITC complaint in October 2010.
Motorola Mobility responded by sending letters demanding
royalties on Microsoft products, including the Xbox and Windows
operating system. The legal battle has since escalated, with
Microsoft accusing Motorola Mobility of misusing its patents in
a lawsuit pending in Seattle and before regulators in the U.S.
and Europe.

Motorola Mobility has filed its own patent-infringement
claim against Microsoft at the agency, seeking to block sales of
the Xbox. An ITC judge said Microsoft was infringing four
Motorola Mobility patents; Microsoft wants the commission to
review that decision.

Microsoft’s case against Motorola Mobility is In the Matter
of Certain Mobile Devices, Associated Software and Components
Thereof, 337-744, while Motorola Mobility’s case against
Microsoft is In the matter of Gaming and Entertainment Consoles,
337-752, both U.S. International Trade Commission (Washington).

To contact the reporters on this story:
Susan Decker in Washington at
sdecker1@bloomberg.net;
William McQuillen in Washington at
bmcquillen@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Bernard Kohn at
bkohn2@bloomberg.net

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Article source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-18/microsoft-wins-ruling-forcing-change-in-motorola-phones.html

With the acquisition – the largest wireless-equipment deal in at least a
decade, according to data compiled by Bloomberg – Google becomes a
competitor to the other handset makers that make Android devices. In
addition to Motorola Mobility phones, the software is used in handsets made
by companies such as Samsung and HTC.

As part of the approval, Google needs to ensure that Android software versions
are free and open over the next five years, China’s Ministry of Commerce
said in a statement on its website.

Google will report to an independent monitor in China on its efforts to comply
with terms of the deal approval, according to the website.

Article source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/9277880/Google-wins-final-approval-for-Motorola-Mobility-takeover.html

SAN FRANCISCO -For Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, it was quite a week — from birthday, to IPO, to I DO.

A day after the historic Facebook stock offering, Zuckerberg on Saturday wed 27-year-old Priscilla Chan, his girlfriend of nearly a decade, according to a guest authorized to speak for the couple. The person spoke only on the condition of anonymity.

Zuckerberg gave his new bride a ring he had designed with a “very simple ruby” to end an incredibly eventful week, according to the guest.

The couple married at his Palo Alto, Calif. home in front of fewer than 100 stunned guests who thought they would be attending a party to celebrate Chan’s graduation from medical school.

On Monday, Zuckerberg turned 28 and Chan graduated from the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, where she’d studied pediatrics.

Then on Friday, Zuckerberg took his blue-and-white web behemoth public in one of the most anticipated IPOs in Wall Street history.

The seemingly well-coordinated timing was largely a coincidence, the guest said. The wedding had been planned for months and the couple was waiting for Chan to finish medical school, but the date of the IPO was a “moving target” not known when the wedding was set.

Attendees, including Facebook’s chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg, were told after they arrived that they were not mere party guests but wedding guests.

“Everybody was shocked,” the guest said.

The person would not discuss the names of others who attended to protect their privacy.

Ditching his trademark hoodie and sneakers, Zuckerberg sported a dark blue suit and tie with a white shirt for the ceremony, while Chan wore a traditional white wedding dress with veil and lace.

Food was served family-style and included dishes from the couple’s favorite Palo Alto sushi restaurant.

Zuckerberg met Chan at Harvard, where he founded Facebook in a dorm room in 2004, and have been together for more than nine years.

Chan’s own Facebook page, which now lists her as married to the founder, said she is a native of Braintree, Mass., and attended high school in nearby Quincy.

She graduated Harvard in 2007 then taught science to fourth and fifth graders at the Harker School in San Jose for two years before starting medical school, according to her profile.

Her page also says she “loves cooking and soft things.”

Even after the IPO, Zuckerberg, who grew up in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., remains Facebook’s single largest shareholder, with 503.6 million shares, and he controls the company with 56 percent of its voting stock.

The site has grown into a worldwide network of almost a billion people and made its founder, Time magazine’s Person of the Year in 2010, one of the most famous businessmen of the Internet age.—

Associated Press Writer Andrew Dalton contributed to this story from Los Angeles.

Article source: http://www.dailyfinance.com/article/day-after-historic-ipo-facebooks/2173791/

LOS ANGELES — New adventures in Los Angeles Lakers playoff losses …

They have been blown out. They have frittered away a seven-point lead in the final two minutes.

On Saturday night, in one of the cruelest defeats imaginable, the Lakers found themselves immersed in a nearly total fourth-quarter implosion.

A 13-point cushion was obliterated during the final eight minutes of a wobbly legged 103-100 defeat against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Staples Center in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals.

There may not be many more chances for the Lakers to get creative. The Thunder could close out a series it leads, three games to one, in Game 5 on Monday night in Oklahoma City.

Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were the primary Lakers antagonists, with Westbrook’s pull-up jumpers and driving layups rallying the Thunder and Durant’s three-pointer with 13 seconds left giving his team a 101-98 lead.

Kobe Bryant, whose touch evaded him in the fourth quarter of the Lakers’ second game in a 27-hour span, missed a three-pointer and Oklahoma City’s James Harden grabbed the rebound.

Harden made two free throws with seven seconds left to seal the Lakers’ fate.

Bryant’s floating jumper at the buzzer gave him 38 points but provided zero solace, the Lakers left to walk off the court in stunned disbelief. Bryant made 12 of 28 shots but only two of 10 in the fourth quarter.

The Lakers had taken a nine-point lead into the final 12 minutes courtesy of Bryant’s 22-foot fadeaway jumper to end the third quarter. They extended their advantage to 13 points on a jump hook by Jordan Hill before the Thunder frantically rallied behind the brilliant play of Westbrook, who finished with 37 points on 15-of-26 shooting.

Oklahoma City pulled even on a turnaround fadeaway jumper by Durant with 1:54 left and then took the lead on a Kendrick Perkins [stats] putback with 1:16 remaining.

Bryant tied the score at 98-98 on a pair of free throws with 1:04 to play before the teams exchanged turnovers and Durant made the decisive three-pointer. Durant finished with 31 points, making 10 of 18 shots.

The Lakers had some trouble with free throws one night after making a nearly inconceivable 41 of 42 shots, converting 21 of 29 attempts Saturday. Their legs might have had something to do with it.

Bryant made 14 of 17 free throws, not quite the perfection he exhibited Friday while making a playoff franchise record 18 in a row.

Lakers center Andrew Bynum also faded badly after a stellar first half, finishing with 18 points, nine rebounds and four assists.

Article source: http://bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/other_nba/view/20120520kevin_durant__drops_big_shot_on_lakers_in_103-100_win

Munich, May 20 — Chelsea captain Frank lampard dedicated the Blues’ historic Champions league win to Didier Drogba, who went from being zero to hero during final against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena here Saturday night.

Drogba, who is without a contract could well have played his last match with Chelsea, equalised two minutes from time after Thomas Muller had given Bayern the lead in the 82nd minute.

Drogba almost went from hero to villain as he brought town Franck Ribery for a penalty in extra time. But Petr Cech saved Robben’s spot-kick to take the match went penalties, where Drogba scored the winner to hand Chelsea the trophy for the first time. The Blues earned a 4-3 penalty shoot-out victory after the match had ended 1-1 after extra time.

lampard, one of the scorers during the penalty shoot-out, hailed the Ivory Coast player for his superb display.

“I can’t believe it. The determination we’ve shown…we didn’t play fantastic but the main man Didier dug us out of trouble there. He’s a hero. Without him we’re not here. He scores the goals in the big games,”said lampard.

lampard wants Drogba to stay at Stamford Bridge.

“I’d love him to stay. What he did tonight he’s been doing all his career,”he said.

Of Chelsea’s historic triumph, lampard said: “It means everything. We’ve been so many years trying to do this. This is the one we really wanted and we’ve got it.”

Asked if interim manager Roberto Di Matteo should be asked to carry on with the job, lampard said: “He took us from a struggling team maybe going out of the Champions league and we won it, so look at that.”

IANS

This article was distributed through the NewsCred Smartwire.

Original article © IANS / Daily News 2012

Article source: http://india.nydailynews.com/business/1cb553cf6ee86765cdea5c5c2fbaa7ec/lampard-hails-drogba-for-chelsea-s-historic-win

Are we looking at horse racing history?

That question will be asked many times over many days in the next three weeks.

Will I‘ll Have Another join the ranks of Secretariat, Seattle Slew, Citation and Whirlaway?

PREAKNESS:  I’ll Have Another one race from sweep

TRIPLE CROWN:  Dreams often dashed at Belmont

PREAKNESS:  A day in photos

Affirmed won the last Triple Crown in 1978 when Alydar finished second in all three races.

That won’t happen this year no matter what. Trainer Bob Baffert said he won’t send Bodemeister, second in the Derby and Preakness, to the Belmont.

That leaves I’ll Have Another without his chief rival in the June 9 race.

“(Jockey) Mario (Gutierrez) was so patient,” trainer Doug O’Neill said of the Preakness win. “We’re thinking Triple Crown, baby. Come on, why not.”

Why not? You tell us?

Article source: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gameon/post/2012/05/ill-have-another-preakness-kentucky-derby-tell-us-are-we-looking-at--a-triple-crown-winner/1

Comcast’s plans to do away with its 250 GB data cap and charge users based upon usage marks the end of an era for cable TV providers, and for the online video industry. No longer will users be able to endlessly stream all the content their hearts desire. Not just that, but the fact that usage-based pricing is arriving at the same time that more, higher-quality content is appearing online could have a dampening effect on demand for services like Netflix or Hulu Plus.

Comcast, of course, says that its new, usage-based pricing policy is pro-consumer, and to a certain extent it is. The average broadband subscriber — those who only use up about 8 GB or 10 GB of data a month — shouldn’t necessarily pay the same as those whose usage goes above 300 GB in the same period of time.

But for those of us who are avid streaming video users, usage-based pricing models could change the overall value proposition of watching video on the Internet.

Can streaming video be a TV replacement?

I’m a subscriber to Netflix, Hulu Plus, and MLB.tv. I have a Roku box and an Apple TV, and I frequently purchase season passes to shows like Mad Men, Justified, and Sons of Anarchy. Even though I don’t pay for cable, I take advantage of access to TV Everywhere applications from the likes of Showtime and HBO, from my family’s Xfinity TV account, as well as test accounts that I occasionally get from some of the cable networks to check out their new services.

In other words, I watch streaming video in the same way a lot of other people watch regular TV. But instead of recording shows and watching them from a DVR, I watch them on-demand online.

I’m also a Comcast broadband subscriber, and I’m probably what the company would consider a heavy data user. While I’ve never bumped up against the 250GB cap, I’ve definitely started to come close over the last several months. In April I racked up 160 GB of data usage, and about halfway through May, I’ve already used 90 GB. That might be atypical for the average Comcast broadband subscriber, but I think that type of usage is becoming a lot more common, particularly for highly connected people like me.

More importantly, the amount of data I’m using has rapidly increased over the last year or so. It wasn’t so long ago that I was typically using less than 100 GB a month. And I expect it to continue increasing, to the point where I wouldn’t be surprised if I hit and surpass Comcast’s new 300 GB data limit at some point over the next 12-18 months.

Part of that is due to me just watching more stuff — I’ve been re-watching old episodes from The Wire, for instance, in addition to a regular slate of weekly shows. And with baseball season up and running, I’m streaming a lot more MLB.tv as well. But part of it is also due to more bandwidth being used by higher bit rate streams, as services like Netflix improve the video quality of their products.

Putting things into perspective

But what about data usage for everyone else? The average video on Netflix uses up about 1 GB of data per hour, but most of those streams aren’t in full HD. The highest quality setting for Netflix, which is what most viewers would like to stream to their TVs, uses more than twice as much data per hour.

According to Nielsen, the average TV viewer consumes about five hours of video a day, or about 150 hours of video per month. For those keeping track at home, that means that you’d have to watch even more video online than your typical TV watcher if you ever plan to max out Comcast’s 300 GB allotment.

Of course, that’s where things are now, but video quality continues to improve for all of these services, and that means higher bit rates and more data streamed per movie or TV show. What happens as these services improve, as more content and higher-quality content makes its way online? And what happens as more people tune into those services?

Today, about 30 percent of users have streamed a video to their TVs, either because they own a so-called “smart TV” that came with access to streaming video services, or because they’ve connected a game console or streaming box (and in some cases a PC) to a dumb TV. What happens when that hits 50 percent? Or 75 percent? Hell, what happens when Apple’s mythical iTV gets released and users suddenly have access to a whole new set of streaming applications in 1080p?

That will change the value proposition of online video dramatically. For me, between all the different subscription VOD services and the cost of 8-10 season passes that I buy every year, I’m probably already paying more for streaming services than I would pay for TV if I just purchased a basic cable package.

But then, I wouldn’t have the convenience of on-demand access to most of the content that I want from a number of different services and devices. And I also wouldn’t have the pleasure of watching most of that content without ads. For now, it’s a trade-off I’m willing to make. But in the future, if I have to pay an additional $10 for every 50 GB of video I consume over a 300 GB limit, though? Then I’m not so sure it’s worth it. That’s the world we’re about to enter.

What Comcast’s moves are really about

For me, the debate over Comcast’s treatment of its streaming Xbox Live app isn’t even about net neutrality or whether it treats the traffic of online competitors any differently than it treats its own. What it really comes down to is, do you want to pay for a TV and VOD service that you can stream to your Xbox or an iPad, computer, or connected TV… Or do you want to piece together an alternative solution from a variety of different streaming services?

It’s a judgment between the current value of online video offerings versus what you can get from TV. Due to the relatively cheap nature of most online video services, that made the choice easy for people like me. You could pay $100 for an HD cable package and DVR, or you could pay a couple of different services less than $10 a month each for a lot of similar content on-demand. And you could get those streams on pretty much any device you wanted to access them on.

But things are changing rapidly. With the introduction of Comcast’s Xbox app, as well as new applications coming on devices like Samsung Connected TVs and other devices, the cable company is making its service a lot more attractive to potential customers. At the same time, the implementation of usage-based pricing changes the potential cost of online video services and makes bundled pay TV and broadband services a lot more attractive as a result.

That’s not to say that the recent moves by Comcast are going to kill the online video industry — I think that Netflix, YouTube and others are beginning to create enough value on their own through device access and new original programming to begin offering a real alternative to cable. But it could make people think twice about how they choose to access content and through what services, if it means additional broadband charges down the line.

• COMCAST

Comcast is one of the leading providers of cable, entertainment and communications products and services in the United States.

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Article source: http://techcrunch.com/2012/05/19/the-free-ride-is-over-for-streaming-video/

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The 421 million shares that were sold fetched $16 billion and represented 15 percent of the company’s stock. Facebook got $7 billion, and the early investors $9 billion. The other 85 percent of Facebook’s stock is owned by Zuckerberg and other Facebook executives, employees and early investors. In comparison, Google offered just 7.2 percent of its stock when it went public in 2004. Its stock rose 18 percent on day one.

Here was Facebook’s “timeline” Friday, trading under the symbol “FB” on the Nasdaq Stock Market:

The stock opened at 11:30 a.m. at $42.05, but soon dipped to $38.01. It briefly traded as high as $45 and by noon was at $40.40. It fluttered throughout the afternoon and hugged the $38 mark for much of the final hour, before closing at $38.23.

By the end of the day, about 570 million shares had changed hands, a huge trading volume for any company.

TD Ameritrade reported that in the first 45 minutes of trading, Facebook accounted for a record 24 percent of trades executed by its customers.

By comparison, on its first day back on the stock market, in November 2010, General Motors represented 7 percent of trades on the online brokerage.

Steve Quirk, who oversees trading strategy at TD Ameritrade, said that about 60,000 orders were lined up before Facebook opened.

Technical glitches delayed the start of Facebook’s trading by a half-hour. The Securities and Exchange Commission also is investigating problems traders encountered in changing and canceling their orders.

Other social-media companies, most of which have gone public in the last year, saw their shares plummet when it became clear what kind of reception Facebook was getting in the public market. Shares of game-maker Zynga Inc. and reviews site Yelp Inc. both hit all-time lows.

The stock market will now begin assigning a dollar value to Facebook based primarily on its financial performance.

If Facebook can continue to increase its revenue and profit at the rate it has the past few years, the stock should rise. Google reported strong earnings after it became a public company, and its stock price more than tripled the first year, from $85 to $280.

Article source: http://www.greatfallstribune.com/article/20120519/BUSINESS/205190306/Facebook-stock-debut-closes-near-flat?odyssey=nav%7Chead

Zuckerberg wed 27-year-old Priscilla Chan, his girlfriend of nearly a decade, according to a guest authorized to speak for the couple. The person spoke only on the condition of anonymity.

The couple married at his Palo Alto, Calif. home in front of fewer than 100 stunned guests who thought they would be attending a party to celebrate Chan’s graduation from medical school.

Zuckerberg gave his new bride a ring he had designed with a “very simple ruby” to end an incredibly eventful week, according to the guest.

On Monday, Zuckerberg turned 28 and Chan graduated from the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, where she’d studied pediatrics.

Then on Friday, Zuckerberg took his blue-and-white web behemoth public in one of the most anticipated stock offerings in Wall Street history.

The seemingly well-coordinated timing was largely a coincidence, the guest said. The wedding had been planned for months and the couple was waiting for Chan to finish medical school, but the date of the IPO was a “moving target” not known when the wedding was set.

Attendees, including Facebook’s chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg, were told after they arrived that they were not mere party guests but wedding guests.

“Everybody was shocked,” the guest said.

The person would not discuss the names of others who attended to protect their privacy.

Ditching his trademark hoodie and sneakers, Zuckerberg sported a dark blue suit and tie with a white shirt for the ceremony, while Chan wore a traditional white wedding dress with veil and lace.

Food was served family-style and included dishes from the couple’s favorite Palo Alto sushi restaurant.

Zuckerberg met Chan at Harvard, where he founded Facebook in a dorm room in 2004, and have been together for more than nine years.

Chan’s own Facebook page, which now lists her as married to the founder, said she is a native of Braintree, Mass., and attended high school in nearby Quincy.

She graduated Harvard in 2007 then taught science to fourth and fifth graders at the Harker School in San Jose for two years before starting medical school, according to her profile.

Her page also says she “loves cooking and soft things.”

Even after the IPO, Zuckerberg, who grew up in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., remains Facebook’s single largest shareholder, with 503.6 million shares, and he controls the company with 56% of its voting stock.

The site has grown into a worldwide network of almost a billion people and made its founder, Time magazine’s Person of the Year in 2010, one of the most famous businessmen of the Internet age.

Article source: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/story/2012-05-19/facebook-mark-zuckerberg-marries-girlfriend/55082954/1?csp=34news

Drogba sent goalkeeper Manuel Neuer the wrong way to clinch the 4-3 shootout win at Allianz Arena after Bayern’s Bastian Schweinsteiger missed the previous penalty.

“It was written, I think, a long time ago,” Drogba told Britain’s ITV of Chelsea’s turnaround since its turmoil in March. “This team is amazing. They never give up until the end.”

The shootout was needed after Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech saved Arjen Robben’s spot-kick early in extra time. That kick was awarded for a foul by Drogba, whose dramatic, perfect header in the 88th minute had earned an unlikely reprieve. After 83 minutes of Bayern domination and wasted chances, Thomas Mueller had broken dogged Chelsea resistance with a header past the outstanding Cech.

Chelsea’s first Champions League title came after losing the 2008 final in a shootout to Manchester United in Moscow.

Drogba succeeded where his captain John Terry, who was suspended for Saturday’s finale, failed in missing the fifth penalty in Moscow four years ago which would have given the club’s Russian owner Roman Abramovich the Champions League title he has most craved since buying the West London club in 2003.

The Champions League victory also sealed Chelsea’s last remaining route into next season’s competition – which is crucial to its elite status and finances – and sent fourth-place finisher Tottenham Hotspur into the less-prestigious Europa League.

Abramovich must now make a decision on the future of interim manager Roberto Di Matteo, the assistant who took over from the fired Andre Villas-Boas after a round of 16 first-leg defeat to Napoli in February, and inspired a team which then appeared sulky and fading.

Di Matteo responded by masterminding a stirring comeback against Napoli, defeat of Benfica and the epic rearguard action to eliminate Barcelona in the semifinals.

The interim declined to discuss his future after the big win. “The only thing I know is that I am capable of going on holiday,” he said. “It’s been a challenging three months. . . . whatever the club decides, I’ll respect it.”

Everything seemed stacked against Chelsea when Bayern won the toss to send the shootout to the home, south end of its stadium. Four-time champion Bayern had never lost a penalty shootout in European competition, including its 2001 title against Valencia and its semifinals defeat of Real Madrid last month.

After Bayern captain Philipp Lahm scored first, Juan Mata saw his kick saved by Neuer, who scored with Bayern’s third kick.

Cech then saved Ivica Olic’s fourth penalty for Bayern to put the otherwise excellent Schweinsteiger in the spotlight. He struck the post to Cech’s left and covered his face with his shirt.

Drogba stepped up and sealed the victory, then ran to the side and threw himself onto the ground, to be buried for minutes under a frenzied pile of blue-shirted teammates.

“He’s a hero. Without him we’re not here,” said Frank Lampard, who scored with Chelsea’s third penalty. “I’d love him to stay. What he did tonight he’s been doing all his career.”

Vaz Tê lifts West Ham. Striker Ricardo Vaz Tê scored with three minutes remaining to take West Ham back into the English Premier League after a yearlong absence with a 2-1 win over Blackpool in the promotion playoff final at London’s Wembley Stadium.

The victory guarantees West Ham more than $100 million in broadcast and other revenue.

West Ham was relegated from the Premier League at the end of last season and to get back hired former Bolton, Newcastle and Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce – known as “Big Sam” – who vowed to take the club back to what he calls the Promised Land.

The Hammers were challenging for automatic promotion for much of the season. But their form dipped late, allowing Reading and Southampton to pull away and fill the top two spots in the second-tier League Championship and put the East London club into the playoff series.

“It’s everything to me,” Allardyce said of the win. “I’ll look forward to the celebrations first before I start worrying about the Premier League.”

Carlton Cole had put West Ham ahead in the 35th minute, but Blackpool hit back two minutes after halftime with a goal from striker Thomas Ince.

Article source: http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/soccer/152181405.html