Cahill flies in for Moyes farewell

Emotional ... David Moyes gets a big farewell from Everton. Source: Lindsey Parnaby / AFP

He's considered by many as David Moyes' greatest signing at Everton, so it was only fitting that Tim Cahill returned to Goodison Park to help farewell his former manager.

In a sign of the Socceroos star's deep respect for Moyes, Cahill made a 5000km dash to appear at the manager's last home Premier League game before replacing Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.

Cahill had played for his MLS side New York Red Bulls in Foxborough, Massachusetts only 15 hours earlier.

The visit also presented Everton fans with another chance to officially say goodbye to club icon Cahill, who scored 68 goals in 278 appearances over eight seasons before moving to the US last year.

Cahill was given a guard of honour by the Everton team as he and outgoing skipper Phil Neville joined Moyes on the pitch after a 2-0 win over West Ham.

The Australian warmly embraced Moyes, the man who provided the biggest break of Cahill's career when he signed him from Millwall for what turned out to be a bargain price of 1.5 million pounds ($A2.3 million) in 2004.

The 50-year-old reserved his most fervent praise for the home support, who gave Moyes a fantastic reception before, during and after the game.

"I thought we played as well as we have in a long time," Moyes said.

"We scored a well-worked goal in the first half and but for a couple of great saves and a few bad misses we would have had more.

"The crowd showed today what a big club Everton is, and I think today that was their part in it all. It was an emotional time during the second half because they got right behind their football club. They got the team that second goal.

"I think the crowd today showed what Everton means to them.

"I count myself extremely lucky. I have had a really good chairman and board who will let me get on with things. That is what Everton do: they want stability."

The result confirmed Everton's top-six finish in the Premier League, while West Ham are yet to ensure a top-half place.

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce admitted that West Ham were lucky to lose by just two goals after goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen made a string of fine saves to deny Everton during a ninety minutes in which the away side failed to get a foothold.

View the original article here

Fans flock to Scranton for 'The Office' farewell party

• 

  May 3, 2013: The "Office" actors, Phyllis Smith and Ellie Kemper, sign autographs outside the Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel in Scranton, Pa.AP/THE SCRANTON TIMES-TRIBUNE

SCRANTON, Pa. –  The actors who play Pam, Jim, Dwight and other beloved characters from the popular NBC show "The Office" bade farewell on Saturday to the northeastern Pennsylvania city of Scranton that served as the TV setting for their fictional paper company.

The NBC mockumentary about a clan of quirky cubicle-dwellers at the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Co. wraps up May 16 after nine seasons, and a crowd estimated at 10,000 attended a "Wrap Party" in Scranton to show their appreciation.

Jenna Fischer, John Krasinski, Rainn Wilson and other stars rode in classic convertibles and posed for hundreds of photos as fans thronged around them. The stars later took the stage in front of the Lackawanna County Courthouse and played a concert with The Scrantones, the band that performed the show's theme song.

Fischer teared up as she rode down Linden Street, overwhelmed by the adoring crowds. Krasinski said afterward that he couldn't process it.

"To have this many people coming out of their way, driving from different places, to just see us and just say thank you is totally bizarre. You have a lot of amazing experiences when you have this gig, but there's nothing like people genuinely saying thank you," he said." I don't think we ever realized how many people we had touched."

Briquelle Hoppes, 22, of Louisville, Ky., drove 11 hours with her fiance and two friends -- skipping town on Kentucky Derby day -- to attend the Wrap Party, keeping themselves awake overnight by playing old "Office" episodes through the car speakers and shouting "Ain't no party like a Scranton party `cause a Scranton party don't stop," a classic line from the show.

She said she never misses an episode and frequently laughs so hard she cries.

"It appeals to a particular sense of humor and that's us 100 percent," she said. "It's very awkward, and I find awkward situations hilarious."

While the comedy was shot in California, it made liberal use of props from Scranton and referenced plenty of real-life landmarks, from Cooper's Seafood House and Poor Richard's pub to Lake Wallenpaupack and the Lackawanna County Coal Mine Tour.

Scranton hosted a similar blowout, the "Office Convention," in 2007.

On stage Saturday, Wilson paid fans the ultimate backhanded compliment -- befitting his character, Dwight Schrute, a paper salesman utterly lacking in social graces.

"`The Office' fans are the greatest fans in the world!" he said. "Next to Seahawks fans."

The cast was appearing later Saturday at a celebration just outside the city at PNC Field, home of the New York Yankees' Triple A affiliate.

View the original article here