Wednesday was Jackie Robinson Day, his legacy celebrated  by baseball teams, players and fans across the country.

(National Baseball Hall of Fame)

The day was marked by two big stories – one on each side of the Atlantic – that are more front page than back, but are both ostensibly sports-related.

In Massachusetts, former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez was sentenced to life in prison without parole after being found guilty of first-degree murder in the 2013 killing of a former friend, Odin Lloyd. Following the verdict, the local District Attorney said:

“The fact that he was a professional athlete meant nothing in the end. He is a citizen who was held accountable by the jury for his depraved conduct.”

https://twitter.com/DanWetzel/status/588483647621222400

Across the pond, In a Guardian exclusive, Daniel Taylor has a riveting story about a new book by a survivor of the 1985 Bradford City fire, in which 56 spectators died.

 (The Guardian/Tomorrow’s Papers Today)

In news about actual sports, the NHL playoffs are under way, while in the first legs of the remaining two Champions League quarter-finals, Porto whacked Bayern Munich, going two goals up in the first ten minutes before eventually winning 3-1; Barcelona also won 3-1 in Paris against PSG, with Luis Suarez scoring twice.

Finally, the Telegraph’s Ben Bloom had something of a day:

***

* WORLD *

(Bloomberg)

A protester jumped on the desk at a press conference in Frankfurt by ECB President Mario Draghi and showered him with confetti. She later said:

“What’s very concerning to me is that Mario Draghi as ECB president is not actually serving the societies, but imposing rules on them — without ever being elected,” the 21-year-old said. “This press conference is the little, little bit of democracy that the ECB gave us. I used this opportunity to express my criticism.”

 

In other acts of individual protest that left you shaking your head wondering “how did they let that happen?” A 61-year-old Florida mailman “violated the no-fly-zone non-violently” – apparently to protest campaign finance laws – by landing a small gyrocopter on the Capitol lawn. The Tampa Bay Times has the scoop (including video), something that brought them some flak from other news orgs.

https://twitter.com/jfdulac/status/588517230515777536

***

* POLITICS * Trying to kickstart a possible Presidential campaign in New Hampshire, Chris Christie said that Hillary Clinton’s nomination was “not a foregone conclusion”, but that if she is the Democratic nominee, he could beat her.

Meanwhile, Businessweek‘s latest cover “nails it” on the Clinton campaign.

Politico has a few lists of Twitter’s most influential political journalists – left, right, center and on TV.

The Tennessee House of Representatives voted to make the Bible the state’s official book. But not all Republicans are supportive. Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris told The Tennesseean he hopes the bill doesn’t pass when it’s considered by the Senate.

“I think it’ll be a dark day for Tennessee if it does,” Norris said.

“All I know is that I hear Satan snickering. He loves this kind of mischief. You just dumb the good book down far enough to make it whatever it takes to make it a state symbol, and you’re on your way to where he wants you.”

 ***

* BRITISH ELECTION * Launching his party’s manifesto, Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg said that voters had a choice between himself, Alex Salmond and Nigel Farage over who would hold the balance of power in a likely hung parliament.

Making the case for another coalition, Mr Clegg said a vote for his party would stop the Tories or Labour governing on their own, arguing the Lib Dems would “add a heart to a Conservative government and add a brain to a Labour one”. A “few hundred votes”, he claimed, could make the difference between a “decent, tolerant and generous” government in the centre-ground and a “coalition of grievance” involving either the UKIP or SNP.

(Image: Daily Mirror)

***

* BUSINESS * Yahoo may be in talks to buy Foursquare. Or, er, not. Or should be.

One deal that is happening is Nokia’s play for Alcatel-Lucent, a move Reuters says will better enable Nokia to take on Ericsson.

As trailed yesterday, the EU accused Google of anti-competitive behavior, saying the firm’s promotion of its own shopping links amounted to an abuse of its dominance in search.

***

* MEDIA * Politico‘s expansion continues, with Capital New York set to be rebranded Politico New York. Regional launches in New Jersey and Florida are expected to follow later this year.

The New York Times‘ NYT Now app is to be relaunched for free as part of a shake-up of the NYT’s mobile portfolio.

Former Sun editor Rebekah Brooks is apparently poised for a return to News Corp in a senior role on the company’s digital side. The Independent writes that “Last June Mrs Brooks was cleared of conspiring to hack phones, making illegal payments to a public official and attempting to pervert the course of justice. After the trial she said that she felt “vindicated by the unanimous verdicts.”

Finally, for tax day, here’s an unexpected bonus for you from the much-missed genius that is Jeff MacNelly.