Fishing aficionados go reeling to the altar

BRETHREN, Mich. -- A couple brought together by a passion for fishing was married at -- where else? -- a river's boat ramp. William Nickel read a short poem Friday before asking Vickie Wright to join him in the Manistee River during their wedding ceremony. They were dressed in fly fishing gear, with white flowers attached to their vests. Family members observed the ceremony from a dock rather than church pews. Nickel had proposed to Wright a little over a year ago and asked her to meet him at the river for their wedding. He recalled introducing Wright to the sport of fishing -- saying she has enjoyed it ever since. "I taught her how to fly fish," Nickel said. "She has been catching a lot more fish lately." While Nickel waited for the pastor to arrive for the ceremony, he threw in a line and caught 10 small fish. He threw them back after kissing one of them for good luck at the request of his bride-to-be.

Calif. coach's rude coaching ruled kosher

ARCADIA, Calif. -- When Michael Oddenino's teenage daughter complained that her softball coach was insulting her teammates, he took the dispute off the diamond and into a court. Oddenino, a lawyer, filed a lawsuit in Superior Court claiming coach Don Riggio inflicted emotional distress on a player when he called her "a 2-year-old" and frequently called other players idiots. The suit sought $3 million for intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, negligence, a civil rights violation, and sex discrimination. But Superior Court Judge Jan Pluim dismissed the case, writing in her March 14 decision that there is nothing wrong with "a coach pushing an athlete to excel, and in so doing, using words that in another context would be considered rude, demeaning and even intimidating." The suit had alleged that Riggio "took advantage of his position of authority to engage in an abusive pattern of excessive intimidation and humiliation of the female players, frequently calling them 'idiots,' and belittling them for minor errors." Said Riggio: "I'm just glad it's over. Now we can move forward and do what we're there for, and that's to coach."

Illinois state officials in a state over Iowan flag

DAVENPORT, Iowa -- Some University of Iowa alums elected to show school pride in an odd way two weeks ago, hanging an Iowa flag atop a state building -- in Illinois. A construction crew in Springfield, Ill., apparently raised the University of Iowa's Hawkeyes emblem while working on a historic building last week, unaware that only U.S. and state flags are typically allowed to fly atop state buildings. The rules apply to state buildings that are under construction as well, so state officials in Illinois ordered the university flag taken down last weekend. "Had we known their plan we could have told them before it happened," said David Blanchette, spokesman for the Illinois Capital Development Board. Several workers for the project's general contractor, Halverson Construction Co., attended the University of Iowa and apparently wanted to show pride in their alma mater. The building in question is a train station that construction crews are converting into a visitors center for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library.

-- From wire reports