Links from the Times for July 14: Vidal Wills, triathalon, Harry Potter

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers player Vidal Mills gets probation in beating
A former Tampa Bay Buccaneers player pleaded no contest to misdemeanor battery on Monday in the beating of a man he thought killed his son.
Backstory: Former Buccaneer hunts for his son's killers
Slideshow: Outside the lines
Surveillance video where Mills confronts his suspect.

Beach Triathlon
Photos from Sunday's Morton Plant Mease Triathlon in at Sand Key Park in Clearwater.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Our reviewers weigh in on the sixth installment of the boy wizard's tale. Film critic Steve Persall hasn't read the books but thinks Dumbledore is the real star of the latest movie. Book critic Colette Bancroft weights in with a half-good review for the Half-Blood Prince.
Previous movie reviews: Sorcerer's Stone | Chamber of Secrets | Prisoner of Azkaban | Goblet of Fire | Order of the Phoenix
Find out how well you know the series with an interactive quiz.

Feel the beat: Drum Circle night on Treasure Island Beach

Tampabay.com Community Photo Gallery member Joe Leone shared some great photos from the Sunday night Drum Circle on Treasure Island Beach.

Yes, we're listening

A reader posted a comment on a tampabay.com story about the St. Petersburg Times winning 22 state journalism awards this weekend:

"I get the Sunday Times and really enjoy it. My hope is that someday they will start weekly delivery to Plant City which they do not do now. St. Pete Times bosses, are you listening?" ~ Bruce from Plant City

Yes, Bruce, we are listening. I have forwarded your message along to our director of Audience and New Business Development and will keep you posted if I have any updates.

Tampa Bay Rays fan represents the team Down Under

Tampabay.com reader Don Reed seemed to be the lone Tampa Bay Rays fan while living in Sydney, Australia with his girlfriend (now wife) Jodie. It was 2002, he says, "well before it was 'cool' to be a Rays fan," he says.

"I even played a bit of baseball in Australia (non-professionally of course) and I found myself having to explain very often to my teammates what the TB stood for as most had never heard of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Mostly on TV there, they would only see the likes of the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, etc. "

How you can help Iraqi refugee struggling in Temple Terrace

Hayder Abdulwahab's new life began the day he woke up in a Baghdad morgue, alive in a pile of bodies. Hayder, who was working as a bodyguard for a U.S. military employee, was gravely injured and lost most of his vision in a car bomb. He lives as a refugee near Tampa, caught in a new struggle for survival.  View audio slideshow.

He and his wife, Iman, have been unable to find work, and the family has relied on help from a mosque, government assistance and social service agencies.

Soon after the story appeared today on tampabay.com's homepage, a reader asked how he could help: "This is very touching, and I pray for God's protection to this family," wrote Richie from Tampa Bay. "I would like to help financially. Is there a way I can do this?"

If you would like to help, contact reporter Saundra Amrhein and she will connect you with Abdulwahab. You can call Amrhein at 813-661-2441 or e-mail her: amrhein@sptimes.com

Your photos: Best friends on Clearwater Beach

Tampabay.com reader Cindy Ealy shares some great photos from bay area beaches. She calls this sweet one Best Friends. Like the picture? Give it a thumbs up!

Links from the Times for July 11: Pope Benedict XVI, Pasadena road rage, Dunedin Country Club, North Korea

President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle and their two daughters meet Pope Benedict XVI before leaving Italy for Ghana.  View photos of Obama and the Pope.

Backstory: Biker shot in road rage | Victim expected to survive 

E-mail: Read the resignation letter of Dunedin Country Club's treasurer (PDF)

North Korea: A peek inside a sealed state (May 30)

Readers praise judge's decision to grant new trial in McDonald's beating case

A judge today granted a new trial in a wrongful death case brought by the parents of a man who died in a McDonald's parking lot brawl.

And within minutes of tampabay.com reporting the news on This Just In, readers were praising the judge's decision. 

"There is justice in this world after all, at least in this case," wrote Rick from Tampa.

Eric from Largo wrote: "Thank you. Hopefully they get it right this time."

A jury awarded Wayne and Cathy Makowski $1-million in the trial last month, finding that the franchise owner of the Land O'Lakes McDonald's and the shopping center where it sits on U.S. 41 were negligent in allowing an unsafe environment at the 24-hour drive-through. Anthony Makowski, 21, died April 24, 2005, after getting into an argument with another patron in the drive-through. The argument turned into a physical brawl and Makowski was suffocated in a choke hold.

At the time of the jury's decision, tampabay.com readers expressed outrage, posting more than 170 comments about the case.

"WOW! So what this jury said is we can all sue McDonald's for the bad choices our kids make, while at the premises," wrote Lisa from Pasco. "Ronald is everyone's dad now!"

Fowl photo: nesting cattle egret

Tampabay.com reader Kendra Daly of St. Petersburg shares a cool photo of a nesting Cattle Egret. Like the photo? Give it a thumbs up!

Links from the Times for July 10: Belleview Biltmore, Gulf beach poster, Richard Naylor, Tai-Ling Gigliotti

Photo gallery: Buying a piece of the Belleview Biltmore

Gulf cruise: Buy a poster of Gulf Boulevard beach scenes by Times photographer Melissa Lyttle

Backstory: Previous coverage of the Hyde Park hit-and-run case

Related: Richard Naylor sentenced to five years in helicopter business fraud (2006) | Clearwater man charged in road rage has more problems

Backtory: Abuse charged in case of Hernando teen locked bathroom