Preview of 'Twisted':
Known as the Vampire of Sacramento, Richard Trenton Chase was deemed a deranged monster for slaughtering men, women and children in a bloody rampage that shook the Californian State Capital.
Airing Details: 10:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: ID Channel
Episode Details: Season 2 Episode 2
Episode Name: Vampire of Sacrameto
Thursday, January 13, 2011
A.J. McLean in Rehab
A.J. McLean from the Backstreet Boys has gone into rehab again ... TMZ has learned.
One source tells TMZ McLean has been "out of control" in the last few months because of substance abuse, and it was interfering with plans for the Backstreet Boys' upcoming tour with New Kids on the Block.
Sources say on a Backstreet Boys cruise last month ... A.J. appeared under the influence much of the time.
McLean has battled addiction for years. He was in rehab in both 2001 and 2002 for alcohol and cocaine abuse.
McLean made a cryptic reference on his Twitter account, writing on January 9, "I love u all and wish me luck! I start my sober journey tomm!"
On January 10, McLean tweeted, "See u on the other side!"
Video shot during a BSB cruise for fans last month shows McLean with what looks like a beer -- amber liquid with foam on top.
One source tells TMZ McLean has been "out of control" in the last few months because of substance abuse, and it was interfering with plans for the Backstreet Boys' upcoming tour with New Kids on the Block.
Sources say on a Backstreet Boys cruise last month ... A.J. appeared under the influence much of the time.
McLean has battled addiction for years. He was in rehab in both 2001 and 2002 for alcohol and cocaine abuse.
McLean made a cryptic reference on his Twitter account, writing on January 9, "I love u all and wish me luck! I start my sober journey tomm!"
On January 10, McLean tweeted, "See u on the other side!"
Video shot during a BSB cruise for fans last month shows McLean with what looks like a beer -- amber liquid with foam on top.
The Soup Season 7 Episode 61
Preview of 'The Soup':
Host Joel McHale takes a look at the week's hottest celeb news events and goofiest reality clips.
Airing Details: 10:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: E! Channel
Episode Details: Season 7 Episode 61
Episode Name: EPISODE: 61
Host Joel McHale takes a look at the week's hottest celeb news events and goofiest reality clips.
Airing Details: 10:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: E! Channel
Episode Details: Season 7 Episode 61
Episode Name: EPISODE: 61
Real Time With Bill Maher Season 9 Episode 1
Preview of 'Real Time With Bill Maher':
Political strategist James Carville; editor Chrystia Freeland; political strategist Mike Murphy; actor Martin Short; consumer financial protection advisor Elizabeth Warren.
Airing Details: 10:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: HBO Channel
Episode Details: Season 9 Episode 1
Episode Name: EPISODE: 1
Political strategist James Carville; editor Chrystia Freeland; political strategist Mike Murphy; actor Martin Short; consumer financial protection advisor Elizabeth Warren.
Airing Details: 10:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: HBO Channel
Episode Details: Season 9 Episode 1
Episode Name: EPISODE: 1
Dire Straits -- Classic Song Ruled Offensive in Canada
26 years after the Dire Straits classic hit "Money for Nothing" first hit the airwaves ... the song has been ruled "too offensive" to be broadcast on Canadian radio ... because of a homophobic lyric.
The issue first arose last year, after someone filed a complaint explaining that the song contained the homophobic F-word ... three different times.
The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council ruled that the word is indeed offensive -- and ordered radio stations to use an edited version of the song.
The CBSC explained that societal values have "shifted" since the song debuted ... and "the broadcast of the song in 2010 must reflect those values, rather than those of 1985."
The issue first arose last year, after someone filed a complaint explaining that the song contained the homophobic F-word ... three different times.
The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council ruled that the word is indeed offensive -- and ordered radio stations to use an edited version of the song.
The CBSC explained that societal values have "shifted" since the song debuted ... and "the broadcast of the song in 2010 must reflect those values, rather than those of 1985."
Mobsters Season 3 Episode 5 Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso
Preview of 'Mobsters':
During the 1970s, Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso rose through the ranks of the New York Mafia to become underboss of the Lucchese family, raking in millions of dollars through elaborate scams and killing anyone who got in his way.
Airing Details: 10:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: BIO Channel
Episode Details: Season 3 Episode 5
Episode Name: Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso
During the 1970s, Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso rose through the ranks of the New York Mafia to become underboss of the Lucchese family, raking in millions of dollars through elaborate scams and killing anyone who got in his way.
Airing Details: 10:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: BIO Channel
Episode Details: Season 3 Episode 5
Episode Name: Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso
MJ Pushed Dr. To Improperly Give Son Anesthesia
TMZ has learned ... Michael Jackson subjected one of his children to the same risky medical treatment that eventually killed him.
Sources tell TMZ ... Michael cajoled a Las Vegas dentist into performing a procedure on Blanket in July, 2008, that involved putting the boy under anesthesia for 2 hours in a dental office that did not have the necessary permit for anesthesia.
TMZ has obtained internal documents from the Nevada Board of Dental Examiners, which detail Michael Jackson's interactions with Dr. Mark Tadrissi. According to the documents, Tadrissi told Michael he couldn't perform the procedure on Blanket because he lacked the permit.
According to the Board's investigator, Michael didn't want to hear about permits and told the doctor, "Have an anesthesiologist do whatever type of sedation required."
Tadrissi capitulated and performed the 2 hour procedure on Blanket ... who was 6 years old at the time. An anesthesiologist had Blanket sedated the entire time.
Now here's where it gets mysterious. The Board -- which learned of Tadrissi's actions after Michael died -- initiated a disciplinary action against Tadrissi for allowing Blanket to be anesthetized in his office. The Board also went after Dr. Tadrissi for allowing Michael to receive Propofol in his office, without the proper permit.
Dr. Tadrissi struck a deal with the Board in 2010 in which he was sanctioned. In a draft of the report, the Board based the sanctions on his treatment of both Blanket and Michael. But in the final version of the report Blanket was taken completely out -- there is no mention of the boy or his treatment.
One source connected with the investigation tells TMZ ... pressure was put on the Board to omit Blanket from the report, and when the final version was issued, the discipline was based solely on Michael's treatment.
Sources tell TMZ ... Michael cajoled a Las Vegas dentist into performing a procedure on Blanket in July, 2008, that involved putting the boy under anesthesia for 2 hours in a dental office that did not have the necessary permit for anesthesia.
TMZ has obtained internal documents from the Nevada Board of Dental Examiners, which detail Michael Jackson's interactions with Dr. Mark Tadrissi. According to the documents, Tadrissi told Michael he couldn't perform the procedure on Blanket because he lacked the permit.
According to the Board's investigator, Michael didn't want to hear about permits and told the doctor, "Have an anesthesiologist do whatever type of sedation required."
Tadrissi capitulated and performed the 2 hour procedure on Blanket ... who was 6 years old at the time. An anesthesiologist had Blanket sedated the entire time.
Now here's where it gets mysterious. The Board -- which learned of Tadrissi's actions after Michael died -- initiated a disciplinary action against Tadrissi for allowing Blanket to be anesthetized in his office. The Board also went after Dr. Tadrissi for allowing Michael to receive Propofol in his office, without the proper permit.
Dr. Tadrissi struck a deal with the Board in 2010 in which he was sanctioned. In a draft of the report, the Board based the sanctions on his treatment of both Blanket and Michael. But in the final version of the report Blanket was taken completely out -- there is no mention of the boy or his treatment.
One source connected with the investigation tells TMZ ... pressure was put on the Board to omit Blanket from the report, and when the final version was issued, the discipline was based solely on Michael's treatment.
Mark Cuban Sues Unknown Football League (UFL)
Mark Cuban is suing the United Football League for allegedly stiffing him on a $5 million loan -- the first big sign the minor football organization you never knew a damn thing about ... might go belly up.
Cuban's HDNet filed the federal lawsuit this week ... claiming the UFL -- an upstart league of former and undrafted NFL players -- failed to repay the $5 mil it was loaned last April.
In the docs, HDNet says the league missed two deadlines -- in October and December -- to pay back the cash, plus interest.
A league rep said they don't comment on business matters.
The UFL started in 2009 and its games air on HDNet ... for now.
Cuban's HDNet filed the federal lawsuit this week ... claiming the UFL -- an upstart league of former and undrafted NFL players -- failed to repay the $5 mil it was loaned last April.
In the docs, HDNet says the league missed two deadlines -- in October and December -- to pay back the cash, plus interest.
A league rep said they don't comment on business matters.
The UFL started in 2009 and its games air on HDNet ... for now.
Merlin Season 3 Episode 2 The Tears of Uther Pendragon (Part 2)
Preview of 'Merlin':
After Kilgharrah comes to Merlin's rescue, Morgana and Morgause step up their plan to take control of Camelot. With Uther still under a powerful enchantment, it's up to Arthur to defend Camelot. But Cenred's men are not the only threat; an army of the dead have been raised by Morgana and Morgause. Merlin knows that the only way to stop this is to defeat Morgana, but how can he defeat her and keep his secrets at bay?
Airing Details: 10:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: SYFY Channel
Episode Details: Season 3 Episode 2
Episode Name: The Tears of Uther Pendragon (Part 2)
After Kilgharrah comes to Merlin's rescue, Morgana and Morgause step up their plan to take control of Camelot. With Uther still under a powerful enchantment, it's up to Arthur to defend Camelot. But Cenred's men are not the only threat; an army of the dead have been raised by Morgana and Morgause. Merlin knows that the only way to stop this is to defeat Morgana, but how can he defeat her and keep his secrets at bay?
Airing Details: 10:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: SYFY Channel
Episode Details: Season 3 Episode 2
Episode Name: The Tears of Uther Pendragon (Part 2)
Brett Favre's Sister -- The Mug Shot
Authorities have released the mug shot of Brett Favre's younger sister -- taken moments after she was arrested in a meth bust in Mississippi yesterday.
34-year-old Brandi Favre was busted after cops broke up a meth lab hidden in a condo in an upscale neighborhood.
Cops told WLOX, "We discovered the full lab in the bathroom; it was still cooking. I think we collected pretty close to ten grams of finished product, which, that's a lot of meth."
Brandi -- and 4 others -- have all been charged with manufacturing meth, possession of a controlled substance, transferring a controlled substance and generation of hazardous waste.
UPDATE 10:10 AM PST: Brandi appeared in a Hancock County courtroom this morning, where her bond was set at $40,000. If convicted, Brandi faces up to 30 years in prison on each count.
UPDATE 1:30 PM PST: Law enforcement sources tell us Brandi just posted bail and has been released
34-year-old Brandi Favre was busted after cops broke up a meth lab hidden in a condo in an upscale neighborhood.
Cops told WLOX, "We discovered the full lab in the bathroom; it was still cooking. I think we collected pretty close to ten grams of finished product, which, that's a lot of meth."
Brandi -- and 4 others -- have all been charged with manufacturing meth, possession of a controlled substance, transferring a controlled substance and generation of hazardous waste.
UPDATE 10:10 AM PST: Brandi appeared in a Hancock County courtroom this morning, where her bond was set at $40,000. If convicted, Brandi faces up to 30 years in prison on each count.
UPDATE 1:30 PM PST: Law enforcement sources tell us Brandi just posted bail and has been released
Gold Rush: Alaska Season 1 Episode 5 The Pain Barrier
Preview of 'Gold Rush: Alaska':
The miners continue to run dirt but an equipment malfunction brings the operation to a halt. Meanwhile, James Harness collapses and Jimmy Dorsey drives a wedge between himself and the crew when he takes on an extra job to earn cash.
Airing Details: 10:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: DISCOVERY Channel
Episode Details: Season 1 Episode 5
Episode Name: The Pain Barrier
The miners continue to run dirt but an equipment malfunction brings the operation to a halt. Meanwhile, James Harness collapses and Jimmy Dorsey drives a wedge between himself and the crew when he takes on an extra job to earn cash.
Airing Details: 10:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: DISCOVERY Channel
Episode Details: Season 1 Episode 5
Episode Name: The Pain Barrier
Ricky Romance -- Chris Brown Is a 'Humgruffin'
Singer Ricky Romance has finally issued an apology for threatening to shoot Chris Brown, but in order to understand what the hell he's talking about, you're gonna need a dictionary ... unless you know what the word "nanocephalous" means.
Ricky never apologizes directly to Brown -- instead, he uses all sorts of fancy language to attack Chris ... who famously feuded with Ricky's famous brother Raz B last month.
Among the terminological gems -- fallaciloquences, nanocephalous, macrotus and humgruffin.
Here's the "apology" in full ... good luck:
"I would like to extend my most sincere apologies to the elderly and youth of our nation for my sudden acrasial message of violence towards other individuals of unimportance."
I must eclaircise any misunderstandings that I am a Man of irrational aggression and behavior.
In no way am I attempting to justify my actions towards persons of high immaturity levels and hypocritical methods of “becoming a better person,” I was wrong.
My unexpected reaction to fallaciloquences embellished with deceitful humgruffin cover-ups and unnecessary remarks towards my younger brother enraged me.
I couldn’t seem to fathom how a immature nanocephalous adult raglan tailored ex-batman and a jean maillot wearing macrotus, labrose, kazachoc like dancing, woman beater callent could make such comments and pass judgment to an abuse victim.
At the moment I was infuriated. Please let my actions be as a lesson as what not to do. You must vastate yourself to aggression and search for other solutions before reacting.
Threatening closet coward human beings only leads their tearful plea for restraining orders, desperate cries for help from “affiliating gang bangers”, and countless whiney excuses -I.E. “she hit me first!!” to the media and courts, which could possibly result unwanted circumstances.
As for the once semi high powered homosexual perverts, molesters and child rapists of the Industry, I vaticinate justice will be brought to you on Judgment Day.
I leave this to God though. Please except my apology, obviously knowing the message can always be heard if ears are around . Thank you. “
- Ricky Romance
Ricky never apologizes directly to Brown -- instead, he uses all sorts of fancy language to attack Chris ... who famously feuded with Ricky's famous brother Raz B last month.
Among the terminological gems -- fallaciloquences, nanocephalous, macrotus and humgruffin.
Here's the "apology" in full ... good luck:
"I would like to extend my most sincere apologies to the elderly and youth of our nation for my sudden acrasial message of violence towards other individuals of unimportance."
I must eclaircise any misunderstandings that I am a Man of irrational aggression and behavior.
In no way am I attempting to justify my actions towards persons of high immaturity levels and hypocritical methods of “becoming a better person,” I was wrong.
My unexpected reaction to fallaciloquences embellished with deceitful humgruffin cover-ups and unnecessary remarks towards my younger brother enraged me.
I couldn’t seem to fathom how a immature nanocephalous adult raglan tailored ex-batman and a jean maillot wearing macrotus, labrose, kazachoc like dancing, woman beater callent could make such comments and pass judgment to an abuse victim.
At the moment I was infuriated. Please let my actions be as a lesson as what not to do. You must vastate yourself to aggression and search for other solutions before reacting.
Threatening closet coward human beings only leads their tearful plea for restraining orders, desperate cries for help from “affiliating gang bangers”, and countless whiney excuses -I.E. “she hit me first!!” to the media and courts, which could possibly result unwanted circumstances.
As for the once semi high powered homosexual perverts, molesters and child rapists of the Industry, I vaticinate justice will be brought to you on Judgment Day.
I leave this to God though. Please except my apology, obviously knowing the message can always be heard if ears are around . Thank you. “
- Ricky Romance
Four Weddings Season 3 Episode 2 ...And a Crying Bride
Preview of 'Four Weddings':
Heather is a perfectionist with plans for her big banquet hall blowout, while Aretha is relying on help from her friends for her college campus affair. Kelly is a non-traditional bride but the sentimental bride Mary still sheds a tear at her wedding
Airing Details: 10:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: TLC Channel
Episode Details: Season 3 Episode 2
Episode Name: ...And a Crying Bride
Heather is a perfectionist with plans for her big banquet hall blowout, while Aretha is relying on help from her friends for her college campus affair. Kelly is a non-traditional bride but the sentimental bride Mary still sheds a tear at her wedding
Airing Details: 10:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: TLC Channel
Episode Details: Season 3 Episode 2
Episode Name: ...And a Crying Bride
Conviction Kitchen Season 2 Episode 1 New Convictions
Preview of 'Conviction Kitchen':
After opening the first Conviction Restaurant in Toronto, renowned chef Marc Thuet, and his wife Biana Zorich are doing it all over again in Vancouver. But with just 2 weeks until opening night, they still have to train 12 ex-cons and find a venue.
Airing Details: 10:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: PLANET GREEN Channel
Episode Details: Season 2 Episode 1
Episode Name: New Convictions
After opening the first Conviction Restaurant in Toronto, renowned chef Marc Thuet, and his wife Biana Zorich are doing it all over again in Vancouver. But with just 2 weeks until opening night, they still have to train 12 ex-cons and find a venue.
Airing Details: 10:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: PLANET GREEN Channel
Episode Details: Season 2 Episode 1
Episode Name: New Convictions
Confessions: Animal Hoarding Season 1 Episode 9 158 Chickens in My House
Episode Name: 158 Chickens in My House
Preview of 'Confessions: Animal Hoarding':
A retired Army linguist has filled his house with 158 roosters and hens. A popular waitress is fired because she reeks of cat urine.
Airing Details: 10:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: ANIMAL PLANET Channel
Episode Details: Season 1 Episode 9
Preview of 'Confessions: Animal Hoarding':
A retired Army linguist has filled his house with 158 roosters and hens. A popular waitress is fired because she reeks of cat urine.
Airing Details: 10:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: ANIMAL PLANET Channel
Episode Details: Season 1 Episode 9
Say Yes To The Dress Season 6 Episode 4 Dad Knows Best
Preview of 'Say Yes To The Dress':
Kate is a Miss Delaware and she's at the salon with an entourage that includes her father, Mark, the "ultimate Pageant dad." Leah's dad, Richard, can't attend because he's a quadriplegic. Nancy has arrived in alterations with her fashionista father.
Airing Details: 9:30 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: TLC Channel
Episode Details: Season 6 Episode 4
Episode Name: Dad Knows Best
Kate is a Miss Delaware and she's at the salon with an entourage that includes her father, Mark, the "ultimate Pageant dad." Leah's dad, Richard, can't attend because he's a quadriplegic. Nancy has arrived in alterations with her fashionista father.
Airing Details: 9:30 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: TLC Channel
Episode Details: Season 6 Episode 4
Episode Name: Dad Knows Best
16th Annual 'Critics' Choice Movie Awards VH1 Special
Preview of '16th Annual 'Critics' Choice Movie Awards':
The star-studded show will be shaken up as Johnny Knoxville and gang parody movies up for Best Picture.
Airing Details: 9:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: VH1 Channel
Episode Details: VH1 Special
Episode Name:
The star-studded show will be shaken up as Johnny Knoxville and gang parody movies up for Best Picture.
Airing Details: 9:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: VH1 Channel
Episode Details: VH1 Special
Episode Name:
Vicodin Charges Against NFL Player -- Dismissed
Former San Diego Chargers safety Kevin Ellison is all ready to return to the NFL -- after officials dismissed all charges stemming from a Vicodin arrest back in May.
Ellison -- who started 9 games for the Chargers as a rookie in 2009 -- had been popped in Redondo Beach, CA for possessing 100 Vicodin pills without a prescription ... and was cut from the team in the wake of his arrest.
Kevin was later picked up by the Seattle Seahawks ... but they also let him go due to the pending charges.
However, Ellison has since completed the NFL Substance Abuse Program -- and the District Attorney's Office has agreed to throw out the case.
And with his legal issues officially behind him -- we're guessing it's only a matter of time before he turns up on a new squad.
Ellison -- who started 9 games for the Chargers as a rookie in 2009 -- had been popped in Redondo Beach, CA for possessing 100 Vicodin pills without a prescription ... and was cut from the team in the wake of his arrest.
Kevin was later picked up by the Seattle Seahawks ... but they also let him go due to the pending charges.
However, Ellison has since completed the NFL Substance Abuse Program -- and the District Attorney's Office has agreed to throw out the case.
And with his legal issues officially behind him -- we're guessing it's only a matter of time before he turns up on a new squad.
Your OWN Show: Oprah's Search for the Next TV Star Season 1 Episode 2 Let the Transformations Begin
Preview of 'Your OWN Show: Oprah's Search for the Next TV Star':
This week on Your OWN Show, Nancy and Carson inform the teams that that they will be producing makeover segments and Vera Wang is the guest mentor.
Airing Details: 9:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: OWN Channel
Episode Details: Season 1 Episode 2
Episode Name: Let the Transformations Begin
This week on Your OWN Show, Nancy and Carson inform the teams that that they will be producing makeover segments and Vera Wang is the guest mentor.
Airing Details: 9:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: OWN Channel
Episode Details: Season 1 Episode 2
Episode Name: Let the Transformations Begin
The Ricky Gervais Show Season 2 Episode 1 Clive Warren
Preview of 'The Ricky Gervais Show':
Karl describes his recent pitch to a movie studio; entries from Karl's diary including the reasons why he would not want to travel to Australia, the story of his last camping trip and a recent visit with his girlfriend's parents.
Airing Details: 9:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: HBO Channel
Episode Details: Season 2 Episode 1
Episode Name: Clive Warren
Karl describes his recent pitch to a movie studio; entries from Karl's diary including the reasons why he would not want to travel to Australia, the story of his last camping trip and a recent visit with his girlfriend's parents.
Airing Details: 9:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: HBO Channel
Episode Details: Season 2 Episode 1
Episode Name: Clive Warren
The Troubled Flight of the 'Green Hornet' to Screen
What’s the buzz on “The Green Hornet”? Enough to make Michel Gondry as mad as one. After the director of the new action-comedy about a masked crime fighter, a cool car and a high-kicking sidekick saw fans stampeding out of the movie’s Q&A panel at Comic-Con International this summer, Gondry lit into them with a vengeance not unlike that of the hero himself.
“Their values are Fascistic,” he seethed to the British newspaper The Guardian. “When you step into this genre, they feel it belongs to them. They want you to conform, or they won’t like you. They want the conventional. But it’s fine. The movie’s been doing very well, I think, whenever we’ve screened it to normal people.”
“Normal people” will have a chance to judge for themselves Friday, when this unconventional slacker-dude take on the character opens in theaters. Star and co-writer Seth Rogen, best known for his Judd Apatow comedies, becomes the latest in a line of Green Hornets stretching from 1930s radio to a fondly remembered, 1960s TV series starring Van Williams as Britt Reid, aka the Green Hornet, and a then-unknown Bruce Lee as his martial-artist sidekick, Kato. The show made future superstar Lee a household name, introduced the catchphrase “Let’s roll, Kato!” and gave us one of television’s most bravura instrumental themes — trumpeter Al Hirt’s rapid-fire rendition of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s “The Flight of the Bumblebee.”
The series was also memorable for the gadget-packed Black Beauty, a customized 1966 Chrysler Imperial that outdid James Bond’s Aston Martin. This Swiss Army knife of a car had rocket launchers that swiveled in and out of sight, night-vision headlights, an exhaust device that spread ice over roads, rear-wheel brushes to sweep away tire tracks and lots more. The new movie used 29 1964-66 Imperials for all the various shots and stunts in an effort to re-create that coolness.
And coolness is key, given the sleek and finely tailored, serious and steely-eyed Green Hornet, who, in his topcoat and fedora, was the Don Draper of crime fighters. “He was very stylish,” remembers Tim Lucas, editor-publisher of the 20-year-old genre-fiction magazine Video Watchdog and a lecturer on popular culture. “He had the Hornet’s Sting” — a science-fiction-y sound wave gun — “and that fabulous car, which, to me is even more beautiful than the Batmobile.”
The new film’s gadgets, stunts and action may well compensate for all the pre-release qualms fans have felt over doughy comic actor Rogen in the title role. Rogen, perhaps wisely in that context, is keeping a relatively low profile in terms of promoting the picture, declining to speak to Newsday, even though he is also one of the film’s executive producers. Likewise not speaking are co-screenwriter Evan Goldberg and beleaguered director Gondry — all of whom saw their movie banished from a Dec. 22 holiday slot to the Siberia of January.
“Executives at Sony have insisted the latest move was made solely in order to secure more time to convert to 3-D,” wrote analyst Ray Subers of BoxOfficeMojo.com, “but moving out of a prime December spot to January doesn’t necessarily display a bid of confidence.”
It was the sixth time the movie was moved — it was originally slated for summer 2009 — and the latest setback in a long slog to bring it to the screen. The original conception in 1993, when Universal Pictures held the rights, starred George Clooney and Jason Scott Lee, who had played Bruce Lee (no relation) in that year’s “Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story.” After Clooney left in 1995, the movie’s current director, Gondry (“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”), was hired and spent a year and a half working on a script with “RoboCop” co-writer Edward Neumeier. Mark Wahlberg was being considered for the lead. But the project languished and Gondry left.
Action star Jet Li breathed new life into the picture when he signed on as Kato in 2000. Oscar-winning screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie (“The Usual Suspects”) started writing a script. But “The Green Hornet” did not get greenlit, and Universal cut its losses in 2001.
Miramax next optioned the rights, and in 2004 the indie studio hired cult filmmaker Kevin Smith, who wanted Jake Gyllenhaal to star. But by early 2006, that project was dead.
Finally, producer Neal Moritz (“The Fast and the Furious” franchise) optioned the rights for the current Columbia Pictures flick. Rogen was aboard by July 2007, and Hong Kong action star-director Stephen Chow (“Kung Fu Hustle”) joined as co-star and director in late 2008. He bowed out as the latter over creative differences, replaced by Gondry in early 2009. Chow later abandoned the Kato role, which was taken over by heavily accented Asian singer-actor Jay Chou. Nicolas Cage came close to playing the film’s criminal kingpin, but talks broke off and Christoph Waltz signed on.
Consistent through all this has been Rogen’s vision of the Green Hornet. “He’s just, like, a rich, bored dude,” the “Pineapple Express” star said in 2007, “who has decided to become a superhero. ... He’s a billionaire and he’s a playboy, but he’s really, like, a normal guy who really has no real reason to be the Green Hornet, other than he really wants to be a superhero, which I really relate to.”
Whether “normal people” will as well, we’ll see. Let’s roll, Kato.
———
A GREEN HORNET TIMELINE
JAN. 31, 1936: “The Green Hornet” debuts on Detroit radio station WXYZ, created by station co-owner and managing partner George W. Trendle and writer Fran Striker, with input from director James Jewell.
APRIL 12, 1938: Radio show goes national, on the Mutual Broadcasting System. Continues on successor networks through Sept. 8, 1950. Future “60 Minutes” newsman Mike Wallace is one of the announcers during the show’s long run.
JAN. 9, 1940: Universal releases 13-chapter serial “The Green Hornet.” A 15-chapter sequel follows on Jan. 4, 1941. Future TV and film star Keye Luke plays Kato in both.
DECEMBER 1940: Helnit Publishing Co.‘s “Green Hornet Comics” No. 1-6 (cover dates Dec. 1940-Aug. 1941) becomes the first of several comic book series, including Harvey’s “Green Hornet Comics” (1942-47), Gold Key’s “The Green Hornet” (1967), Now Comics’ “The Green Hornet” and several spinoffs (1990-1993) and Dynamite Entertainment’s “Green Hornet” and spinoffs (2010).
SEPT. 10-DEC. 5, 1952: Radio show briefly returns.
SEPT. 9, 1966-JULY 14, 1967: ABC-TV series “The Green Hornet” airs. (Catch all 26 episodes Tuesday from 10 a.m.- 11 p.m. on Syfy.)
JAN. 14, 2011: Columbia Pictures releases “The Green Hornet.”
“Their values are Fascistic,” he seethed to the British newspaper The Guardian. “When you step into this genre, they feel it belongs to them. They want you to conform, or they won’t like you. They want the conventional. But it’s fine. The movie’s been doing very well, I think, whenever we’ve screened it to normal people.”
“Normal people” will have a chance to judge for themselves Friday, when this unconventional slacker-dude take on the character opens in theaters. Star and co-writer Seth Rogen, best known for his Judd Apatow comedies, becomes the latest in a line of Green Hornets stretching from 1930s radio to a fondly remembered, 1960s TV series starring Van Williams as Britt Reid, aka the Green Hornet, and a then-unknown Bruce Lee as his martial-artist sidekick, Kato. The show made future superstar Lee a household name, introduced the catchphrase “Let’s roll, Kato!” and gave us one of television’s most bravura instrumental themes — trumpeter Al Hirt’s rapid-fire rendition of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s “The Flight of the Bumblebee.”
The series was also memorable for the gadget-packed Black Beauty, a customized 1966 Chrysler Imperial that outdid James Bond’s Aston Martin. This Swiss Army knife of a car had rocket launchers that swiveled in and out of sight, night-vision headlights, an exhaust device that spread ice over roads, rear-wheel brushes to sweep away tire tracks and lots more. The new movie used 29 1964-66 Imperials for all the various shots and stunts in an effort to re-create that coolness.
And coolness is key, given the sleek and finely tailored, serious and steely-eyed Green Hornet, who, in his topcoat and fedora, was the Don Draper of crime fighters. “He was very stylish,” remembers Tim Lucas, editor-publisher of the 20-year-old genre-fiction magazine Video Watchdog and a lecturer on popular culture. “He had the Hornet’s Sting” — a science-fiction-y sound wave gun — “and that fabulous car, which, to me is even more beautiful than the Batmobile.”
The new film’s gadgets, stunts and action may well compensate for all the pre-release qualms fans have felt over doughy comic actor Rogen in the title role. Rogen, perhaps wisely in that context, is keeping a relatively low profile in terms of promoting the picture, declining to speak to Newsday, even though he is also one of the film’s executive producers. Likewise not speaking are co-screenwriter Evan Goldberg and beleaguered director Gondry — all of whom saw their movie banished from a Dec. 22 holiday slot to the Siberia of January.
“Executives at Sony have insisted the latest move was made solely in order to secure more time to convert to 3-D,” wrote analyst Ray Subers of BoxOfficeMojo.com, “but moving out of a prime December spot to January doesn’t necessarily display a bid of confidence.”
It was the sixth time the movie was moved — it was originally slated for summer 2009 — and the latest setback in a long slog to bring it to the screen. The original conception in 1993, when Universal Pictures held the rights, starred George Clooney and Jason Scott Lee, who had played Bruce Lee (no relation) in that year’s “Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story.” After Clooney left in 1995, the movie’s current director, Gondry (“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”), was hired and spent a year and a half working on a script with “RoboCop” co-writer Edward Neumeier. Mark Wahlberg was being considered for the lead. But the project languished and Gondry left.
Action star Jet Li breathed new life into the picture when he signed on as Kato in 2000. Oscar-winning screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie (“The Usual Suspects”) started writing a script. But “The Green Hornet” did not get greenlit, and Universal cut its losses in 2001.
Miramax next optioned the rights, and in 2004 the indie studio hired cult filmmaker Kevin Smith, who wanted Jake Gyllenhaal to star. But by early 2006, that project was dead.
Finally, producer Neal Moritz (“The Fast and the Furious” franchise) optioned the rights for the current Columbia Pictures flick. Rogen was aboard by July 2007, and Hong Kong action star-director Stephen Chow (“Kung Fu Hustle”) joined as co-star and director in late 2008. He bowed out as the latter over creative differences, replaced by Gondry in early 2009. Chow later abandoned the Kato role, which was taken over by heavily accented Asian singer-actor Jay Chou. Nicolas Cage came close to playing the film’s criminal kingpin, but talks broke off and Christoph Waltz signed on.
Consistent through all this has been Rogen’s vision of the Green Hornet. “He’s just, like, a rich, bored dude,” the “Pineapple Express” star said in 2007, “who has decided to become a superhero. ... He’s a billionaire and he’s a playboy, but he’s really, like, a normal guy who really has no real reason to be the Green Hornet, other than he really wants to be a superhero, which I really relate to.”
Whether “normal people” will as well, we’ll see. Let’s roll, Kato.
———
A GREEN HORNET TIMELINE
JAN. 31, 1936: “The Green Hornet” debuts on Detroit radio station WXYZ, created by station co-owner and managing partner George W. Trendle and writer Fran Striker, with input from director James Jewell.
APRIL 12, 1938: Radio show goes national, on the Mutual Broadcasting System. Continues on successor networks through Sept. 8, 1950. Future “60 Minutes” newsman Mike Wallace is one of the announcers during the show’s long run.
JAN. 9, 1940: Universal releases 13-chapter serial “The Green Hornet.” A 15-chapter sequel follows on Jan. 4, 1941. Future TV and film star Keye Luke plays Kato in both.
DECEMBER 1940: Helnit Publishing Co.‘s “Green Hornet Comics” No. 1-6 (cover dates Dec. 1940-Aug. 1941) becomes the first of several comic book series, including Harvey’s “Green Hornet Comics” (1942-47), Gold Key’s “The Green Hornet” (1967), Now Comics’ “The Green Hornet” and several spinoffs (1990-1993) and Dynamite Entertainment’s “Green Hornet” and spinoffs (2010).
SEPT. 10-DEC. 5, 1952: Radio show briefly returns.
SEPT. 9, 1966-JULY 14, 1967: ABC-TV series “The Green Hornet” airs. (Catch all 26 episodes Tuesday from 10 a.m.- 11 p.m. on Syfy.)
JAN. 14, 2011: Columbia Pictures releases “The Green Hornet.”
Say Yes To The Dress Season 6 Episode 3 The Group Calls It
Preview of 'Say Yes To The Dress':
Syndal is on the verge of marrying into New York Yankee royalty. Sarah and company come armed with notepads to help rate each dress she tries on. Danielle has returned to the salon with her vocal family in tow for her first dress fitting
Airing Details: 9:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: TLC Channel
Episode Details: Season 6 Episode 3
Episode Name: The Group Calls It
Syndal is on the verge of marrying into New York Yankee royalty. Sarah and company come armed with notepads to help rate each dress she tries on. Danielle has returned to the salon with her vocal family in tow for her first dress fitting
Airing Details: 9:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: TLC Channel
Episode Details: Season 6 Episode 3
Episode Name: The Group Calls It
These Days, Some Movies are Taking an Adult Attitude About Seniority
For years, the movie business has blown past older audiences.
Could the breezes finally be changing direction?
Hollywood is, of course, still persistently, obsessively interested in young audiences. Yet in certain quarters, at least, it’s a little less about the prepubescents these days. Two of the most notable action movies of 2010 were “The Expendables” and “Red” — films that not only prominently feature actors over 55 but that also turn characters’ length of tooth into central plotlines.
Some of the end-of-year crop of serious movies, meanwhile, submit that a character’s twilight years represent the most interesting phase of his or her existence. “Barney’s Version” tells of a man (Paul Giamatti) who’s lived a full but complicated life and enters old age as feisty as ever. The Robert Duvall-starring “Get Low” describes an eccentric hermit who throws his own funeral while still alive. “True Grit” examines a down-and-out bounty hunter (Jeff Bridges) who finds redemption despite a jaded temperament forged by decades of doing the same difficult work.
And in Mike Leigh’s “Another Year,” perhaps the most age-explicit film of the bunch, a graying middle-class couple (Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen) form the center of a constellation of dysfunctional friends and family.
What in the name of Betty White is happening?
Movies have explored mortality and aging for a long time, going back to the navel-gazing road trip of septuagenarian Dr. Isak Borg in Ingmar Bergman’s 1957 film “Wild Strawberries” and long before that. But a few exceptions aside (Alexander Payne’s 2002 post-retirement dramedy “About Schmidt,” perhaps), onscreen old age, particularly in North American cinema, has fallen into one of two buckets: as something to fight futilely against (as it was in Ron Howard’s 1985 science-fiction fantasy “Cocoon” or Tamara Jenkins’ 2007 drama “The Savages”) or something to suffer with quiet dignity (as it was in Peter Masterson’s 1985 “The Trip to Bountiful,” Bruce Beresford’s 1989 “Driving Miss Daisy,” which won the best picture Oscar, Sarah Polley’s 2006 tearjerker “Away From Her” and countless others).
What many of the newer films have in common, on the other hand, is a willingness not only to delve into the texture of the senior experience but to upend conventional notions of older age. “Hollywood used to treat older people as dead ends — at best they sat in a chair and provided wisdom to a younger generation,” said Bill Newcott, the entertainment editor at AARP The Magazine and founder of its Movies for Grownups awards program. “There’s a much more well-rounded vision of older people now.”
Both “Red” and “Expendables,” for instance, feature characters at a crossroads who have little doubt about which way they’ll go. Not content to accept a societally encouraged retirement, they jump back in the game (as black-ops agents and mercenaries, respectively), guns still blazing.
Leigh’s movie, meanwhile, shows that golden years can take on many hues. Tom and Gerri (Broadbent and Sheen) indulge the daffy Mary (Lesley Manville), who’s trying, unsuccessfully, to stave off a solitary old age — even as the couple themselves have created a contented existence rarely seen with characters in their 60s or 70s. “The film is about time passing and age and how we look at our lives,” Leigh said. “This is an old man’s film. Or an older man’s film, if you want to be more charitable about it.”
It’s unlikely that Hollywood is forsaking its recent preoccupation with teens and twentysomethings; indeed, many of these older-skewing movies were made outside or on the fringes of the studio system. But the movie business is, if nothing else, adept at recognizing a niche. And older audiences represent a very promising one.
With the first wave of baby boomers set to hit 65 in this new year, seniors are the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population. And the elderly are spending their newfound free time going to movie theaters, an experience many grew up with but didn’t have much time for until recently. According to the Motion Picture Assn. of America, men and women over 50 constitute 20 percent of the “frequent moviegoing” population — the same percentage as Americans ages 25-39.
Hollywood veterans also note a phenomenon at the other end of the age spectrum. Though Gen-Y-ers and millennials are more susceptible to marketing and will rush out to see a movie on opening weekend, they also are more interested, insiders say, in spending their time on noncinematic forms of entertainment.
“We believed that people 35 and over would start to make up and will continue to make up a more and more important part of the filmgoing audience for the very simple reason that that age group has grown up going to the movies, loves going to the movies and, in truth, is less distracted by the new media as opposed to younger people,” said Andrew Kosove, a veteran producer behind movies such as “The Blind Side.”
And some of the movies are the result of 1960s-bred filmmakers coming to terms with their own advancing years, as it is for Leigh, who will turn 68 next month.
But to judge the trend as a simple function of demographics is to underestimate the dramatic possibilities presented by middle and old age, say those creating it. “I wanted to explore a man who’s been around and who understands pathos and absurdity and all the foibles that he’s come to acquire through the years,” said Richard J. Lewis, the former executive producer of TV’s “CSI” who is just 48 but opted to direct “Barney’s Version.” “I wanted the audience to experience a complete emotional life, and it’s hard to do that with a young protagonist.”
In Lewis’ movie, based on Mordecai Richler’s novel, Barney Panofsky (Giamatti) sets out, via a series of flashbacks, to offer his take on his life after learning a rival has written a malicious biography about him. The movie eschews a third-person point of view and tells its story intimately from Panofsky’s perspective in a way that seeks to understand old age from the inside.
Not that movies made for older people always have to feature characters of that age, of course. The inspirational Chinese-American drama “Mao’s Last Dancer” became a hit this past fall among filmgoers over 50 by tapping into a vein of redemption and second chances. “It’s the kind of movie that if older audience members like, they’ll tell all their friends, who will then tell all of their friends,” said Michael McClellan, the head buyer for the specialty Landmark Theatres.
And sometimes, the converse has happened, as older-skewing movies and actors have become popular precisely because of younger audiences. That certainly explains the Betty White phenomenon, in which the octogenarian actress has been embraced with a kind of hipster irony. And it at least partly accounts for the success of movies such as “The Expendables,” which have performed nearly as well with younger audiences as with older ones.
Younger people now view the elderly differently from how previous generations did, experts say. One result? Movies capable of appealing to people across the age spectrum.
“The demographics and attitudes of the nation,” Newcott said, “are going to yield more movies aimed at an older demographic that also appeal to a younger audience.”
Could the breezes finally be changing direction?
Hollywood is, of course, still persistently, obsessively interested in young audiences. Yet in certain quarters, at least, it’s a little less about the prepubescents these days. Two of the most notable action movies of 2010 were “The Expendables” and “Red” — films that not only prominently feature actors over 55 but that also turn characters’ length of tooth into central plotlines.
Some of the end-of-year crop of serious movies, meanwhile, submit that a character’s twilight years represent the most interesting phase of his or her existence. “Barney’s Version” tells of a man (Paul Giamatti) who’s lived a full but complicated life and enters old age as feisty as ever. The Robert Duvall-starring “Get Low” describes an eccentric hermit who throws his own funeral while still alive. “True Grit” examines a down-and-out bounty hunter (Jeff Bridges) who finds redemption despite a jaded temperament forged by decades of doing the same difficult work.
And in Mike Leigh’s “Another Year,” perhaps the most age-explicit film of the bunch, a graying middle-class couple (Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen) form the center of a constellation of dysfunctional friends and family.
What in the name of Betty White is happening?
Movies have explored mortality and aging for a long time, going back to the navel-gazing road trip of septuagenarian Dr. Isak Borg in Ingmar Bergman’s 1957 film “Wild Strawberries” and long before that. But a few exceptions aside (Alexander Payne’s 2002 post-retirement dramedy “About Schmidt,” perhaps), onscreen old age, particularly in North American cinema, has fallen into one of two buckets: as something to fight futilely against (as it was in Ron Howard’s 1985 science-fiction fantasy “Cocoon” or Tamara Jenkins’ 2007 drama “The Savages”) or something to suffer with quiet dignity (as it was in Peter Masterson’s 1985 “The Trip to Bountiful,” Bruce Beresford’s 1989 “Driving Miss Daisy,” which won the best picture Oscar, Sarah Polley’s 2006 tearjerker “Away From Her” and countless others).
What many of the newer films have in common, on the other hand, is a willingness not only to delve into the texture of the senior experience but to upend conventional notions of older age. “Hollywood used to treat older people as dead ends — at best they sat in a chair and provided wisdom to a younger generation,” said Bill Newcott, the entertainment editor at AARP The Magazine and founder of its Movies for Grownups awards program. “There’s a much more well-rounded vision of older people now.”
Both “Red” and “Expendables,” for instance, feature characters at a crossroads who have little doubt about which way they’ll go. Not content to accept a societally encouraged retirement, they jump back in the game (as black-ops agents and mercenaries, respectively), guns still blazing.
Leigh’s movie, meanwhile, shows that golden years can take on many hues. Tom and Gerri (Broadbent and Sheen) indulge the daffy Mary (Lesley Manville), who’s trying, unsuccessfully, to stave off a solitary old age — even as the couple themselves have created a contented existence rarely seen with characters in their 60s or 70s. “The film is about time passing and age and how we look at our lives,” Leigh said. “This is an old man’s film. Or an older man’s film, if you want to be more charitable about it.”
It’s unlikely that Hollywood is forsaking its recent preoccupation with teens and twentysomethings; indeed, many of these older-skewing movies were made outside or on the fringes of the studio system. But the movie business is, if nothing else, adept at recognizing a niche. And older audiences represent a very promising one.
With the first wave of baby boomers set to hit 65 in this new year, seniors are the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population. And the elderly are spending their newfound free time going to movie theaters, an experience many grew up with but didn’t have much time for until recently. According to the Motion Picture Assn. of America, men and women over 50 constitute 20 percent of the “frequent moviegoing” population — the same percentage as Americans ages 25-39.
Hollywood veterans also note a phenomenon at the other end of the age spectrum. Though Gen-Y-ers and millennials are more susceptible to marketing and will rush out to see a movie on opening weekend, they also are more interested, insiders say, in spending their time on noncinematic forms of entertainment.
“We believed that people 35 and over would start to make up and will continue to make up a more and more important part of the filmgoing audience for the very simple reason that that age group has grown up going to the movies, loves going to the movies and, in truth, is less distracted by the new media as opposed to younger people,” said Andrew Kosove, a veteran producer behind movies such as “The Blind Side.”
And some of the movies are the result of 1960s-bred filmmakers coming to terms with their own advancing years, as it is for Leigh, who will turn 68 next month.
But to judge the trend as a simple function of demographics is to underestimate the dramatic possibilities presented by middle and old age, say those creating it. “I wanted to explore a man who’s been around and who understands pathos and absurdity and all the foibles that he’s come to acquire through the years,” said Richard J. Lewis, the former executive producer of TV’s “CSI” who is just 48 but opted to direct “Barney’s Version.” “I wanted the audience to experience a complete emotional life, and it’s hard to do that with a young protagonist.”
In Lewis’ movie, based on Mordecai Richler’s novel, Barney Panofsky (Giamatti) sets out, via a series of flashbacks, to offer his take on his life after learning a rival has written a malicious biography about him. The movie eschews a third-person point of view and tells its story intimately from Panofsky’s perspective in a way that seeks to understand old age from the inside.
Not that movies made for older people always have to feature characters of that age, of course. The inspirational Chinese-American drama “Mao’s Last Dancer” became a hit this past fall among filmgoers over 50 by tapping into a vein of redemption and second chances. “It’s the kind of movie that if older audience members like, they’ll tell all their friends, who will then tell all of their friends,” said Michael McClellan, the head buyer for the specialty Landmark Theatres.
And sometimes, the converse has happened, as older-skewing movies and actors have become popular precisely because of younger audiences. That certainly explains the Betty White phenomenon, in which the octogenarian actress has been embraced with a kind of hipster irony. And it at least partly accounts for the success of movies such as “The Expendables,” which have performed nearly as well with younger audiences as with older ones.
Younger people now view the elderly differently from how previous generations did, experts say. One result? Movies capable of appealing to people across the age spectrum.
“The demographics and attitudes of the nation,” Newcott said, “are going to yield more movies aimed at an older demographic that also appeal to a younger audience.”
Primetime: What Would You Do? Season 4 Episode 9
Preview of 'Primetime: What Would You Do?':
Cameras capture people's reactions to dilemmas.
Airing Details: 9:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: ABC Channel
Episode Details: Season 4 Episode 9
Episode Name: EPISODE: 9
Cameras capture people's reactions to dilemmas.
Airing Details: 9:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: ABC Channel
Episode Details: Season 4 Episode 9
Episode Name: EPISODE: 9
Critics choice movie awards VH1 Special
Preview of 'Critics choice movie awards':
The star-studded show will be shaken up as Johnny Knoxville and gang parody movies up for Best Picture.
Airing Details: 8:30 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: VH1 Channel
Episode Details: VH1 Special
Episode Name:
The star-studded show will be shaken up as Johnny Knoxville and gang parody movies up for Best Picture.
Airing Details: 8:30 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: VH1 Channel
Episode Details: VH1 Special
Episode Name:
Aretha Franklin Sets The Record Straight On Her Health
Aretha Franklin is speaking out regarding her recent health scare.
Access Hollywood’s Shaun Robinson — a friend of the Queen of Soul for nearly 20 years – got the scoop from Aretha, herself, as the seasoned singer revealed why she chose to address recent health rumors.
“Well, there was just so many wild things out there and just so many things being said that weren’t true,” Aretha told Shaun in a phone interview on Thursday. “I just felt I needed to address it a little.”
Aretha, 68, admits there was indeed a health scare, but she isn’t ready to divulge specifics just yet.
“I went through a number of procedures before I knew what was wrong,” Aretha told Shaun.
“I know that you revealed to Jet magazine that you initially sought treatment because of a pain in your side,” Shaun replied. “Did the pain get so severe that you said, ‘Hey, there’s got to be something wrong here?’”
“Yeah, the pain was so hard it almost brought me to my knees,” Aretha revealed. “I was in Birmingham and then Boston and after that concert the same pain hit me again.
“I really just began to not feel good and I said, ‘Oh, no this is it, I can’t do any more concerts till I know what the problem is,’” she added.
The “Freedom” chanteuse shot down rampart reports that she had been stricken with pancreatic cancer, saying, “I don’t know where ‘pancreatic cancer’ came from.
“I was sitting there reading the newspaper and it was saying someone in my family said that,” Aretha continued. “No one in my family ever said that to anybody.”
The beloved artist received an overwhelming outpouring of “Respect” from high-profile well-wishers during her recovery – including the Commander In Chief.
“I got a wonderful and beautiful letter from the President,” Aretha told Shaun. “And nobody does it like him!”
Access is thrilled to report that Aretha is expected to continuing blessing us with her phenomenal voice and fashion-forward hats for the foreseeable future.
“So, it’s safe to say to your fans that we will be seeing Aretha Franklin for many years to come, right?” Shaun asked Aretha.
“That’s what my doctor said,” Aretha replied. “He said, ‘The surgery that you just had is going to add 15 to 20 more years to your life.’”
In addition to her positive health report, the singer has won yet another battle – her struggle with weight.
“I’m down to a rockin’ [size] 16 - 18,” she excitedly told Shaun.
“Oh, I’m comin’ with it, OK?!?” she laughed. “It’s getting better every day. I plan on keeping this weight that I have now — I’m so happy with it.”
Aretha is up for a Best R&B Grammy for her duet with Ronald Isley and while she’ll likely miss that party, she promises to resume her concert tour.
“My concerts don’t start until May and then I’m going to reschedule Washington, Virginia and Kansas City,” she told Shaun. “Those are some of the places I had to cancel because of the procedure I had to have.”
Access Hollywood’s Shaun Robinson — a friend of the Queen of Soul for nearly 20 years – got the scoop from Aretha, herself, as the seasoned singer revealed why she chose to address recent health rumors.
“Well, there was just so many wild things out there and just so many things being said that weren’t true,” Aretha told Shaun in a phone interview on Thursday. “I just felt I needed to address it a little.”
Aretha, 68, admits there was indeed a health scare, but she isn’t ready to divulge specifics just yet.
“I went through a number of procedures before I knew what was wrong,” Aretha told Shaun.
“I know that you revealed to Jet magazine that you initially sought treatment because of a pain in your side,” Shaun replied. “Did the pain get so severe that you said, ‘Hey, there’s got to be something wrong here?’”
“Yeah, the pain was so hard it almost brought me to my knees,” Aretha revealed. “I was in Birmingham and then Boston and after that concert the same pain hit me again.
“I really just began to not feel good and I said, ‘Oh, no this is it, I can’t do any more concerts till I know what the problem is,’” she added.
The “Freedom” chanteuse shot down rampart reports that she had been stricken with pancreatic cancer, saying, “I don’t know where ‘pancreatic cancer’ came from.
“I was sitting there reading the newspaper and it was saying someone in my family said that,” Aretha continued. “No one in my family ever said that to anybody.”
The beloved artist received an overwhelming outpouring of “Respect” from high-profile well-wishers during her recovery – including the Commander In Chief.
“I got a wonderful and beautiful letter from the President,” Aretha told Shaun. “And nobody does it like him!”
Access is thrilled to report that Aretha is expected to continuing blessing us with her phenomenal voice and fashion-forward hats for the foreseeable future.
“So, it’s safe to say to your fans that we will be seeing Aretha Franklin for many years to come, right?” Shaun asked Aretha.
“That’s what my doctor said,” Aretha replied. “He said, ‘The surgery that you just had is going to add 15 to 20 more years to your life.’”
In addition to her positive health report, the singer has won yet another battle – her struggle with weight.
“I’m down to a rockin’ [size] 16 - 18,” she excitedly told Shaun.
“Oh, I’m comin’ with it, OK?!?” she laughed. “It’s getting better every day. I plan on keeping this weight that I have now — I’m so happy with it.”
Aretha is up for a Best R&B Grammy for her duet with Ronald Isley and while she’ll likely miss that party, she promises to resume her concert tour.
“My concerts don’t start until May and then I’m going to reschedule Washington, Virginia and Kansas City,” she told Shaun. “Those are some of the places I had to cancel because of the procedure I had to have.”
Modern Marvels Season 11 Episode 12 Packaging
Preview of 'Modern Marvels':
It's all around us--so much a part of our lives that we forget it's there. But try to survive a single day without packaging. This episode reveals the astounding technology and ingenuity required to create our packaged world. At a Michigan company that designs water bottles, we'll show you how engineers find their inspiration from a bell pepper. In New Jersey, the makers of bubble Wrap clue you in on their manufacturing secrets. In Texas, workers conquer the challenge of packaging the world's largest crane. And you'll also see how America's military goods and supplies are packaged and shipped by the United States Transportation Command. Other stories include a new easy to open package that's the cure for "wrap rage"--and how NASA engineers packed a fragile humanoid robot for a trip into orbit.
Airing Details: 9:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: HISTORY Channel
Episode Details: Season 11 Episode 12
Episode Name: Packaging
It's all around us--so much a part of our lives that we forget it's there. But try to survive a single day without packaging. This episode reveals the astounding technology and ingenuity required to create our packaged world. At a Michigan company that designs water bottles, we'll show you how engineers find their inspiration from a bell pepper. In New Jersey, the makers of bubble Wrap clue you in on their manufacturing secrets. In Texas, workers conquer the challenge of packaging the world's largest crane. And you'll also see how America's military goods and supplies are packaged and shipped by the United States Transportation Command. Other stories include a new easy to open package that's the cure for "wrap rage"--and how NASA engineers packed a fragile humanoid robot for a trip into orbit.
Airing Details: 9:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: HISTORY Channel
Episode Details: Season 11 Episode 12
Episode Name: Packaging
Law & Order Season 2 Episode 1 Broken
Preview of 'Law & Order':
The terrifying CCTV image of a toddler being led to his death haunts the team as they deal with the moral complexities of policing and putting on trial children who kill. The season premiere tests the bounds of compassion and questions whether some crimes really are unforgivable.
Airing Details: 9:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: BBCA Channel
Episode Details: Season 2 Episode 1
Episode Name: Broken
The terrifying CCTV image of a toddler being led to his death haunts the team as they deal with the moral complexities of policing and putting on trial children who kill. The season premiere tests the bounds of compassion and questions whether some crimes really are unforgivable.
Airing Details: 9:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: BBCA Channel
Episode Details: Season 2 Episode 1
Episode Name: Broken
Screenwriter Explains ‘Modern Family’ Casting Rumors
Lisa Kudrow and Conan O’Brien’s right hand man Andy Richter were not necessarily on the wish list for the “Modern Family” cast during its pilot days, according to a TV writer/producer.
Earlier this week, “Weeds” writer Stephen Falk posted a one sheet on his Tumblr acount, showing a very different breakdown of the families that make up the hit ABC comedy, including a picture of the “Friends” star in the role of Claire Dunphy, former “Coach” star Craig T. Nelson in the role of Jay Pritchett, Richter as Mitchell and the now 35-year-old Sarah Gilbert, formerly of “Roseanne,” in the 13-year-old shoes of Dunphy daughter Alex.
On Wednesday, however, the writer explained the list wasn’t a breakdown of whom the show went after, or even necessarily wanted, for those parts.
“The ‘Modern Family’ document I posted yesterday was an attachment to the widely-distributed 2008 pilot script and was simply character shorthand (for executives to quickly ‘see’ what the writers were going for) and not a ‘wishlist,’” Falk wrote. “[‘Modern Family’ producers] Steve Levitan and Chris Lloyd did not, as far as I know, wish for Sara Gilbert to get in a time machine and become 13 again.”
“I only posted the one-sheet because I thought the document held informative value and insight into a common writer practice,” he continued. “(The character sheets for the pilot I’m currently writing have photos of Matthew McConaughey and Artie Lange pasted onto them; I do not intend to try to actually cast Matthew McConaughey and Artie Lange.)”
As for that “Modern Family” sheet that was attached to the pilot, there were two faces that, in fact, did make it on air – Sofia Vergara who plays Gloria, and Ty Burrell, who plays Phil Dunphy.
Earlier this week, “Weeds” writer Stephen Falk posted a one sheet on his Tumblr acount, showing a very different breakdown of the families that make up the hit ABC comedy, including a picture of the “Friends” star in the role of Claire Dunphy, former “Coach” star Craig T. Nelson in the role of Jay Pritchett, Richter as Mitchell and the now 35-year-old Sarah Gilbert, formerly of “Roseanne,” in the 13-year-old shoes of Dunphy daughter Alex.
On Wednesday, however, the writer explained the list wasn’t a breakdown of whom the show went after, or even necessarily wanted, for those parts.
“The ‘Modern Family’ document I posted yesterday was an attachment to the widely-distributed 2008 pilot script and was simply character shorthand (for executives to quickly ‘see’ what the writers were going for) and not a ‘wishlist,’” Falk wrote. “[‘Modern Family’ producers] Steve Levitan and Chris Lloyd did not, as far as I know, wish for Sara Gilbert to get in a time machine and become 13 again.”
“I only posted the one-sheet because I thought the document held informative value and insight into a common writer practice,” he continued. “(The character sheets for the pilot I’m currently writing have photos of Matthew McConaughey and Artie Lange pasted onto them; I do not intend to try to actually cast Matthew McConaughey and Artie Lange.)”
As for that “Modern Family” sheet that was attached to the pilot, there were two faces that, in fact, did make it on air – Sofia Vergara who plays Gloria, and Ty Burrell, who plays Phil Dunphy.
How It's Made Season 9 Episode 11 Tequila, Waterbeds, Flip Flops, Silver
Preview of 'How It's Made ':
Tequila, Waterbeds, Flip Flops, Silver
Airing Details: 9:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: SCIENCE Channel
Episode Details: Season 9 Episode 11
Episode Name: Tequila, Waterbeds, Flip Flops, Silver
Tequila, Waterbeds, Flip Flops, Silver
Airing Details: 9:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: SCIENCE Channel
Episode Details: Season 9 Episode 11
Episode Name: Tequila, Waterbeds, Flip Flops, Silver
Flying Wild Alaska Season 1 Episode 1 Meet The Twetos
Preview of 'Flying Wild Alaska':
In the frigid Alaskan town of Unalakleet, the Tweto's and their family-run airline battle the arctic elements to transport supplies and passengers to some of the most inaccessible areas on the planet.
Airing Details: 9:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: DISCOVERY Channel
Episode Details: Season 1 Episode 1
Episode Name: Meet The Twetos
In the frigid Alaskan town of Unalakleet, the Tweto's and their family-run airline battle the arctic elements to transport supplies and passengers to some of the most inaccessible areas on the planet.
Airing Details: 9:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: DISCOVERY Channel
Episode Details: Season 1 Episode 1
Episode Name: Meet The Twetos
Kelsey Grammer To Marry In February?
Despite still legally being married to “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Camille Grammer, Kelsey Grammer told David Letterman he plans to marry his new fiancee, Kayte Walsh, next month.
Kelsey revealed his wedding date details after Letterman asked how the former “Frasier” star’s two children with Camille are doing now that their parents are divorcing.
“The kids seem to be doing OK,” Kelsey said during his visit to the “Late Show with David Letterman” on Thursday. “We’ve been spending quite a bit of time with them, Kayte and I. Kayte’s my new girl, and we’re planning to get married soon…”
“You’re getting married soon?” Letterman asked.
“Sometime in February,” Kelsey replied.
The actor has made no secret of his plans to push forward with his wedding to Kayte, however, earlier this week, Camille filed paperwork in court, asking a judge to slow down her divorce with the star so they could sort out financial matters more fully.
Kelsey and Camille announced they were divorcing in July 2010.
In related Kelsey news, the actor is currently starring in “La Cage Aux Folles,” on Broadway.
Kelsey revealed his wedding date details after Letterman asked how the former “Frasier” star’s two children with Camille are doing now that their parents are divorcing.
“The kids seem to be doing OK,” Kelsey said during his visit to the “Late Show with David Letterman” on Thursday. “We’ve been spending quite a bit of time with them, Kayte and I. Kayte’s my new girl, and we’re planning to get married soon…”
“You’re getting married soon?” Letterman asked.
“Sometime in February,” Kelsey replied.
The actor has made no secret of his plans to push forward with his wedding to Kayte, however, earlier this week, Camille filed paperwork in court, asking a judge to slow down her divorce with the star so they could sort out financial matters more fully.
Kelsey and Camille announced they were divorcing in July 2010.
In related Kelsey news, the actor is currently starring in “La Cage Aux Folles,” on Broadway.
Ghost Adventures Season 3 Episode 16 Goldfield, NV
Preview of 'Ghost Adventures':
Zak, Nick and Aaron head out to the dusty old ghost town that launched their careers -- Goldfield, NV. This time they have teamed up with EVP experts Mark and Debby Constantino in a quest for new mind-blowing evidence.
Airing Details: 9:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: TRAVEL Channel
Episode Details: Season 3 Episode 16
Episode Name: Goldfield, NV
Zak, Nick and Aaron head out to the dusty old ghost town that launched their careers -- Goldfield, NV. This time they have teamed up with EVP experts Mark and Debby Constantino in a quest for new mind-blowing evidence.
Airing Details: 9:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: TRAVEL Channel
Episode Details: Season 3 Episode 16
Episode Name: Goldfield, NV
A Web of Confusion Over Theatre Previews for 'Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark'
As if there weren’t enough new hot buttons being pressed by “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,” the show has pushed a more familiar controversy back to the surface.
We speak of Broadway previews, a subject that rears its head every decade or so when the concept gets stretched beyond its original intention. Or when people forget what that was.
And here it is again. Last week, Bill de Blasio, the public advocate for New York City, spoke up against Broadway’s failure to tell customers when they are buying tickets for a preview — that is, a work in progress — and not the final version.
“Theatergoers deserve to know what they are buying,” he said in a statement to Newsday. “The industry must be forthright with its consumers. Make no mistake, there is a difference between a finished product and a preview performance that could be stopped at any time to iron out new material.”
And in a letter urging action by the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs, de Blasio was specific that, although the problem is widespread, the impetus for his concern is “Spider-Man,” which he believes “may be in violation of consumer-protection laws.”
With all the opinions, gossip and catastrophic injuries flying around the high-flying, $65-million mega-musical, it is understandable if people — especially people outside New York — believe that the show has been open since Nov. 28.
In fact, that was just the first preview, a public run-through that, in saner days, was a discounted trade-off between informed theatergoers and working artists. The much-delayed show does not officially open — that is, completed for professional reviews — until Feb. 7.
But nowhere on the show’s official website is there an indication that this much-anticipated collaboration between “Lion King” director Julie Taymor and rock royalty Bono and The Edge is still very much a work in progress. If you call Ticketmaster to buy a seat ($75-$150, premium seat $289), the helpful automated voice says nothing about the show still being in previews, nor does it mention the opening date. When national newscasts interviewed enthusiastic cast members last week, not a word was mentioned about the show still being rewritten, recomposed and restaged.
The only place the word “preview” appears is in the alphabetical theater classifieds, called the ABC’s, that appear in some newspapers.
“Spider-Man” is by no means the only example of this misleading consumer practice. Like almost everything else about this bigger-than-big attraction, however, it is the most public. With the enormous 1,900-seat capacity at the Foxwoods Theatre and the clamoring for tickets, it surely is the most lucrative.
Historically, the preview issue came to a boiling point in 1991 with “Nick and Nora,” a musical that played 71 performances without telling audiences they were paying opening-night prices to watch a preview. After the reviews finally came out, the show ran just nine more times.
Some of us in the press complained of what we saw as consumer fraud, which got the attention of Mark Green, then commissioner of the city’s Department of Consumer Affairs. He informed the League of American Theaters and Producers (now the Broadway League) that all future theater ads “must clearly disclose” when a play was in previews and when it would officially open.
Green originally wanted previews indicated in all ads and at the theater box offices.
He also wanted to impose a penalty, “including but not limited to fines of up to $500 per ad as well as restitution for aggrieved consumers.” In his letter, de Blasio said, “I believe the Department of Consumer Affairs is both within its rights — and obligated — to undertake similar measures today.”
I can’t find anyone who knows anyone who was ever fined. But when producers got lax about labeling their full-price previews in 2002, Betsy Gotbaum, then public advocate, was informed and, suddenly, the word reappeared on advertisements.
But Charlotte St. Martin, executive director of the Broadway League since 2006, denies there is any “industry mandate” at all. In a statement to Newsday, she said, “Each show has always developed their own individual marketing strategies.”
Producers can thank the stratospherically high profile of “Spider-Man” for shining lots of light on the slipping adherence to now-dated consumer guidelines.
Should the Department of Consumer Affairs and the league decide to revisit the problem, they will have to acknowledge that most tickets are now bought online or by phone. The idea of someone going to the box office and reading a display ad there seems pretty quaint. A random sampling of the websites of major upcoming shows (“How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” “Catch Me If You Can”) has nothing about previews. Shows begin “performances,” with none the wiser about the omitted opening date.
Compared to “Nick and Nora” or “Legs Diamond” (72 previews in 1989) or “Merlin” (69 in 1982), “Spider-Man” (between 65 and 70 by Feb. 7) is not a record breaker.
But 65 previews in a virtually sold-out house means that more than 120,000 people will have paid extraordinary prices without being warned they’ve bought practice sessions. If the average ticket price continues to be $121, as it was New Year’s week, that’s a gross of more than $14 million before the thing even opens.
Producers will remind us that many shows are too complicated to try out on the road. Tours are too expensive for most budgets, which means that work must be done in public in New York. This is hard, obviously, especially in an Internet age in which every blogger is a critic. Except for the Web, however, producers had the same complaints in 1991.
How, one wonders, does the Metropolitan Opera stage huge new productions (including Taymor’s 2004 “The Magic Flute”) with ever-more-complicated technology with just a dress rehearsal before opening? Granted, nobody flies over the audience. But how did the massive production of “Sweeney Todd” open as a masterpiece in 1979 after just 19 previews and no out-of-town tryout?
Closer to home, Taymor revealed the full glory of “The Lion King” with just 33 previews here in 1997. There is no precedent to indicate that a musical — even one with flying — improves in proportion to the number of previews. There is, however, a precedent for making sure they are labeled as such.
We speak of Broadway previews, a subject that rears its head every decade or so when the concept gets stretched beyond its original intention. Or when people forget what that was.
And here it is again. Last week, Bill de Blasio, the public advocate for New York City, spoke up against Broadway’s failure to tell customers when they are buying tickets for a preview — that is, a work in progress — and not the final version.
“Theatergoers deserve to know what they are buying,” he said in a statement to Newsday. “The industry must be forthright with its consumers. Make no mistake, there is a difference between a finished product and a preview performance that could be stopped at any time to iron out new material.”
And in a letter urging action by the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs, de Blasio was specific that, although the problem is widespread, the impetus for his concern is “Spider-Man,” which he believes “may be in violation of consumer-protection laws.”
With all the opinions, gossip and catastrophic injuries flying around the high-flying, $65-million mega-musical, it is understandable if people — especially people outside New York — believe that the show has been open since Nov. 28.
In fact, that was just the first preview, a public run-through that, in saner days, was a discounted trade-off between informed theatergoers and working artists. The much-delayed show does not officially open — that is, completed for professional reviews — until Feb. 7.
But nowhere on the show’s official website is there an indication that this much-anticipated collaboration between “Lion King” director Julie Taymor and rock royalty Bono and The Edge is still very much a work in progress. If you call Ticketmaster to buy a seat ($75-$150, premium seat $289), the helpful automated voice says nothing about the show still being in previews, nor does it mention the opening date. When national newscasts interviewed enthusiastic cast members last week, not a word was mentioned about the show still being rewritten, recomposed and restaged.
The only place the word “preview” appears is in the alphabetical theater classifieds, called the ABC’s, that appear in some newspapers.
“Spider-Man” is by no means the only example of this misleading consumer practice. Like almost everything else about this bigger-than-big attraction, however, it is the most public. With the enormous 1,900-seat capacity at the Foxwoods Theatre and the clamoring for tickets, it surely is the most lucrative.
Historically, the preview issue came to a boiling point in 1991 with “Nick and Nora,” a musical that played 71 performances without telling audiences they were paying opening-night prices to watch a preview. After the reviews finally came out, the show ran just nine more times.
Some of us in the press complained of what we saw as consumer fraud, which got the attention of Mark Green, then commissioner of the city’s Department of Consumer Affairs. He informed the League of American Theaters and Producers (now the Broadway League) that all future theater ads “must clearly disclose” when a play was in previews and when it would officially open.
Green originally wanted previews indicated in all ads and at the theater box offices.
He also wanted to impose a penalty, “including but not limited to fines of up to $500 per ad as well as restitution for aggrieved consumers.” In his letter, de Blasio said, “I believe the Department of Consumer Affairs is both within its rights — and obligated — to undertake similar measures today.”
I can’t find anyone who knows anyone who was ever fined. But when producers got lax about labeling their full-price previews in 2002, Betsy Gotbaum, then public advocate, was informed and, suddenly, the word reappeared on advertisements.
But Charlotte St. Martin, executive director of the Broadway League since 2006, denies there is any “industry mandate” at all. In a statement to Newsday, she said, “Each show has always developed their own individual marketing strategies.”
Producers can thank the stratospherically high profile of “Spider-Man” for shining lots of light on the slipping adherence to now-dated consumer guidelines.
Should the Department of Consumer Affairs and the league decide to revisit the problem, they will have to acknowledge that most tickets are now bought online or by phone. The idea of someone going to the box office and reading a display ad there seems pretty quaint. A random sampling of the websites of major upcoming shows (“How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” “Catch Me If You Can”) has nothing about previews. Shows begin “performances,” with none the wiser about the omitted opening date.
Compared to “Nick and Nora” or “Legs Diamond” (72 previews in 1989) or “Merlin” (69 in 1982), “Spider-Man” (between 65 and 70 by Feb. 7) is not a record breaker.
But 65 previews in a virtually sold-out house means that more than 120,000 people will have paid extraordinary prices without being warned they’ve bought practice sessions. If the average ticket price continues to be $121, as it was New Year’s week, that’s a gross of more than $14 million before the thing even opens.
Producers will remind us that many shows are too complicated to try out on the road. Tours are too expensive for most budgets, which means that work must be done in public in New York. This is hard, obviously, especially in an Internet age in which every blogger is a critic. Except for the Web, however, producers had the same complaints in 1991.
How, one wonders, does the Metropolitan Opera stage huge new productions (including Taymor’s 2004 “The Magic Flute”) with ever-more-complicated technology with just a dress rehearsal before opening? Granted, nobody flies over the audience. But how did the massive production of “Sweeney Todd” open as a masterpiece in 1979 after just 19 previews and no out-of-town tryout?
Closer to home, Taymor revealed the full glory of “The Lion King” with just 33 previews here in 1997. There is no precedent to indicate that a musical — even one with flying — improves in proportion to the number of previews. There is, however, a precedent for making sure they are labeled as such.
'American Idol': Will all the new changes fill the void left by Simon Cowell?
When “American Idol” returns for its 10th season on Fox Jan. 19, it will have two fresh (and very famous) faces at the judges’ table. And it will also feature, the network promises, a renewed focus on the warbling would-be stars who are supposed to be the singing smash’s reason for existence in the first place.
Ah, but something will be missing. Oh, right — the sassy guy with the flattop and tight T-shirts.
The big suspense surrounding the new “Idol” isn’t whether Steven Tyler will be introduced as Liv Tyler’s father or Jennifer Lopez will salvage her fading career. The Aerosmith frontman and Bronx-born J-Lo were picked as new judges amid a seemingly endless carnival of speculation last summer. Instead, the real story centers on whether the show will survive the departure of Simon Cowell, the caustic lead judge who rode his merciless putdowns of auditioners to high-powered stardom.
The stakes are incredibly high for Fox. “Idol” is the No. 1 series on television and has propelled Fox to repeated victories in the crucial demographic of adults ages 18 to 49, according to the Nielsen Co. The singing contest has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for Fox and made it nearly impossible for ABC and NBC to compete in midweek during the winter and spring months.
CBS, the most-watched network, has fared much better but has nevertheless been held to a counterprogramming strategy, batting back the “Idol” threat with franchise crime series such as “Criminal Minds” and “NCIS,” which skew heavily toward older viewers. And at a time when broadcasting was supposed to be slumping off into irrelevance, “Idol” proved that 30 million viewers will still crowd around a network show, provided it’s the right network show.
At least for the record, Fox executives insist there’s little cause for concern. “Idol” — produced by Fremantle Media and 19 Entertainment — just needs a few tweaks and, in any event, a somewhat less big “Idol” is still huge.
“For any show in its 10th season to be holding up as well as ‘Idol’ is a testament to the show,” said Preston Beckman, Fox’s research and scheduling guru. “It’s been about 60 percent higher than the next highest-rated show, so worst-case scenario, it’ll still be the biggest show on television.”
“Idol” indeed has a long way to fall before it could be considered in trouble. It has been the No. 1 program for a record six straight years — longer than any show, scripted or otherwise, including “All in the Family,” “The Cosby Show” and “I Love Lucy.”
This season, the network is hoping “Idol” can push it to the top of the heap on Thursdays, a night where Fox has historically been weak. Executives made the decision to move the results show there (after following a Tuesday-Wednesday schedule in years past) after CBS pulled “Survivor” off the night.
“We could go into next season as the No. 1 network on Thursday night,” Beckman said.
But there is a sense that Fox is on the defensive, that the network must stop more air from escaping the “Idol” balloon. Last May’s finale drew 24.2 million total viewers — still an enormous figure, but “Idol’s” worst season closer since its first back in 2002. Critics griped about the perceived blandness of the contestants, including runner-up Crystal Bowersox and the self-effacing winner Lee DeWyze.
Even the show’s once formidable infrastructure seemed out of whack. Ellen DeGeneres, who was hired to replace Paula Abdul on the judge’s table, proved an awkward fit. Trying to accommodate reactions from a quartet of judges — actually the same number as on “Pop Idol,” the show’s British predecessor — threw off the pacing and often made the program run long. Cowell exited after last season to prepare his own talent contest, “The X Factor,” for a Fox run later this year.
“In the past couple years, it was like so much oxygen seemed to be consumed by everything going on the judges’ panel that the poor kids hardly had a chance to introduce themselves,” said Richard Rushfield, author of the forthcoming book “‘American Idol’: The Untold Story.”
Perhaps as a result, the last few crops of “Idol” singers haven’t broken through to mainstream success the way earlier performers did, such as Season 1’s Kelly Clarkson, Season 4’s Carrie Underwood and Season 5’s Chris Daughtry (who did not win or make the finals of the contest).
“The biggest thing that ‘Idol’ needs to do this year,” Rushfield said, “is produce a major recording star. They haven’t done that in a lot of years, and it’s sort of the premise of the show.”
Thus, what those close to the show promise will be a return to roots. Nigel Lythgoe, the producer and “So You Think You Can Dance” judge who left “Idol” in 2008 after reportedly tangling with Cowell, has come back to oversee the show.
Meanwhile, the producers are hoping to beef up “Idol’s” musical credibility with the addition of Jimmy Iovine, a leading record producer and music-label executive who will serve as a permanent mentor to the contestants.
“He’s going to fill some of that Simon void, of being the industry veteran who’s not going to pull any punches,” Fox’s Beckman said. “Even though he’s not going to be a judge, he’s going to have an impact throughout the season on the kids.”
The very fact that Fox is talking about a “Simon void” suggests how much “Idol” must prove this season. Whether Tyler, J-Lo & Co. are up to the task remains to be seen. Early promos have given little indication what type of style the new judges will bring (Randy Jackson is the only one of the original three judges to remain).
“He was the master of brutal honesty, but he really knew the business,” industry analyst Shari Anne Brill said of Cowell. “If the replacements and the new formatting of the show (don’t) get people from the beginning, it’s going to hurt.”
But a few weeks can make a huge difference in the life of a TV show. When “Idol” premiered during the summer of 2002, few viewers or media outlets paid it much attention at first. And practically no one had ever heard of Simon Cowell.
Ah, but something will be missing. Oh, right — the sassy guy with the flattop and tight T-shirts.
The big suspense surrounding the new “Idol” isn’t whether Steven Tyler will be introduced as Liv Tyler’s father or Jennifer Lopez will salvage her fading career. The Aerosmith frontman and Bronx-born J-Lo were picked as new judges amid a seemingly endless carnival of speculation last summer. Instead, the real story centers on whether the show will survive the departure of Simon Cowell, the caustic lead judge who rode his merciless putdowns of auditioners to high-powered stardom.
The stakes are incredibly high for Fox. “Idol” is the No. 1 series on television and has propelled Fox to repeated victories in the crucial demographic of adults ages 18 to 49, according to the Nielsen Co. The singing contest has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for Fox and made it nearly impossible for ABC and NBC to compete in midweek during the winter and spring months.
CBS, the most-watched network, has fared much better but has nevertheless been held to a counterprogramming strategy, batting back the “Idol” threat with franchise crime series such as “Criminal Minds” and “NCIS,” which skew heavily toward older viewers. And at a time when broadcasting was supposed to be slumping off into irrelevance, “Idol” proved that 30 million viewers will still crowd around a network show, provided it’s the right network show.
At least for the record, Fox executives insist there’s little cause for concern. “Idol” — produced by Fremantle Media and 19 Entertainment — just needs a few tweaks and, in any event, a somewhat less big “Idol” is still huge.
“For any show in its 10th season to be holding up as well as ‘Idol’ is a testament to the show,” said Preston Beckman, Fox’s research and scheduling guru. “It’s been about 60 percent higher than the next highest-rated show, so worst-case scenario, it’ll still be the biggest show on television.”
“Idol” indeed has a long way to fall before it could be considered in trouble. It has been the No. 1 program for a record six straight years — longer than any show, scripted or otherwise, including “All in the Family,” “The Cosby Show” and “I Love Lucy.”
This season, the network is hoping “Idol” can push it to the top of the heap on Thursdays, a night where Fox has historically been weak. Executives made the decision to move the results show there (after following a Tuesday-Wednesday schedule in years past) after CBS pulled “Survivor” off the night.
“We could go into next season as the No. 1 network on Thursday night,” Beckman said.
But there is a sense that Fox is on the defensive, that the network must stop more air from escaping the “Idol” balloon. Last May’s finale drew 24.2 million total viewers — still an enormous figure, but “Idol’s” worst season closer since its first back in 2002. Critics griped about the perceived blandness of the contestants, including runner-up Crystal Bowersox and the self-effacing winner Lee DeWyze.
Even the show’s once formidable infrastructure seemed out of whack. Ellen DeGeneres, who was hired to replace Paula Abdul on the judge’s table, proved an awkward fit. Trying to accommodate reactions from a quartet of judges — actually the same number as on “Pop Idol,” the show’s British predecessor — threw off the pacing and often made the program run long. Cowell exited after last season to prepare his own talent contest, “The X Factor,” for a Fox run later this year.
“In the past couple years, it was like so much oxygen seemed to be consumed by everything going on the judges’ panel that the poor kids hardly had a chance to introduce themselves,” said Richard Rushfield, author of the forthcoming book “‘American Idol’: The Untold Story.”
Perhaps as a result, the last few crops of “Idol” singers haven’t broken through to mainstream success the way earlier performers did, such as Season 1’s Kelly Clarkson, Season 4’s Carrie Underwood and Season 5’s Chris Daughtry (who did not win or make the finals of the contest).
“The biggest thing that ‘Idol’ needs to do this year,” Rushfield said, “is produce a major recording star. They haven’t done that in a lot of years, and it’s sort of the premise of the show.”
Thus, what those close to the show promise will be a return to roots. Nigel Lythgoe, the producer and “So You Think You Can Dance” judge who left “Idol” in 2008 after reportedly tangling with Cowell, has come back to oversee the show.
Meanwhile, the producers are hoping to beef up “Idol’s” musical credibility with the addition of Jimmy Iovine, a leading record producer and music-label executive who will serve as a permanent mentor to the contestants.
“He’s going to fill some of that Simon void, of being the industry veteran who’s not going to pull any punches,” Fox’s Beckman said. “Even though he’s not going to be a judge, he’s going to have an impact throughout the season on the kids.”
The very fact that Fox is talking about a “Simon void” suggests how much “Idol” must prove this season. Whether Tyler, J-Lo & Co. are up to the task remains to be seen. Early promos have given little indication what type of style the new judges will bring (Randy Jackson is the only one of the original three judges to remain).
“He was the master of brutal honesty, but he really knew the business,” industry analyst Shari Anne Brill said of Cowell. “If the replacements and the new formatting of the show (don’t) get people from the beginning, it’s going to hurt.”
But a few weeks can make a huge difference in the life of a TV show. When “Idol” premiered during the summer of 2002, few viewers or media outlets paid it much attention at first. And practically no one had ever heard of Simon Cowell.
CSI: NY Season 7 Episode 12 Holding Cell
Episode Name: Holding Cell
Preview of 'CSI: NY':
When a Spanish club promoter is found dead, Mac must battle with the head of Barcelona's crime lab to solve the case, on CSI: NY.
Airing Details: 9:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: CBS Channel
Episode Details: Season 7 Episode 12
Preview of 'CSI: NY':
When a Spanish club promoter is found dead, Mac must battle with the head of Barcelona's crime lab to solve the case, on CSI: NY.
Airing Details: 9:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: CBS Channel
Episode Details: Season 7 Episode 12
Exploitation Remains an Issue in South Korea's Entertainment Industry
She was a young actress with designs on mega-stardom. But to realize her dreams, Jang Ja-yeon was resigned to take her place in the seamy realm of the South Korean sexual casting couch.
In the end, the disgrace proved too much. In the seven-page note she wrote before her March 2009 suicide, the 27-year-old TV sitcom regular described how her manager forced her to have sex with industry VIPs such as directors, media executives and CEOs, many of whom she cited by name.
Jang’s death stunned this nation transfixed by celebrity and all its trappings. Since 1990, a half-dozen TV and film actresses have committed suicide over the stress that comes with success in South Korea. The aftermath of Jang’s suicide triggered a federal government investigation into “slave contracts,” in which young talent, mostly women, become locked into exclusive contracts by their agents requiring them to work long hours for low pay, receive unwanted plastic surgery and, in Jang’s case, turn to prostitution.
Nearly two years after her suicide, critics say, little has changed in the cutthroat “Korean Wave” of TV, film and music that each year draws thousands of young hopefuls ready to endure whatever it takes — including sexual abuse and exploitation — to make it big.
While the film and music businesses in such nations as India and the U.S. can also be shady, scholars worry over the perverse treatment of women in South Korea’s relatively small but growing entertainment industry, which is making a cultural impact throughout Asia and the West.
An April 2010 survey conducted by a human rights group here found that 60 percent of South Korean actresses polled said they had been pressured to have sex to further their careers. In interviews with 111 actresses and 240 aspiring actresses, one in five said they were “forced or requested” by their agents to provide sexual favors, nearly half said they were forced to drink with influential figures, and a third said they experienced unwanted physical contact or sexual harassment.
Though two of Jang’s former managers were each sentenced to 12 months in jail last October for extortion, nearly two dozen executives named in the actress’ suicide note — now known as the “Jang Ja-yeon paper” — were never charged.
Other cases have surfaced. A government review panel in Seoul recently ruled that many entertainment contracts illegally infringe on performer privacy and limit an individual’s ability to change agencies.
Critics say the entertainment industry scandal runs to the very roots of Korean culture, in which powerful authority figures, beginning with the military regimes overthrown a generation ago, feel unchecked in their dominance.
“Nowadays in South Korea, money really does matter,” said Lee Myoung-jin, a sociology professor at Korea University in Seoul. “To cash in on stardom and wealth, young people do whatever their agents say. There are people out there taking advantage of the situation. It’s a tragedy.”
Jang’s life story plays out like a TV soap opera, the venue of her first success. Orphaned as a child when her parents died in a car crash, she set her sights on the movie industry. After making her debut in a 2006 television commercial, Jang’s first big break came when she landed the role of a vindictive schoolgirl in the popular TV soap “Boys Over Flowers.”
But off-screen, her life was anything but rosy. In her suicide note, the actress described being at the mercy of studio bosses who forced her to have sex with clients and once to serve drinks on a high-roller golf trip to Thailand. “I was called to a bar and pressured to accept a request for a sexual relationship,” she wrote in her suicide note.
When police later raided her manager’s office, they discovered a shower and bed in a “secret room” they believe was used for Jang’s forced dalliances. After the actress asked to terminate her contract, she was allegedly threatened and beaten, according to her last note. On March 7, 2009, Jang called her sister to lament of her “overwhelming stress.” Hours later, the sister returned to the family home to find Jang’s body hanging from a stairway banister.
In a newspaper op-ed published days after Jang’s death, a former national broadcasting official cited the immense pressure on celebrities to keep in the public eye. He said those “who do not make frequent appearances are treated as losers. To avoid this, they often have to go too far.”
The governmental Fair Trade Commission met in July to investigate the “slave contract” phenomena after three members of the now-disbanded male pop-idol group called TVXQ filed a lawsuit to end a 13-year exclusive contract with their manager. The panel ruled that the management’s contract was illegal and suggested an ongoing problem in the industry.
A former English tutor for the popular South Korean pop band Wonder Girls also claimed last year that members were mistreated during a North American tour — kept in isolation and denied medical treatment. The band has denied the claims.
But Jang’s suicide hit hardest. Even 22 months after Jang’s death, bloggers still rue the death of a fragile celebrity many believed was destined to become one of South Korea’s biggest movie stars. When she took her life, Jang was awaiting the release of her first two films, which were later both well received. In the first two days after her death, nearly 1 million fans visited her website.
Activists say there are probably other actresses like Jang caught up in the secret web between power and celebrity in South Korea. But they don’t expect the situation to improve soon. Many actresses, they say, fear reprisals as well as public shame if they come forward.
Said Lee Eun-sim of South Korea’s sexual violence relief center: “Jang’s death was the tip of the iceberg.”
In the end, the disgrace proved too much. In the seven-page note she wrote before her March 2009 suicide, the 27-year-old TV sitcom regular described how her manager forced her to have sex with industry VIPs such as directors, media executives and CEOs, many of whom she cited by name.
Jang’s death stunned this nation transfixed by celebrity and all its trappings. Since 1990, a half-dozen TV and film actresses have committed suicide over the stress that comes with success in South Korea. The aftermath of Jang’s suicide triggered a federal government investigation into “slave contracts,” in which young talent, mostly women, become locked into exclusive contracts by their agents requiring them to work long hours for low pay, receive unwanted plastic surgery and, in Jang’s case, turn to prostitution.
Nearly two years after her suicide, critics say, little has changed in the cutthroat “Korean Wave” of TV, film and music that each year draws thousands of young hopefuls ready to endure whatever it takes — including sexual abuse and exploitation — to make it big.
While the film and music businesses in such nations as India and the U.S. can also be shady, scholars worry over the perverse treatment of women in South Korea’s relatively small but growing entertainment industry, which is making a cultural impact throughout Asia and the West.
An April 2010 survey conducted by a human rights group here found that 60 percent of South Korean actresses polled said they had been pressured to have sex to further their careers. In interviews with 111 actresses and 240 aspiring actresses, one in five said they were “forced or requested” by their agents to provide sexual favors, nearly half said they were forced to drink with influential figures, and a third said they experienced unwanted physical contact or sexual harassment.
Though two of Jang’s former managers were each sentenced to 12 months in jail last October for extortion, nearly two dozen executives named in the actress’ suicide note — now known as the “Jang Ja-yeon paper” — were never charged.
Other cases have surfaced. A government review panel in Seoul recently ruled that many entertainment contracts illegally infringe on performer privacy and limit an individual’s ability to change agencies.
Critics say the entertainment industry scandal runs to the very roots of Korean culture, in which powerful authority figures, beginning with the military regimes overthrown a generation ago, feel unchecked in their dominance.
“Nowadays in South Korea, money really does matter,” said Lee Myoung-jin, a sociology professor at Korea University in Seoul. “To cash in on stardom and wealth, young people do whatever their agents say. There are people out there taking advantage of the situation. It’s a tragedy.”
Jang’s life story plays out like a TV soap opera, the venue of her first success. Orphaned as a child when her parents died in a car crash, she set her sights on the movie industry. After making her debut in a 2006 television commercial, Jang’s first big break came when she landed the role of a vindictive schoolgirl in the popular TV soap “Boys Over Flowers.”
But off-screen, her life was anything but rosy. In her suicide note, the actress described being at the mercy of studio bosses who forced her to have sex with clients and once to serve drinks on a high-roller golf trip to Thailand. “I was called to a bar and pressured to accept a request for a sexual relationship,” she wrote in her suicide note.
When police later raided her manager’s office, they discovered a shower and bed in a “secret room” they believe was used for Jang’s forced dalliances. After the actress asked to terminate her contract, she was allegedly threatened and beaten, according to her last note. On March 7, 2009, Jang called her sister to lament of her “overwhelming stress.” Hours later, the sister returned to the family home to find Jang’s body hanging from a stairway banister.
In a newspaper op-ed published days after Jang’s death, a former national broadcasting official cited the immense pressure on celebrities to keep in the public eye. He said those “who do not make frequent appearances are treated as losers. To avoid this, they often have to go too far.”
The governmental Fair Trade Commission met in July to investigate the “slave contract” phenomena after three members of the now-disbanded male pop-idol group called TVXQ filed a lawsuit to end a 13-year exclusive contract with their manager. The panel ruled that the management’s contract was illegal and suggested an ongoing problem in the industry.
A former English tutor for the popular South Korean pop band Wonder Girls also claimed last year that members were mistreated during a North American tour — kept in isolation and denied medical treatment. The band has denied the claims.
But Jang’s suicide hit hardest. Even 22 months after Jang’s death, bloggers still rue the death of a fragile celebrity many believed was destined to become one of South Korea’s biggest movie stars. When she took her life, Jang was awaiting the release of her first two films, which were later both well received. In the first two days after her death, nearly 1 million fans visited her website.
Activists say there are probably other actresses like Jang caught up in the secret web between power and celebrity in South Korea. But they don’t expect the situation to improve soon. Many actresses, they say, fear reprisals as well as public shame if they come forward.
Said Lee Eun-sim of South Korea’s sexual violence relief center: “Jang’s death was the tip of the iceberg.”
Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 3 Episode 13 Monster
Preview of 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars':
Cartoon adventures with Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker battling their deadly enemies
Airing Details: 8:30 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: CARTOON Channel
Episode Details: Season 3 Episode 13
Episode Name: Monster
Cartoon adventures with Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker battling their deadly enemies
Airing Details: 8:30 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: CARTOON Channel
Episode Details: Season 3 Episode 13
Episode Name: Monster
Need to Know Season 1 Episode 36
Airing Details: 8:30 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: PBS Channel
Episode Details: Season 1 Episode 36
Episode Name: EPISODE: 36
Channel: PBS Channel
Episode Details: Season 1 Episode 36
Episode Name: EPISODE: 36
Supernanny Season 7 Episode 8 Miller Family
Preview of 'Supernanny':
Jo helps a couple establish boundaries and consequences for their six out-of-control children.
Airing Details: 8:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: ABC Channel
Episode Details: Season 7 Episode 8
Episode Name: Miller Family
Jo helps a couple establish boundaries and consequences for their six out-of-control children.
Airing Details: 8:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: ABC Channel
Episode Details: Season 7 Episode 8
Episode Name: Miller Family
Walking Alone at Liverpool-That Is What Is Wrong with Liverpool Football Club?
You’ll never walk alone? Tell that to Roy Hogdson. It may be time to change the words on the gate outside of Anfield.
What is wrong with Liverpool Football Club? The fans, the owners, the players, the attitude all can be improved. I think it is a good time for some serious reflection and evaluation at Liverpool. I see this removal of Roy Hodgson as Liverpool manager as a step backward for a club hovering just above the relegation zone.
The fans think they are the board of directors. If you believe what you hear, Roy Hogdson’s departure was due to his questioning the support of the fans. I have to agree with Roy. The fans were not behind him and the club. The fans have too much of say in the operational decisions of the club. While I respect the passion and emotion of Liverpool fans, the negative fans are part of the Liverpool problem.
“You don’t know what you’re doing!” Have you ever heard the chant directed at a struggling coach? Some people may wonder if the new American owners know what they are doing. Do you really think Kenny Daglish can do any better than Roy Hogdson this season and in the future? I don’t think so.
The new American ownership group is new on the scene ready to make a change to secure their new investment. I understand the operational risk associated with the financial changes of being relegated. Sometimes a decisive move is needed to make a course correction to make sure he team is not relegated outside the Premier League. I didn’t think Spurs firing of Juande Ramos was a good move when Spurs were bottom at Christmas a few years ago, but as I look at the result I don’t think anything could have worked out better for Spurs than replacing Ramos with Harry “Houdini” Redknapp. The new Liverpool owners may be wiser than I give them credit. I think it is only fair to give a new manager time to prove himself.
I think the new American ownership group moved the progress-o-meter back six months since any new manager is going need time to build the team’s tactics and players into his system. I liked Hogdson ideas of a football community where players lived and participated in the neighboring area of the club. If you look at what Hodgson did at Fulham with the budget and players he had versus what was done at Fulham before he got there, he is a fine manager. What do I say when I hear how Roy was in over his head for the Liverpool manager position? “Poppycock!”
Well, Rafa Benitez was not the right guy at LFC and now Roy Hogdson is not the right guy either. So, who is this special person that is good enough to take over at LFC? I don’t think there are any magic or miraculous answers for Liverpool and I don’t think Kenny will do any better than Roy would have. LFC needs to commit to a long term strategic improvement plan and business model. Managers need time to be given a chance.
The players are what is wrong with Liverpool. Dudes need to take responsibility for their poor play and start scoring goals and playing as a team. Torres form has been off, until Wednesday goal at Blackpool, and there is no other forward at Liverpool picking up the slack and scoring goals for Liverpool. The Liverpool selfish mentality should be the easiest thing for the players to change. Agger saying you must play me or trade me. If I was manager, I would trade Agger or cut him right away for putting himself before the team. Other examples of a bad attitude, Daglish and Babel complaining about the world’s best referee’s spot on decisions regarding a penalty kick for a push in the penalty area and a red card for a two footed tackle in the recent game versus Manchester United. Another problem area, Jamie Carragher’s injury has not helped the defense situation. For Liverpool to have hope in their heart this season, the focus needs to be on a positive attitude and teamwork.
Manager Daglish, I think you should look for some attacking options in the transfer window, avoid criticizing the refereeing and spend your time on your difficult managerial challenge. It won’t be easy as the club has failed recently with the last two promising coaches. Can you hear the clock is ticking? Tick Tock. Tick Tock. Kenny, are you sure your mobile connection on the boat was good when you took the Liverpool assignment and the owner didn’t ask you to be the undertaker manager, rather than the caretaker manager? Whatever was said, walking alone at Liverpool is not outside the realm of possibilities, even for Kenny Daglish.
What is wrong with Liverpool Football Club? The fans, the owners, the players, the attitude all can be improved. I think it is a good time for some serious reflection and evaluation at Liverpool. I see this removal of Roy Hodgson as Liverpool manager as a step backward for a club hovering just above the relegation zone.
The fans think they are the board of directors. If you believe what you hear, Roy Hogdson’s departure was due to his questioning the support of the fans. I have to agree with Roy. The fans were not behind him and the club. The fans have too much of say in the operational decisions of the club. While I respect the passion and emotion of Liverpool fans, the negative fans are part of the Liverpool problem.
“You don’t know what you’re doing!” Have you ever heard the chant directed at a struggling coach? Some people may wonder if the new American owners know what they are doing. Do you really think Kenny Daglish can do any better than Roy Hogdson this season and in the future? I don’t think so.
The new American ownership group is new on the scene ready to make a change to secure their new investment. I understand the operational risk associated with the financial changes of being relegated. Sometimes a decisive move is needed to make a course correction to make sure he team is not relegated outside the Premier League. I didn’t think Spurs firing of Juande Ramos was a good move when Spurs were bottom at Christmas a few years ago, but as I look at the result I don’t think anything could have worked out better for Spurs than replacing Ramos with Harry “Houdini” Redknapp. The new Liverpool owners may be wiser than I give them credit. I think it is only fair to give a new manager time to prove himself.
I think the new American ownership group moved the progress-o-meter back six months since any new manager is going need time to build the team’s tactics and players into his system. I liked Hogdson ideas of a football community where players lived and participated in the neighboring area of the club. If you look at what Hodgson did at Fulham with the budget and players he had versus what was done at Fulham before he got there, he is a fine manager. What do I say when I hear how Roy was in over his head for the Liverpool manager position? “Poppycock!”
Well, Rafa Benitez was not the right guy at LFC and now Roy Hogdson is not the right guy either. So, who is this special person that is good enough to take over at LFC? I don’t think there are any magic or miraculous answers for Liverpool and I don’t think Kenny will do any better than Roy would have. LFC needs to commit to a long term strategic improvement plan and business model. Managers need time to be given a chance.
The players are what is wrong with Liverpool. Dudes need to take responsibility for their poor play and start scoring goals and playing as a team. Torres form has been off, until Wednesday goal at Blackpool, and there is no other forward at Liverpool picking up the slack and scoring goals for Liverpool. The Liverpool selfish mentality should be the easiest thing for the players to change. Agger saying you must play me or trade me. If I was manager, I would trade Agger or cut him right away for putting himself before the team. Other examples of a bad attitude, Daglish and Babel complaining about the world’s best referee’s spot on decisions regarding a penalty kick for a push in the penalty area and a red card for a two footed tackle in the recent game versus Manchester United. Another problem area, Jamie Carragher’s injury has not helped the defense situation. For Liverpool to have hope in their heart this season, the focus needs to be on a positive attitude and teamwork.
Manager Daglish, I think you should look for some attacking options in the transfer window, avoid criticizing the refereeing and spend your time on your difficult managerial challenge. It won’t be easy as the club has failed recently with the last two promising coaches. Can you hear the clock is ticking? Tick Tock. Tick Tock. Kenny, are you sure your mobile connection on the boat was good when you took the Liverpool assignment and the owner didn’t ask you to be the undertaker manager, rather than the caretaker manager? Whatever was said, walking alone at Liverpool is not outside the realm of possibilities, even for Kenny Daglish.
The Suite Life on Deck Season 3 Episode 17 Twister: Part 1
Preview of 'The Suite Life on Deck':
London offers to take Bailey to Kettlecorn to celebrate her grandmother's 90th birthday, but when their blimp malfunctions they are forced to drive the rest of the way. Meanwhile on the ship, Cody is unsure of where or why Bailey has gone to and laments her absence, until he discovers that she went to her family farm. He decides to go there to ultimately win her affections back. Elsewhere, Zack and Woody challenge Mr. Moseby and his brother, who is visiting with his teammates, to a game of basketball, that is until they learn his brother is NBA star Dwight Howard.
Airing Details: 8:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: DISNEY Channel
Episode Details: Season 3 Episode 17
Episode Name: Twister: Part 1
London offers to take Bailey to Kettlecorn to celebrate her grandmother's 90th birthday, but when their blimp malfunctions they are forced to drive the rest of the way. Meanwhile on the ship, Cody is unsure of where or why Bailey has gone to and laments her absence, until he discovers that she went to her family farm. He decides to go there to ultimately win her affections back. Elsewhere, Zack and Woody challenge Mr. Moseby and his brother, who is visiting with his teammates, to a game of basketball, that is until they learn his brother is NBA star Dwight Howard.
Airing Details: 8:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: DISNEY Channel
Episode Details: Season 3 Episode 17
Episode Name: Twister: Part 1
Season 25: Oprah Behind the Scenes Season 1 Episode 4
Preview of 'Season 25: Oprah Behind the Scenes':
Oprah and team pack their bags and head for the great outdoors: Yosemite National Park...but will this camping trip be one the team would like to forget?
Airing Details: 8:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: OWN Channel
Episode Details: Season 1 Episode 4
Episode Name: EPISODE: 4
Oprah and team pack their bags and head for the great outdoors: Yosemite National Park...but will this camping trip be one the team would like to forget?
Airing Details: 8:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: OWN Channel
Episode Details: Season 1 Episode 4
Episode Name: EPISODE: 4
This Is The Los Angeles Galaxy: Paolo Cardozo
This is Part Four in a list of players that will be joining the Los Angeles Galaxy this season.
South America is a continent that, along with Europe, forms two traditional hotbeds of footballing talent. So many of the world's best superstars hail from Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and all the other countries that make up CONMEBOL.
And for the most part, the Major League Soccer SuperDraft attracts talent from the best colleges and universities in the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
However, it can also attract players who are outside of the mold, breaking it and setting a new precedent.
Paolo Cardozo is an example of a new precedent being set. Now more and more international players are being selected in the MLS SuperDraft in an ongoing effort to enhance the league's quality of play.
Cardozo, a Uruguayan attacking midfielder, came to America with a dream of playing in greener pastures. So he came to MLS, and for his efforts, has a chance to play with one of the more storied clubs in the league in the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Paolo Daniel Cardozo was born on June 9, 1989 in Montevideo, Uruguay. A city noted for the highest quality of life in Latin America according to a Mercer Human Resource consulting study, Montevideo is the home of the very first FIFA World Cup held at the storied Estadio Centenario.
Famous clubs from Montevideo include Nacional, Peñarol, River Plate and Defensor Sporting.
But it was in Argentina where Cardozo began plying his trade. From 1996-2008, he spent 13 years as a member of the youth teams of the more familiar River Plate side based in Buenos Aires.
His work with Los Millionarios caught the attention of Quilmes Atlético Club. In 2009, he joined the reserve team and was a runaway success as one of the team's top scorers.
In June 2010, Cardozo was signed to a full professional contract by El Cervecero in June 2010 after making one appearance for the first team on January 31 against Primera B Nacional side Boca Unidos.
However, he did not see much playing time, and so Cardozo looked to take his skills elsewhere.
After going on trial with the Columbus Crew last year, he signed with Major League Soccer with the desire to be selected in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft.
He finally got his chance. On Jan. 13, 2011, the Los Angeles Galaxy selected Paolo Cardozo as the 16th overall pick in the first round of the SuperDraft.
With Edson Buddle leaving the team for greener pastures in Germany, the desire for more offensive firepower combined with a youthful feel has taken priority in Victoria Street.
Paolo Cardozo fits that profile. Don't be surprised to see this promising Uruguayan make his presence felt almost immediately in MLS.
South America is a continent that, along with Europe, forms two traditional hotbeds of footballing talent. So many of the world's best superstars hail from Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and all the other countries that make up CONMEBOL.
And for the most part, the Major League Soccer SuperDraft attracts talent from the best colleges and universities in the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
However, it can also attract players who are outside of the mold, breaking it and setting a new precedent.
Paolo Cardozo is an example of a new precedent being set. Now more and more international players are being selected in the MLS SuperDraft in an ongoing effort to enhance the league's quality of play.
Cardozo, a Uruguayan attacking midfielder, came to America with a dream of playing in greener pastures. So he came to MLS, and for his efforts, has a chance to play with one of the more storied clubs in the league in the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Paolo Daniel Cardozo was born on June 9, 1989 in Montevideo, Uruguay. A city noted for the highest quality of life in Latin America according to a Mercer Human Resource consulting study, Montevideo is the home of the very first FIFA World Cup held at the storied Estadio Centenario.
Famous clubs from Montevideo include Nacional, Peñarol, River Plate and Defensor Sporting.
But it was in Argentina where Cardozo began plying his trade. From 1996-2008, he spent 13 years as a member of the youth teams of the more familiar River Plate side based in Buenos Aires.
His work with Los Millionarios caught the attention of Quilmes Atlético Club. In 2009, he joined the reserve team and was a runaway success as one of the team's top scorers.
In June 2010, Cardozo was signed to a full professional contract by El Cervecero in June 2010 after making one appearance for the first team on January 31 against Primera B Nacional side Boca Unidos.
However, he did not see much playing time, and so Cardozo looked to take his skills elsewhere.
After going on trial with the Columbus Crew last year, he signed with Major League Soccer with the desire to be selected in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft.
He finally got his chance. On Jan. 13, 2011, the Los Angeles Galaxy selected Paolo Cardozo as the 16th overall pick in the first round of the SuperDraft.
With Edson Buddle leaving the team for greener pastures in Germany, the desire for more offensive firepower combined with a youthful feel has taken priority in Victoria Street.
Paolo Cardozo fits that profile. Don't be surprised to see this promising Uruguayan make his presence felt almost immediately in MLS.
Medium Season 7 Episode 12 Labor Pains
Preview of 'Medium':
A man desperately seeks Allison's help to determine the true nature of his wife's disappearance. Meanwhile, Joe and Allison become concerned when Marie breaks down during a spelling test on the next episode of Medium
Airing Details: 8:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: CBS Channel
Episode Details: Season 7 Episode 12
Episode Name: Labor Pains
A man desperately seeks Allison's help to determine the true nature of his wife's disappearance. Meanwhile, Joe and Allison become concerned when Marie breaks down during a spelling test on the next episode of Medium
Airing Details: 8:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: CBS Channel
Episode Details: Season 7 Episode 12
Episode Name: Labor Pains
Evgeni Malkin Finally Being Utilized Properly with Penguins Under Dan Bylsma
So here I was last week watching Wednesday night’s matchup between Pittsburgh and Tampa, a blowout that began with Evgeni Malkin scoring a neck-snapping goal seven seconds into the game.
In the third period three Penguins players happened to be in the penalty box simultaneously, and for a second I thought former head coach Michel Therrien was behind the bench at the time.
Why? Because Evgeni Malkin was penalty killing.
Now some may write this instance off as a necessity, having to use a star player more noted for his offensive prowess rather than any grinder the Penguins seem to have a plethora of.
It seems to me that many have forgotten or perhaps never even knew that Malkin was considered among the elite of the elite two-way forwards in the game.
Let us rewind back to before Geno was in the NHL.
Many scouts were of the opinion that Malkin could easily be ranked as the No. 2 two-way forward in Russia, not simply among players playing in Russia at the time but among all Russian players worldwide. I recall reading one scouting report assessment (years ago, mind you) that made a convincing argument that Malkin was second to Pavel Datsyuk from a two-way standpoint with Geno having far more offensive upside.
I would even go so far to say that the comparisons that could be made between Evgeni Malkin and Mario Lemieux are vast and under-noted. I will take that a step further and say that Malkin is a 70-30 hybrid of Lemieux and Jari Kurri. In contemporary terms he would be most comparable to Datsyuk as a center and Marian Hossa as a winger.
During last Thursday night’s game in Montreal, one in which Sidney Crosby had to sit out due to injury, head coach Dan Bylsma decided to dress seven defensemen and double-shift Malkin. Typically Malkin would start out with Craig Adams and Mike Rupp; later Jordan Staal and Tyler Kennedy would replace those two while Geno was still buzzing around the ice. Shades of 2008 under Michel Therrien if you ask me!
Now I know this occurred because Captain Crosby was out, and it is unlikely to happen on a regular basis upon his return, but hear me out for a second...
Looking back over his career, there have been two reasons why Geno has truly shined on a consistent basis. The first would be when Crosby was out of the lineup; the other included times when Malkin was given more responsibility and time on ice (often one instance would coincide with the other).
I remember when Crosby and Marc-Andre Fleury were both out with high ankle sprains in early 2008; Malkin and Ty Conklin stepped in and stepped up their respective games to a level that we had never seen from either during the regular season.
I believe much of that was caused by the system Michel Therrien implemented; mind you, though, that while I think Coach Therrien got the most out of Geno, I also believe he gave him too much of a workload. Therrien would play Malkin in ALL situations, and while he could and did get everything out of Geno, it seems that Geno was worn out by the time the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals rolled around.
What is the best way to get Geno to perform?
Fast-forward to a year after that. Evgeni Malkin has the Art Ross Trophy in his back pocket and would be rewarded with the Conn Smythe Trophy after putting up points in the playoffs like no one had since the aforementioned Mario Lemieux. I think the incredible turnaround came because of new head coach Dan Bylsma, who relaxed Malkin and found the balance he needed so that his responsibilities were better-rounded.
Since then, however, it seems that Bylsma had changed the previous formula that won the Penguins a Stanley Cup up until having tweaked it over the last few months. I don’t want to go into the 2009-2010 season because we all know that Geno was playing with nagging injuries all season long. Suffice it to say that this was a trial period for Bylsma to relearn how to properly use him after the 2009 Cup run.
Evgeni Malkin got off to a slow start in this current season and sustained a knee injury within the past two months. We are just starting to get a hint of that juggernaut that has been slumbering since summer 2009.
The biggest thing is finding chemistry with certain linemates and keeping them together as any game situation calls for. Malkin as a center plays best with Arron Asham, Max Talbot and Chris Kunitz. As a winger you have to put Geno with Staal or Crosby; maybe an up-and-coming skill center like Mark Letestu could fit the bill as well.
Here is my key to keeping Malkin at his current standard of play: Keep giving Malkin more responsibility outside of playing offense—a Geno that plays more seems to be a Geno that plays better all around. The thing is to find that perfect balance so that he is not overworked.
I would recommend double shifting him more often like was done in the game last week against the Habs, even when Crosby is in the lineup. Also get him some penalty killing time when feasible—by that I mean when we have a decent lead or when there is a parade to the penalty box.
I truly believe that Geno wants to show off his seemingly endless skill set in all situations. He is a backchecking terror who can generate takeaways like the Hamburglar.
If I may quote one of my favorite samurai, Date Masamune, "Rectitude carried to excess hardens into stiffness; benevolence indulged beyond measure sinks into weakness." I assess that the first line could relate to Geno under Therrien and the second relates to Geno under Bylsma. Give Malkin too much and you burn him out; give him too little and he becomes complacent.
For what it's worth, I am of the opinion that Dan Bylsma is doing what is best for Evgeni at this time. I, for one, like what I’ve been seeing since his return from the knee injury, and I have faith that we’ll see a return to true excellence from Evgeni Malkin on a regular basis, like we had prior to the 2009-2010 season.
In the third period three Penguins players happened to be in the penalty box simultaneously, and for a second I thought former head coach Michel Therrien was behind the bench at the time.
Why? Because Evgeni Malkin was penalty killing.
Now some may write this instance off as a necessity, having to use a star player more noted for his offensive prowess rather than any grinder the Penguins seem to have a plethora of.
It seems to me that many have forgotten or perhaps never even knew that Malkin was considered among the elite of the elite two-way forwards in the game.
Let us rewind back to before Geno was in the NHL.
Many scouts were of the opinion that Malkin could easily be ranked as the No. 2 two-way forward in Russia, not simply among players playing in Russia at the time but among all Russian players worldwide. I recall reading one scouting report assessment (years ago, mind you) that made a convincing argument that Malkin was second to Pavel Datsyuk from a two-way standpoint with Geno having far more offensive upside.
I would even go so far to say that the comparisons that could be made between Evgeni Malkin and Mario Lemieux are vast and under-noted. I will take that a step further and say that Malkin is a 70-30 hybrid of Lemieux and Jari Kurri. In contemporary terms he would be most comparable to Datsyuk as a center and Marian Hossa as a winger.
During last Thursday night’s game in Montreal, one in which Sidney Crosby had to sit out due to injury, head coach Dan Bylsma decided to dress seven defensemen and double-shift Malkin. Typically Malkin would start out with Craig Adams and Mike Rupp; later Jordan Staal and Tyler Kennedy would replace those two while Geno was still buzzing around the ice. Shades of 2008 under Michel Therrien if you ask me!
Now I know this occurred because Captain Crosby was out, and it is unlikely to happen on a regular basis upon his return, but hear me out for a second...
Looking back over his career, there have been two reasons why Geno has truly shined on a consistent basis. The first would be when Crosby was out of the lineup; the other included times when Malkin was given more responsibility and time on ice (often one instance would coincide with the other).
I remember when Crosby and Marc-Andre Fleury were both out with high ankle sprains in early 2008; Malkin and Ty Conklin stepped in and stepped up their respective games to a level that we had never seen from either during the regular season.
I believe much of that was caused by the system Michel Therrien implemented; mind you, though, that while I think Coach Therrien got the most out of Geno, I also believe he gave him too much of a workload. Therrien would play Malkin in ALL situations, and while he could and did get everything out of Geno, it seems that Geno was worn out by the time the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals rolled around.
What is the best way to get Geno to perform?
Fast-forward to a year after that. Evgeni Malkin has the Art Ross Trophy in his back pocket and would be rewarded with the Conn Smythe Trophy after putting up points in the playoffs like no one had since the aforementioned Mario Lemieux. I think the incredible turnaround came because of new head coach Dan Bylsma, who relaxed Malkin and found the balance he needed so that his responsibilities were better-rounded.
Since then, however, it seems that Bylsma had changed the previous formula that won the Penguins a Stanley Cup up until having tweaked it over the last few months. I don’t want to go into the 2009-2010 season because we all know that Geno was playing with nagging injuries all season long. Suffice it to say that this was a trial period for Bylsma to relearn how to properly use him after the 2009 Cup run.
Evgeni Malkin got off to a slow start in this current season and sustained a knee injury within the past two months. We are just starting to get a hint of that juggernaut that has been slumbering since summer 2009.
The biggest thing is finding chemistry with certain linemates and keeping them together as any game situation calls for. Malkin as a center plays best with Arron Asham, Max Talbot and Chris Kunitz. As a winger you have to put Geno with Staal or Crosby; maybe an up-and-coming skill center like Mark Letestu could fit the bill as well.
Here is my key to keeping Malkin at his current standard of play: Keep giving Malkin more responsibility outside of playing offense—a Geno that plays more seems to be a Geno that plays better all around. The thing is to find that perfect balance so that he is not overworked.
I would recommend double shifting him more often like was done in the game last week against the Habs, even when Crosby is in the lineup. Also get him some penalty killing time when feasible—by that I mean when we have a decent lead or when there is a parade to the penalty box.
I truly believe that Geno wants to show off his seemingly endless skill set in all situations. He is a backchecking terror who can generate takeaways like the Hamburglar.
If I may quote one of my favorite samurai, Date Masamune, "Rectitude carried to excess hardens into stiffness; benevolence indulged beyond measure sinks into weakness." I assess that the first line could relate to Geno under Therrien and the second relates to Geno under Bylsma. Give Malkin too much and you burn him out; give him too little and he becomes complacent.
For what it's worth, I am of the opinion that Dan Bylsma is doing what is best for Evgeni at this time. I, for one, like what I’ve been seeing since his return from the knee injury, and I have faith that we’ll see a return to true excellence from Evgeni Malkin on a regular basis, like we had prior to the 2009-2010 season.
Human Target Season 2 Episode 10 Imbroglio/Cool Hand Guerrero
Preview of 'Human Target':
Chance and Ilsa must protect her sister-in-law when a night at the opera turns into a hostage situation. Guerrero gets a taste of southern hospitality when he's framed for the murder of a friend, forcing Chance to help break him out of prison.
Airing Details: 8:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: FOX Channel
Episode Details: Season 2 Episode 10
Episode Name: Imbroglio/Cool Hand Guerrero
Chance and Ilsa must protect her sister-in-law when a night at the opera turns into a hostage situation. Guerrero gets a taste of southern hospitality when he's framed for the murder of a friend, forcing Chance to help break him out of prison.
Airing Details: 8:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: FOX Channel
Episode Details: Season 2 Episode 10
Episode Name: Imbroglio/Cool Hand Guerrero
Main Street Mysteries Season 2 Episode 12 Ring of Truth
Preview of 'Main Street Mysteries':
A high school class ring found on a badly beaten body in Caddo Parish, Louisiana points to a young woman's identity. Police delve into the savage murder and soon realize the victim is not who they thought. Then another woman's body is discovered hundreds
Airing Details: 8:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: ID Channel
Episode Details: Season 2 Episode 12
Episode Name: Ring of Truth
A high school class ring found on a badly beaten body in Caddo Parish, Louisiana points to a young woman's identity. Police delve into the savage murder and soon realize the victim is not who they thought. Then another woman's body is discovered hundreds
Airing Details: 8:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: ID Channel
Episode Details: Season 2 Episode 12
Episode Name: Ring of Truth
Philadelphia Flyers: Why Chris Pronger Doesn't Need To Rush Back From His Injury
The Philadelphia Flyers are about ready to take fans on another run. Could this journey end the same way or differently? That's a question that's in everyone's minds at the moment, with only the Flyers capable of answering it over the next several months.
They've overcome their injuries but the core has been generally healthy. The latest injury to defensive rock Chris Pronger has really tested the team's will. To their own credit, they've answered the call admirably.
In Pronger's absence, the defense has stepped up even more. Kimmo Timonen has assumed the role of defensive rock as the Flyers remain atop the Eastern Conference. In addition, Andrej Meszaros is having his best season yet with a +27 on the ice. Even Oskars Bartulis, who was bullied in last year's playoffs, has been solid over the past four weeks.
While the Flyers are getting less offensive production out of defensemen, they're making up for it with sound defensive play. The Flyers' defensemen have scored just eight goals as a unit this season. A lot of this is contributed to a different style in play; their forwards are crashing the net and doing more crafty things closer to the net to score goals.
That being said, the Flyers are in a favorable position. If Pronger isn't ready to go just yet, why not give him the time he needs to recover? There's no need to rush him back and risk another injury. The Flyers would benefit from giving Pronger ample time to get back into shape and be ready for the stretch run.
Not to look too far ahead, but the Flyers are likely to make the playoffs this season. Also, they may finish with their best regular season in years. They have enough depth around their lineup and can afford to let Pronger get back to full health.
Last year wasn't a fluke by any means, as that team was built to succeed in the playoffs despite regular season inconsistency. This year's team is even better and could make you forget about the 2009-10 edition. Then again, no one will ever forget that amazing run to the Stanley Cup Finals.
For the first time in a while, the Flyers have enough depth to go around. They have four scoring lines, perhaps the most solid defensive core in team history, and probably the best in the league.
Their goalie situation will work itself out but, as of now, both Sergei Bobrovsky and Brian Boucher are raring to play. "Bob" escaped trouble the other night in Buffalo and turned in a solid final two periods. Boucher is the best in the NHL as a backup right now. He's recently overtaken the starter role though and has excelled.
What else will they need to succeed down the stretch and into the playoffs? A healthy and vicious Chris Pronger.
They've overcome their injuries but the core has been generally healthy. The latest injury to defensive rock Chris Pronger has really tested the team's will. To their own credit, they've answered the call admirably.
In Pronger's absence, the defense has stepped up even more. Kimmo Timonen has assumed the role of defensive rock as the Flyers remain atop the Eastern Conference. In addition, Andrej Meszaros is having his best season yet with a +27 on the ice. Even Oskars Bartulis, who was bullied in last year's playoffs, has been solid over the past four weeks.
While the Flyers are getting less offensive production out of defensemen, they're making up for it with sound defensive play. The Flyers' defensemen have scored just eight goals as a unit this season. A lot of this is contributed to a different style in play; their forwards are crashing the net and doing more crafty things closer to the net to score goals.
That being said, the Flyers are in a favorable position. If Pronger isn't ready to go just yet, why not give him the time he needs to recover? There's no need to rush him back and risk another injury. The Flyers would benefit from giving Pronger ample time to get back into shape and be ready for the stretch run.
Not to look too far ahead, but the Flyers are likely to make the playoffs this season. Also, they may finish with their best regular season in years. They have enough depth around their lineup and can afford to let Pronger get back to full health.
Last year wasn't a fluke by any means, as that team was built to succeed in the playoffs despite regular season inconsistency. This year's team is even better and could make you forget about the 2009-10 edition. Then again, no one will ever forget that amazing run to the Stanley Cup Finals.
For the first time in a while, the Flyers have enough depth to go around. They have four scoring lines, perhaps the most solid defensive core in team history, and probably the best in the league.
Their goalie situation will work itself out but, as of now, both Sergei Bobrovsky and Brian Boucher are raring to play. "Bob" escaped trouble the other night in Buffalo and turned in a solid final two periods. Boucher is the best in the NHL as a backup right now. He's recently overtaken the starter role though and has excelled.
What else will they need to succeed down the stretch and into the playoffs? A healthy and vicious Chris Pronger.
The Dog Whisperer Season 7 Episode 12 Diego and Berkeley
Preview of 'The Dog Whisperer':
Segment 58 - Warrior Dog Paul Mack served in the Coast Guard, but when he got out, the adventure wasnt over. Paul traveled to Argentina, where he spent a week with a pack of the rare dogo Argentino, an Argentinean hunting dog. He hunted boar with the large white dogs and their breeder, and at the end of the week, Paul picked out puppy Diego. When he returned to the States, fiance Kelly, now his wife, fell in love with the ever growing canine. The couple took the dog through puppy and obedience training, but despite their best intentions, Diego developed aggression toward other dogs - something the breed is not known for. Because of Diegos size, Kelly has a hard time reining him in when he goes into the red zone. Cesar travels down the coast to help this Coast Guard veteran and his wife dilute Diegos detrimental dog aggression. Segment 57 - Berkeleys Baggage Kelly Berry and Peter Pappas adopted Berkeley, a 2-year old terrier/corgi mix. At first Berkeley was shy and timid, but he has since started exhibiting aggressive behavior. And theres nothing Berkeley hates more than traveling. When the couple tries packing him into his travel carrier, Berkeley goes nuts, lunging ferociously and biting at them. They have tried to make the travel bag a good experience with treats and positive re-enforcement but it doesn't work. Kelly and Peter recently moved to Los Angeles and they are hoping to travel back East with Berkeley without his aggressive explosions. Can Cesar get Berkeley to behave in his doggie bag?
Airing Details: 8:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: FOX Channel
Episode Details: Season 7 Episode 12
Episode Name: Diego and Berkeley
Segment 58 - Warrior Dog Paul Mack served in the Coast Guard, but when he got out, the adventure wasnt over. Paul traveled to Argentina, where he spent a week with a pack of the rare dogo Argentino, an Argentinean hunting dog. He hunted boar with the large white dogs and their breeder, and at the end of the week, Paul picked out puppy Diego. When he returned to the States, fiance Kelly, now his wife, fell in love with the ever growing canine. The couple took the dog through puppy and obedience training, but despite their best intentions, Diego developed aggression toward other dogs - something the breed is not known for. Because of Diegos size, Kelly has a hard time reining him in when he goes into the red zone. Cesar travels down the coast to help this Coast Guard veteran and his wife dilute Diegos detrimental dog aggression. Segment 57 - Berkeleys Baggage Kelly Berry and Peter Pappas adopted Berkeley, a 2-year old terrier/corgi mix. At first Berkeley was shy and timid, but he has since started exhibiting aggressive behavior. And theres nothing Berkeley hates more than traveling. When the couple tries packing him into his travel carrier, Berkeley goes nuts, lunging ferociously and biting at them. They have tried to make the travel bag a good experience with treats and positive re-enforcement but it doesn't work. Kelly and Peter recently moved to Los Angeles and they are hoping to travel back East with Berkeley without his aggressive explosions. Can Cesar get Berkeley to behave in his doggie bag?
Airing Details: 8:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: FOX Channel
Episode Details: Season 7 Episode 12
Episode Name: Diego and Berkeley
Sidney Crosby Needs To Put His Skate in His Mouth
Fair or not, in his six NHL seasons, Sidney Crosby has developed a reputation as one of the league’s biggest whiners as well as being hockey’s most overprotected asset.
In the two weeks since the Winter Classic, Crosby has made it clear that he has no interest in ridding himself of either label.
During the game on New Year’s Day, Crosby and Washington’s Dave Steckel ran into each other with Crosby getting the worse of the contact. While Crosby was in obvious pain, he played the remainder of the game and would go on to play in the team’s next game against Tampa Bay.
A hit along the boards by Tampa Bay’s 6’6” defender Victor Hedman seemed harmless enough, but some combination of the Steckel and Hedman hits gave Crosby a mild concussion and has sidelined him since January 5.
However, staying off the ice hasn’t kept Crosby out of the news.
The Pittsburgh captain has made multiple comments speculating on the legality of the hits, neither of which resulted in fines or suspensions.
Video replay clearly shows that the contact between Steckel and Crosby was incidental; Steckel was no more interested in hitting Crosby than Crosby was interested in hitting Steckel. Nonetheless, Crosby felt wronged, speculating that a guy Steckel’s size couldn’t possibly hit Crosby’s head with his shoulder by accident.
Maybe it’s the concussion talking, but Crosby’s comments are utterly stupid. All they do is make hockey’s prima donna sound like a paranoid schizophrenic, believing that Dave Steckel has nothing better to do on the national stage than headhunt the Next One.
As if that weren’t enough, ESPN.com quoted Crosby as saying, “When I look at those two hits...I mean, we talk about blindside, and that's a big word—unsuspecting player, there's no puck there, and direct hit to the head on both of them. If you want to go through the criteria, I think they fit all those.”
Sidney Crosby plays a sport where his teammates take punches to the face for him, where players young and old are taught to keep their heads up at all times, and where boarding is only called when a player’s health is put in danger, not every time a player’s head makes contact with the boards.
Yet he feels the need to vocalize that the league is not protecting him enough.
Keep in mind that Crosby is a player who has a bad reputation for his attitude around the league, and who is well-known for drawing penalties any time defenders get remotely rough with him. Penguins fans will defend him consistently on this point, but can the fans really defend him this time?
If these comments on the Steckel and Hedman hits don’t qualify as whining, nothing will.
Crosby has been fortunate to play entirely in the post-lockout NHL, where obstruction and hitting are looked at under a microscope and defenders have become disadvantaged. The “new” NHL is designed to give players like Crosby every edge possible, so it is extremely irritating for fans of the rough aspects of the game to hear guys like him complain about officiating and hitting.
While his play in the past few years has solidified his spot as one of the most talented players in recent memory, his attitude toward the game is making him an incredibly polarizing figure.
Putting aside allegations of diving, shameless promotion and special treatment from hockey’s higher-ups, all of which are debatable at best, there is no doubt that Crosby has plenty of growing up to do before he is considered one of the most respected players in the game.
Starting with his refusal to shake hands as a gracious loser in the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals and now with the addition of his belief that he should be untouchable, Crosby seems completely disinterested in representing the league in a mature and respectable way.
The time has come for the Penguins’ captain to put his skate in his mouth and learn that once in a while, things don’t go your way no matter how much Gary Bettman loves you.
In the two weeks since the Winter Classic, Crosby has made it clear that he has no interest in ridding himself of either label.
During the game on New Year’s Day, Crosby and Washington’s Dave Steckel ran into each other with Crosby getting the worse of the contact. While Crosby was in obvious pain, he played the remainder of the game and would go on to play in the team’s next game against Tampa Bay.
A hit along the boards by Tampa Bay’s 6’6” defender Victor Hedman seemed harmless enough, but some combination of the Steckel and Hedman hits gave Crosby a mild concussion and has sidelined him since January 5.
However, staying off the ice hasn’t kept Crosby out of the news.
The Pittsburgh captain has made multiple comments speculating on the legality of the hits, neither of which resulted in fines or suspensions.
Video replay clearly shows that the contact between Steckel and Crosby was incidental; Steckel was no more interested in hitting Crosby than Crosby was interested in hitting Steckel. Nonetheless, Crosby felt wronged, speculating that a guy Steckel’s size couldn’t possibly hit Crosby’s head with his shoulder by accident.
Maybe it’s the concussion talking, but Crosby’s comments are utterly stupid. All they do is make hockey’s prima donna sound like a paranoid schizophrenic, believing that Dave Steckel has nothing better to do on the national stage than headhunt the Next One.
As if that weren’t enough, ESPN.com quoted Crosby as saying, “When I look at those two hits...I mean, we talk about blindside, and that's a big word—unsuspecting player, there's no puck there, and direct hit to the head on both of them. If you want to go through the criteria, I think they fit all those.”
Sidney Crosby plays a sport where his teammates take punches to the face for him, where players young and old are taught to keep their heads up at all times, and where boarding is only called when a player’s health is put in danger, not every time a player’s head makes contact with the boards.
Yet he feels the need to vocalize that the league is not protecting him enough.
Keep in mind that Crosby is a player who has a bad reputation for his attitude around the league, and who is well-known for drawing penalties any time defenders get remotely rough with him. Penguins fans will defend him consistently on this point, but can the fans really defend him this time?
If these comments on the Steckel and Hedman hits don’t qualify as whining, nothing will.
Crosby has been fortunate to play entirely in the post-lockout NHL, where obstruction and hitting are looked at under a microscope and defenders have become disadvantaged. The “new” NHL is designed to give players like Crosby every edge possible, so it is extremely irritating for fans of the rough aspects of the game to hear guys like him complain about officiating and hitting.
While his play in the past few years has solidified his spot as one of the most talented players in recent memory, his attitude toward the game is making him an incredibly polarizing figure.
Putting aside allegations of diving, shameless promotion and special treatment from hockey’s higher-ups, all of which are debatable at best, there is no doubt that Crosby has plenty of growing up to do before he is considered one of the most respected players in the game.
Starting with his refusal to shake hands as a gracious loser in the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals and now with the addition of his belief that he should be untouchable, Crosby seems completely disinterested in representing the league in a mature and respectable way.
The time has come for the Penguins’ captain to put his skate in his mouth and learn that once in a while, things don’t go your way no matter how much Gary Bettman loves you.
Young Justice Season 1 Episode 2 Fireworks (Independence Day, Part 2)
Preview of 'Young Justice':
Robin, Aqualad, and Kid Flash free Superboy from Cadmus' control, while battling Blockbuster. July 8: Miss Martian joins the team.
Airing Details: 7:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: CARTOON Channel
Episode Details: Season 1 Episode 2
Episode Name: Fireworks (Independence Day, Part 2)
Robin, Aqualad, and Kid Flash free Superboy from Cadmus' control, while battling Blockbuster. July 8: Miss Martian joins the team.
Airing Details: 7:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: CARTOON Channel
Episode Details: Season 1 Episode 2
Episode Name: Fireworks (Independence Day, Part 2)
The Guardian Project: A Bad Idea of Superhero Proportions!
When I first heard of the NHL’s Guardian Project, my first reaction was, “Uh... what?” Then I was informed that the Guardian Project was a collaborative effort between the NHL and comic book legend Stan Lee, which would see the creation of 30 new superheroes that represented each NHL team. My reaction to this new information was an understandable, “Oh... really? Seriously? I mean... really?”
I was hoping that this was some sort of elaborate practical joke, or that the idea was just an example of the sort of ideas the NHL tossed around in the offseason out of boredom. I mean, NHL teams already have mascots, so surely giving each one a superhero would be silly, right?
Apparently not, and now we are starting to see the fruits of Stan Lee’s labour. The NHL has been slowly rolling out the superheroes one by one, giving us a glimpse of some of the 30 characters Lee created in a short six months or so.
The verdict: thumbs down.
The superheroes seem like the ones you would make up off the top of your head during recess when you were eight; you know, if you were too "husky" or "diabetesy" to play sports with the rest of the kids. It seems like each superhero was created in five minutes by looking at the team’s logo and name.
Take, for example, one of the recently revealed superheroes, The Wild, representing, you guessed it, The Minnesota Wild. The Wild’s superpowers include “General Mayhem” and, wait for it...“Tunnelling."
No jokes.
So basically, this superhero acts ridiculous, breaks things, and dives into the first hole it sees. Sounds like a lot of frat boys I’ve met, but certainly not a superhero created to... wait, what were these created for again?
Some people have said that this is a new and creative idea that will at the very least give the NHL some positive attention. I disagree. I think this will go down as one of the NHL’s (many) failed marketing efforts. The Guardian Project could be this generation’s glowing puck.
I can see people talking about it years from now:
“Hey, remember that time the NHL made up superheroes? Man that was lame! Definitely one of Gary Bettman’s worst ideas, may he rest in peace.”
I added that last part because I’m almost positive that some crazed Toronto fans will attack him when “The Leaf” is unveiled to be a part of a damn tree and has the unique power of “Blowing”.
That gets me wondering, what will be the powers of some of the other Guardians? Here are my predictions, based on the quality of what we’ve seen so far:
The Senator: The amazing ability to attract attention while, in reality, achieving nothing.
The Blue Jacket: Heightened fashion sense.
The Capital: AN INCREDIBLE BROKEN SHIFT BUTTON.
The Flame: The ability to blast enemies with an incredibly loud rendition of Queen’s “We Are the Champions.”
All in all, I’m pretty disappointed with the NHL on this one. The whole campaign seems like a lazy attention grab.
Anyone have any opinions on the campaign, or predictions of what the powers of future superheroes will be?
I was hoping that this was some sort of elaborate practical joke, or that the idea was just an example of the sort of ideas the NHL tossed around in the offseason out of boredom. I mean, NHL teams already have mascots, so surely giving each one a superhero would be silly, right?
Apparently not, and now we are starting to see the fruits of Stan Lee’s labour. The NHL has been slowly rolling out the superheroes one by one, giving us a glimpse of some of the 30 characters Lee created in a short six months or so.
The verdict: thumbs down.
The superheroes seem like the ones you would make up off the top of your head during recess when you were eight; you know, if you were too "husky" or "diabetesy" to play sports with the rest of the kids. It seems like each superhero was created in five minutes by looking at the team’s logo and name.
Take, for example, one of the recently revealed superheroes, The Wild, representing, you guessed it, The Minnesota Wild. The Wild’s superpowers include “General Mayhem” and, wait for it...“Tunnelling."
No jokes.
So basically, this superhero acts ridiculous, breaks things, and dives into the first hole it sees. Sounds like a lot of frat boys I’ve met, but certainly not a superhero created to... wait, what were these created for again?
Some people have said that this is a new and creative idea that will at the very least give the NHL some positive attention. I disagree. I think this will go down as one of the NHL’s (many) failed marketing efforts. The Guardian Project could be this generation’s glowing puck.
I can see people talking about it years from now:
“Hey, remember that time the NHL made up superheroes? Man that was lame! Definitely one of Gary Bettman’s worst ideas, may he rest in peace.”
I added that last part because I’m almost positive that some crazed Toronto fans will attack him when “The Leaf” is unveiled to be a part of a damn tree and has the unique power of “Blowing”.
That gets me wondering, what will be the powers of some of the other Guardians? Here are my predictions, based on the quality of what we’ve seen so far:
The Senator: The amazing ability to attract attention while, in reality, achieving nothing.
The Blue Jacket: Heightened fashion sense.
The Capital: AN INCREDIBLE BROKEN SHIFT BUTTON.
The Flame: The ability to blast enemies with an incredibly loud rendition of Queen’s “We Are the Champions.”
All in all, I’m pretty disappointed with the NHL on this one. The whole campaign seems like a lazy attention grab.
Anyone have any opinions on the campaign, or predictions of what the powers of future superheroes will be?
The Mentalist Season 3 Episode 11 Bloodsport
Preview of 'The Mentalist':
The agents are called to an upscale office block where a valuable Renaissance painting has been stolen. The body of junior vice president Harry Lashley is recovered at the scene. The son-in-law of company boss AP Caid, Lashley was killed by a single blow to the head with a blunt instrument. Within minutes, Jane has decided that the robbery was well planned and that Lashley was killed when he interrupted the thief. "I predict forensics will find traces of Harry Lashley on this bust," he says, pointing towards a heavy brass sculpture in Caid's office.
However, a look into Lashley's past leads the agents to believe he may have been somehow involved in the robbery. Ten years ago he served time in prison for stealing cash from a video store, and recent bank statements show that he paid $20,000 to an artist based in a small town in northern California. Jane agrees to head north to do some digging, but insists that Van Pelt accompany him. "She's from a small farming town - that's what you guys call cover," he explains. "What do you need cover for?" asks Lisbon, suspiciously. "Just follow procedure!"
Airing Details: 9:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: Five Channel
Episode Details: Season 3 Episode 11
Episode Name: Bloodsport
The agents are called to an upscale office block where a valuable Renaissance painting has been stolen. The body of junior vice president Harry Lashley is recovered at the scene. The son-in-law of company boss AP Caid, Lashley was killed by a single blow to the head with a blunt instrument. Within minutes, Jane has decided that the robbery was well planned and that Lashley was killed when he interrupted the thief. "I predict forensics will find traces of Harry Lashley on this bust," he says, pointing towards a heavy brass sculpture in Caid's office.
However, a look into Lashley's past leads the agents to believe he may have been somehow involved in the robbery. Ten years ago he served time in prison for stealing cash from a video store, and recent bank statements show that he paid $20,000 to an artist based in a small town in northern California. Jane agrees to head north to do some digging, but insists that Van Pelt accompany him. "She's from a small farming town - that's what you guys call cover," he explains. "What do you need cover for?" asks Lisbon, suspiciously. "Just follow procedure!"
Airing Details: 9:00 PM on January 14th, 2011 - Friday
Channel: Five Channel
Episode Details: Season 3 Episode 11
Episode Name: Bloodsport
Steve Nash: Debunking the MVP Myth of America's Canadian
I (Sports) Hate Steve Nash
It’s true. I do not like Steve Nash. Sports hate has been covered in depth by the likes of Bill Simmons and Jason Whitlock. Suffice it to say that sports hate is not the equivalent of hating Nazis. It is a strong dislike of every aspect of an athlete’s game. It is how most Celtics fans feel about Kobe or (in the spirit of a story about a Canadian) how most Capitals fans feel about Sidney Crosby.
You might be wondering how somebody can actually dislike Steve Nash, he is so nice. He is like a kid out there just playing for the love of the game. He’s Canadian, making him 100 times kinder and gentler than other human beings.
Is it just me or is anyone else sick of all the Canada love out there? I get it, you have clean air, free health care and a low murder rate. Every person I have ever met from Canada is awesome. Get over yourselves already.
Just know that I am almost always right about my irrational sports hate for a universally beloved athlete. I hated Brett Favre long before it became fashionable and was wrongly accosted for that hate.
Brett Favre’s lone ranger style of offense angered me to no end. He threw into triple coverage on 3rd and long when the ball should have been chucked out of bounds and the possession forfeited. How many of those over his career do you think he’s completed? One out of five? Ten? Twenty? How many of those swayed a game after turning into a backbreaking interception? One out of five? Ten? Twenty?
My point is, Favre has always been every bit of the narcissistic, self-absorbed athlete that he is today. He cared about individual glory more than winning. Favre was a modern day Wilt Chamberlain, putting records (his inane iron man streak and Wilt’s run for the league assist record) and his ego ahead of a potential dynasty.
I can think of at least two interceptions that cost two different teams Super Bowl trips in winnable games against lesser opponents (think Packers-Giants in ‘07 and Vikings-Saints in ‘09).
He was an egomaniac long before he began sexting unwanted pictures of his dong to unsuspecting reporters.
I guess he had a little more Wilt in him than even I suspected.
The other formerly popular athlete that I always had a problem with was LeBron. He’s the most physically gifted athlete I have ever seen, yet he could care less about the game of basketball. LeBron has always been focused on LeBron’s empire. He wants the Jordan brand without the Jordan blood, sweat and tears to attain it.
People were blinded by LeBron’s raw physical tools and the occasional “48 special” type of game only he is capable of producing (2007 Eastern Conference Finals). It is a combination of sheer force running through, around, and over any physical defender the opposition can throw at him. It is the reason he had the tools to carry the garbage pickup team he was surrounded with in Cleveland to the title.
I watched an immature kid that was dubbed uncoachable in the 2004 Olympics and has shown little sign of improvement in that area. It was so bad that there were whispers to not invite Lebron back for the 2008 Olympics.
This never would have happened, but can you imagine there even being whispers about not inviting Jordan to an Olympic team? Jordan would have held a personal grudge against everyone involved for life, destroying each member of the team for 60 points a night on the way to a 75-win season the next year.
LeBron didn’t bat an eye.
The Case Against Nash
Steve Nash is a legitimately great point guard and a future Hall of Famer. I respect his toughness, his clutch shooting and his ability to quarterback a run-and-gun offense better than anyone since Magic Johnson. All of this should make me love Nash, but I cannot get past a single mind-boggling fact about his career.
Steve Nash is a BACK-TO-BACK MVP. Think about that. He is on a short list with Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (did it twice), Moses Malone, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and LeBron James (who at least statistically dominated the league both years). Hell, Nash is only one of nine multiple MVP-winners.
Of the nine total back-to-back MVPs, five of them are the top-10 greatest players of all time. Two are in the top 30. LeBron does not have a ceiling if he ever puts it together for every round of the playoffs. Where on this list is Kobe, Shaq, Hakeem Olajuwon or Oscar Robertson?
If this were quantified by the number of hookups on the Jersey Shore, the Situation would be MJ (5), Kareem (6), or Russell (5). Pauly D would be Wilt (4), Byrd (3), or Magic (3). Vinny would be Moses (2) or LeBron (2). And Ronny would be getting bitched out by Sammy and stuck with Steve Nash (2).
Why is Steve Nash on this list? The Suns were fun to watch, scored a lot of points in an entertaining offense run by Nash, and kept winning regular season games despite devastating injuries (think Amare's microfracture). Nash is a likeable “kill myself for the team” guy that reporters fell head over heels for.
The problem: Nash couldn’t shut down anyone not named Smush Parker in a playoff series. Even those putrid Lakers teams took the Suns to seven games. He was absolutely destroyed in the playoffs in '02, '04, '07 and '08 by slightly above-average point guards (Mike Bibby) and elite point guards (Tony Parker) equally.
How does a guy that plays zero defense ever win an MVP award? The way it could happen is if that guy puts up gaudy offensive numbers against the competition that year. Even though Phoenix put up huge offensive numbers (what team wouldn’t shooting each possession within seven seconds), Steve Nash was solid, but not exemplary.
Nash averaged 15.5 pts and 11.5 assists and 18.8 pts and 10.5 assists in his MVP seasons, respectively. He played for a great offensive mind (D’antoni), with a future “MVP” candidate (Amare) and with a budding Joe Johnson for his first MVP run. When his numbers improved in the 2005-2006 season, the writers felt he had to win again (this season was a much stronger case with the whole Amare microfracture thing).
There were other deserving candidates those years. Kobe carried a team starting Smush Parker and Kwame Brown to the playoffs both years in an extremely deep West. LeBron dragged the likes of Donyell Marshall and Larry Hughes into the playoffs in the 2005-2006 season. A recently traded and highly motivated Shaquille O’Neal only made Miami relevant and turned D-Wade into the perennial All-Star he is today, culminating in the 2005-2006 NBA championship.
All three played on both sides of the ball and all three had equal or better stats.
Then, there is the system argument. In Nash’s last four years in Dallas, he averaged 15 and 7 ('00-'01), 18 and 7 ('01-'02), 17 and 7 ('02-'03), and 14 and 8 ('03-'04). When he arrived in Mike D’Antoni’s fun and gun system in Phoenix, he averaged 15 and 11 ('04-'05), 18 and 10 ('05-'06), and 18 and 11 ('06-'07).
While his scoring did not significantly improve, his assists took a large jump. This led to the inevitable argument that Nash was making everyone around him better. Can’t we make the same argument that D’Antoni’s system was making Nash and everyone else better? If a team scores more points, the point guards assists will inevitably increase.
In the first season without D’Antoni, the Suns did not make the ’09 playoffs. In its first full season under Alvin Gentry, the Suns ran a similar offense and the two-time “MVP” led them to the Western Conference Finals.
Then, there is the case of Amare Stoudamire. Everyone assumed in Phoenix that Nash made Stoudemire the perennial All-Star because he created so many open shots. Stoudemire dealt with the second-fiddle stigma every year he was in Phoenix. He took off from Phoenix and signed with the Knicks in D’Antoni’s system.
The Knicks are now headed for the playoffs and Stoudemire is a legitimate MVP candidate. Can we really say that Nash made him that much better? Isn’t it the system that makes Stoudemire a MVP candidate? Isn’t the system/likeability of Nash responsible for him winning two MVPs?
If the system can turn an egomaniac power forward who scores and does not rebound or play defense into an MVP candidate, it can turn a future Hall of Fame point guard who shoots the lights out and does not play defense into a two-time MVP.
I will never argue that Nash is not a great point guard. Revisionist history is making Nash’s MVP awards seem more plausible than they were at the time. Maybe I won’t talk you into having sports hate for Nash like I do. Then again, I could not talk anyone into feeling the same way about LeBron or Favre either.
It’s true. I do not like Steve Nash. Sports hate has been covered in depth by the likes of Bill Simmons and Jason Whitlock. Suffice it to say that sports hate is not the equivalent of hating Nazis. It is a strong dislike of every aspect of an athlete’s game. It is how most Celtics fans feel about Kobe or (in the spirit of a story about a Canadian) how most Capitals fans feel about Sidney Crosby.
You might be wondering how somebody can actually dislike Steve Nash, he is so nice. He is like a kid out there just playing for the love of the game. He’s Canadian, making him 100 times kinder and gentler than other human beings.
Is it just me or is anyone else sick of all the Canada love out there? I get it, you have clean air, free health care and a low murder rate. Every person I have ever met from Canada is awesome. Get over yourselves already.
Just know that I am almost always right about my irrational sports hate for a universally beloved athlete. I hated Brett Favre long before it became fashionable and was wrongly accosted for that hate.
Brett Favre’s lone ranger style of offense angered me to no end. He threw into triple coverage on 3rd and long when the ball should have been chucked out of bounds and the possession forfeited. How many of those over his career do you think he’s completed? One out of five? Ten? Twenty? How many of those swayed a game after turning into a backbreaking interception? One out of five? Ten? Twenty?
My point is, Favre has always been every bit of the narcissistic, self-absorbed athlete that he is today. He cared about individual glory more than winning. Favre was a modern day Wilt Chamberlain, putting records (his inane iron man streak and Wilt’s run for the league assist record) and his ego ahead of a potential dynasty.
I can think of at least two interceptions that cost two different teams Super Bowl trips in winnable games against lesser opponents (think Packers-Giants in ‘07 and Vikings-Saints in ‘09).
He was an egomaniac long before he began sexting unwanted pictures of his dong to unsuspecting reporters.
I guess he had a little more Wilt in him than even I suspected.
The other formerly popular athlete that I always had a problem with was LeBron. He’s the most physically gifted athlete I have ever seen, yet he could care less about the game of basketball. LeBron has always been focused on LeBron’s empire. He wants the Jordan brand without the Jordan blood, sweat and tears to attain it.
People were blinded by LeBron’s raw physical tools and the occasional “48 special” type of game only he is capable of producing (2007 Eastern Conference Finals). It is a combination of sheer force running through, around, and over any physical defender the opposition can throw at him. It is the reason he had the tools to carry the garbage pickup team he was surrounded with in Cleveland to the title.
I watched an immature kid that was dubbed uncoachable in the 2004 Olympics and has shown little sign of improvement in that area. It was so bad that there were whispers to not invite Lebron back for the 2008 Olympics.
This never would have happened, but can you imagine there even being whispers about not inviting Jordan to an Olympic team? Jordan would have held a personal grudge against everyone involved for life, destroying each member of the team for 60 points a night on the way to a 75-win season the next year.
LeBron didn’t bat an eye.
The Case Against Nash
Steve Nash is a legitimately great point guard and a future Hall of Famer. I respect his toughness, his clutch shooting and his ability to quarterback a run-and-gun offense better than anyone since Magic Johnson. All of this should make me love Nash, but I cannot get past a single mind-boggling fact about his career.
Steve Nash is a BACK-TO-BACK MVP. Think about that. He is on a short list with Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (did it twice), Moses Malone, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and LeBron James (who at least statistically dominated the league both years). Hell, Nash is only one of nine multiple MVP-winners.
Of the nine total back-to-back MVPs, five of them are the top-10 greatest players of all time. Two are in the top 30. LeBron does not have a ceiling if he ever puts it together for every round of the playoffs. Where on this list is Kobe, Shaq, Hakeem Olajuwon or Oscar Robertson?
If this were quantified by the number of hookups on the Jersey Shore, the Situation would be MJ (5), Kareem (6), or Russell (5). Pauly D would be Wilt (4), Byrd (3), or Magic (3). Vinny would be Moses (2) or LeBron (2). And Ronny would be getting bitched out by Sammy and stuck with Steve Nash (2).
Why is Steve Nash on this list? The Suns were fun to watch, scored a lot of points in an entertaining offense run by Nash, and kept winning regular season games despite devastating injuries (think Amare's microfracture). Nash is a likeable “kill myself for the team” guy that reporters fell head over heels for.
The problem: Nash couldn’t shut down anyone not named Smush Parker in a playoff series. Even those putrid Lakers teams took the Suns to seven games. He was absolutely destroyed in the playoffs in '02, '04, '07 and '08 by slightly above-average point guards (Mike Bibby) and elite point guards (Tony Parker) equally.
How does a guy that plays zero defense ever win an MVP award? The way it could happen is if that guy puts up gaudy offensive numbers against the competition that year. Even though Phoenix put up huge offensive numbers (what team wouldn’t shooting each possession within seven seconds), Steve Nash was solid, but not exemplary.
Nash averaged 15.5 pts and 11.5 assists and 18.8 pts and 10.5 assists in his MVP seasons, respectively. He played for a great offensive mind (D’antoni), with a future “MVP” candidate (Amare) and with a budding Joe Johnson for his first MVP run. When his numbers improved in the 2005-2006 season, the writers felt he had to win again (this season was a much stronger case with the whole Amare microfracture thing).
There were other deserving candidates those years. Kobe carried a team starting Smush Parker and Kwame Brown to the playoffs both years in an extremely deep West. LeBron dragged the likes of Donyell Marshall and Larry Hughes into the playoffs in the 2005-2006 season. A recently traded and highly motivated Shaquille O’Neal only made Miami relevant and turned D-Wade into the perennial All-Star he is today, culminating in the 2005-2006 NBA championship.
All three played on both sides of the ball and all three had equal or better stats.
Then, there is the system argument. In Nash’s last four years in Dallas, he averaged 15 and 7 ('00-'01), 18 and 7 ('01-'02), 17 and 7 ('02-'03), and 14 and 8 ('03-'04). When he arrived in Mike D’Antoni’s fun and gun system in Phoenix, he averaged 15 and 11 ('04-'05), 18 and 10 ('05-'06), and 18 and 11 ('06-'07).
While his scoring did not significantly improve, his assists took a large jump. This led to the inevitable argument that Nash was making everyone around him better. Can’t we make the same argument that D’Antoni’s system was making Nash and everyone else better? If a team scores more points, the point guards assists will inevitably increase.
In the first season without D’Antoni, the Suns did not make the ’09 playoffs. In its first full season under Alvin Gentry, the Suns ran a similar offense and the two-time “MVP” led them to the Western Conference Finals.
Then, there is the case of Amare Stoudamire. Everyone assumed in Phoenix that Nash made Stoudemire the perennial All-Star because he created so many open shots. Stoudemire dealt with the second-fiddle stigma every year he was in Phoenix. He took off from Phoenix and signed with the Knicks in D’Antoni’s system.
The Knicks are now headed for the playoffs and Stoudemire is a legitimate MVP candidate. Can we really say that Nash made him that much better? Isn’t it the system that makes Stoudemire a MVP candidate? Isn’t the system/likeability of Nash responsible for him winning two MVPs?
If the system can turn an egomaniac power forward who scores and does not rebound or play defense into an MVP candidate, it can turn a future Hall of Fame point guard who shoots the lights out and does not play defense into a two-time MVP.
I will never argue that Nash is not a great point guard. Revisionist history is making Nash’s MVP awards seem more plausible than they were at the time. Maybe I won’t talk you into having sports hate for Nash like I do. Then again, I could not talk anyone into feeling the same way about LeBron or Favre either.
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