New York Rangers forward Sean Avery likes to have a pretty girl on his arm. He has reportedly dated Rachel Hunter and Elisha Cuthbert in the past. A report in the New York Daily News has linked him -- specifically his name and phone number -- to the little black book of Manhattan madam Kristin Davis, who was allegedly connected to former New York governor Eliot Spitzer.
Avery insists it was all a practical joke. Hmm ...
Jessica Simpson says she's feeling "much better" after being hospitalized with a kidney infection. Simpson was released Monday after three nights in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, her rep told the Associated Press. In Touch magazine reported that Simpson's boyfriend, Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, wanted to be by Simpson's side but had prior commitments in Dallas.
Former NFL offensive lineman Kenyatta Jones was arrested this weekend on charges of assaulting a police officer after he reportedly peed on a dance floor. Ew. He's currently playing in the AFL for the Tampa Bay Storm. Read more about his past run-ins with the law here.
The DMN's Lawson Taitte reports that Tony Award-winning musical Avenue Q will be among Casa Manana's offerings this season at Bass Hall in Fort Worth. It opens July 8. I saw the show on Broadway a few years ago, and it was really funny. Think Sesame Street-style characters singing songs like "It Sucks To Be Me" and "The Internet Is For Porn."
Now this I might actually get up early for. People reports that the New Kids on the Blockwill be performing on Today this Friday on NBC. I wonder what they'll sing. Probably something new, but maybe they'll toss in a little "Step By Step."
Floyd Mayweather took his act to the wrestling ring tonight and beat Big Show during WrestleMania 24, watched by 74,635 fans at the Citrus Bowl in Florida. Here's how he did it.
[Sigh.] Ric Flair's career came to an emotional close. Say it ain't so, Nature Boy.
This Kodiak brown bear named Barbucha has the right idea; This muggy weather has us ready for a swim. But this bear is actually in a zoo enclosure in Germany, after moving recently from a zoo in Czech Republic. Kodiak bears are originally from the islands of the Kodiak Archipelago off the coast of Alaska. Learn more about these bears and how to view them in person here.
A court has ruled that media giant Time Warner has to share the rights for Superman with the heirs of Jerome Siegel, who sold the rights to the superhero character 70 years ago to Detective Comics for $130. That has to be one of the most lopsided deals since the Louisiana purchase. But thankfully for the family, the 1938 contract through which Siegel and partner Joseph Shuster sold the rights to DC expired in 1999.
Time Warner made about $200 million at the domestic box office with the film Superman Returns in 2006, and there are reports that the ruling could prompt the company to stop making movies featuring the superhero.
The Final Four is set in the NCAA men's basketball tournament, and for the first time ever, all the top seeds have advanced. No. 1s Kansas, Memphis, North Carolina and UCLA will compete for the national championship next weekend.
That's bad news for those who, aware of tournament history, tried to outsmart their bracket. Like me.
Michael Jordan may not be soaring around NBA arenas any longer, but he's still the king.
Jordan's famous No. 23 is still the best-selling jersey in the history of the NBA Store, the league said. Jordan is followed by Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, LeBron James and Shaquille O'Neal. Rounding out the top 10: Tracy McGrady, Dwyane Wade, Jason Kidd, Vince Carter and Tim Duncan.
The NBA Store opened Sept. 18, 1998, in New York, and is preparing to celebrate its 10th anniversary.
Not sure if this is a step up or a step down, but E! is reporting that Lindsay Lohan will star in a movie called Manson Girls about Charles Manson. Lohan will play Nancy Pitman, also known as Brenda, who left her Malibu home at 16 and joined the Manson Family.
I'm always amazed by the lengths people go to to look beautiful, such as plastic surgery, and then they end up looking like this. How is that better?! I'm warning you, some of these faces are hard to look at.
A Righteous Kill has to be a good movie. It has Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and our good friend Curtis Jackson. It's a story of two veteran NYPD detectives and a vigilante serial killer. Should I say more. Just check out the trailer.
The Incredible Hulk trailer is pretty cool. I don't know if I'm sold with Edward Norton as Bruce Banner. But it appears to be a must-see for me. Check it out.
There's some sad news tonight in this fast-food nation of ours: Herb Peterson, inventor of the Egg McMuffin, has died. The 89-year-old former advertising exec wrote McDonald's' first national advertising slogan, "Where Quality Starts Fresh Every Day," before becoming a franchisee with six stores. He came up with the idea for the Egg McMuffin's perfectly cylindrical egg in 1972 as a way to introduce breakfast to the chain.
Britney Spears made it through a guest spot on How I Met Your Motherthis week (see a clip above). Now OK! Magazine is reporting that Britney will make an appearance at the Kids' Choice Awards on Saturday. Hmmm... is this just a ploy to get on the judge's good side so she can have more time with her sons?
Baby steps, Britney, baby steps.
It's spring, and race season is in full swing. Take advantage of the beautiful weather (or even the not-so; there's a chance of a shower Saturday) and run the Butterfly Boogie to benefit the World Craniofacial Foundation. Register this week at Luke's Locker or on race day. The race has a 1K, a 5K and a 10K, all which start at Lee Park and incorporate part of the Katy Trail.
Any other upcoming races people are looking forward to?
Tiger Woods is one of the best golfer's the world has ever seen.
But I've got a bone to pick with him. Woods was seen last weekend cursing and threatening a photographer after the photog snapped Woods' picture during his backswing at the WGC-CA Championship in Doral, Fla.
Come on! I know golf is a serene game -- with little distraction from the crowd tolerated -- but I question the mental makeup of some of these guys when the shutter of a camera lense can lead to threats of physical harm.
Give me a player shooting a free throw with one second left in a tied game in front 20,000 fans screaming and waving things at him over these golf prima donnas any day.
So the great Eddie Izzard is performing his comedy at the Majestic in June, but tickets sold out too fast for me to nab them. And I was seriously pissed about that.
But he's added another show, and holy crap, it's Monday night. Tickets still available here.
More people may know him now as the star of The Riches (great show), but his standup comedy is unbelievably smart and funny.
Pasted above is one of my favorite moments from his Dress to Kill special, maybe the funniest thing I've ever seen.
[Foul-language alert, might not be safe for work, depending on where you work.]
Did y'all watch The Hills on Monday?? The drama was worldwide: From Speidi break-up issues in Crested Butte, Colo., to romantic ickiness with LC in Par-ee, shizz was hittin' the fan in multiple time zones. Which means I loved it!
Anyway, remember that bearded Parisian cutie, Matthias, the rocker who immediately homed in on Lauren at their meeting at a hotel bar? The cutie who fawned over her and helped her culminate her Paris visit with an intimate Vespa ride through the city? That very guy, according to his own MySpace profile, is MARRIED!! Not that anything more than French cheek-kissing occurred between the two of them, but still! He told his bandmates he thought Lauren was mignonne (cute), and then he set her in his sights the rest of the episode. I suppose the semblance of an eventual hookup was all courtesy of MTV editing. Damn you, show! You'd think this might cure my addiction to The Hills, but, nah, I'll still be freebasing the show next Monday. See ya then!
Power Pack: Day One #1 (of 4): When I was just a little fanboy, I loved reading about this team of sibling superheroes. Now their origin and continuity is being updated for my son's generation.
Return of the Gremlins #1 (of 3): No, this has nothing to do with Gizmo and Stripe. This series is based on Disney characters created by Roald Dahl (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory).
Apocalypse Nerd: This collects Peter Bagge's series about a Seattle software engineer who happens to be on a camping trip when his hometown gets nuked.
Star Trek: New Frontier #1: Longtime comics writer Peter David has authored several best-selling Star Trek novels, including some about the Excalibur, a ship never spotlighted on the TV shows or in the movies. Now, he's bringing that ship and its crew into the world of comics.
Fox News' Greta Van Susteren recently interviewed (video here) Meat Loaf, and she asked him an age-old question about his 1993 song "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)."
"What wouldn't you do for love?" she asked. "Everyone wants to know that."
Meat Loaf went on to explain the following: "I am in the studio with Jim Steinman, and he wrote the song. ... And he turns to me and he says, 'Meat, do you think that people will know what 'that' is?' And I said, 'Jim, audiences are not stupid. People are not stupid. Of course they're going to know what 'that' is. It is obvious. It's in black and white.' OK, 3 million questions later, what is 'that'? Either I blew it when I sang the song, or Jim blew it when he wrote it, but it is a line before every chorus. I think there are seven of them. One of them is, 'I will never stop dreaming of you every night of my life.' And so on and so on."
To which the eternally confused Van Susteren replied: "So what is 'that'?"
1. David Cook: Holy rocker!!! When I read the rocker was doing "Billie Jean," I was hoping it was a joke. And it actually started off kind of lame, but once his voice soared and the music built, he won me over. Terrific! And I've pretty much disliked him from Day 1, so that's high praise.
2. Syesha Mercado: Her "If I Was Your Woman" was warm, smooth and so emotion-filled. This was my favorite performance from her so far.
3. David Archuleta: Oh, man, what was that song? That whole performance was weird: not really in his key, with some odd facial expressions. Kind of all over the place. Still love you, though!!
4. Brooke White: She turned "Every Breath You Take" into a happy-go-lucky singalong -- huh?! It was bad enough when it was just her on the piano, but when the band chimed in, it turned into an upbeat Tide commercial. Good vocals, though.
5. Michael Johns: It was just OK. Don't get a big head about oversinging and underperforming "We Are The Champions" just because the judges (wrongly) fawned over it.
6. Carly Smithson: She got the ego-lashing from the judges that Michael should've gotten: "You weren't as great as you thought you were." It was lacking that special something.
7. Chikezie: Haha, cheesy Chikezie -- that's what Simon called him. I have to agree. Although the vocals were solid, his performance was boring. He didn't bring it tonight.
8. Ramiele Malubay: Super-pitchy, dawg! Sadly, when she -- finally -- belted for us, her voice turned out to be shot. Too bad. Another downside is that Heart's "Alone" was kind of branded as a Carrie Underwood classic several seasons ago.
9. Jason Castro: Ay, yo, Snoozy McSnooze, what up? That was like taking a sleeping pill and sitting in a cushy easy chair. One-way ticket to Snoozeville, and singing part of that Sting song in Spanish didn't help.
10. Kristy Lee Cook: Ahh, Kristy, Jason Castro occupied the No. 10 spot for most of the night, but your suckitude won over. Not only was it pitchy and lackluster, but Kristy managed to pick what must be one of my most abhorred songs.
Who's going home? Kristy Lee Cook. Only because people who suck usually get sent home the week they get praise from the judges.
2. David Cook: By all accounts, an amazing performance. But I still can't decide if the smoky ballad arrangement of "Billie Jean" was effective or just weird.
3. Brooke White: The sweet version of "Every Breath You Take" worked surprisingly well for her, especially with her piano skillz.
4. Carly Smithson: OK, we get it. You have a big voice. A curveball song choice would be nice every once in a while.
5. David Archuleta: Paula said, "I think all of us were trying to figure that one out." Yeah, she's right. A little too Disney for this stage of the competition.
6. Michael Johns: His Queen cover(s) will definitely keep him around, but this performance was far from his best.
7. Chikezie: If Ruben Studdard is a velvet teddy bear, Chikezie is a velvet beanie baby. I have no idea what I just said.
8. Jason Castro: He picked the right kind of song for his abilities. Sting's "Fragile" is a low-key world beat number. Big improvement over last week.
9. Kristy Lee Cook: "God Bless the U.S.A." is beyond played out. Ugh.
10. Ramiele Malubay: She tried Heart's "Alone," and succeeded in making me wince. Too big for you, girl.
Jamie gave you the scoop while ago about what the theme for tonight is -- songs from the contestants' birth years. Going into tonight, Michael Johns is my fave because he was only born a year after me. The rest are mere children. Children who can't choose a song to save their lives.
David Cook, you'd better do something against-type on "Billie Jean," because anything slightly Creed-like will unleash my inner beast. Ramiele Malubay, you could have picked anything but "Alone," a song Carrie Underwood already killed it on a few seasons ago. And Kristy Lee Cook, you've decided shamelessly to become Kristy Lee Greenwood. Sigh.
Live blogging to commence in this post as soon as the show starts.
7:04 -- I think they give the audience drugs that turn them into hand-waving zombies no matter what's happening on stage.
7:05 -- Farah "Aw, Ramiele's so cute!! But that was pitchy, dawg!"
7:12 -- Ahgahd, they are having another songwriting contest this year.
7:13 -- Happy birthday Jason Castro, from me and all the readers who hated on me for saying you sucked last week!
7:16 -- The point at which Randy says "Don't know if that did anything for you for me." He says that a lot.
TMZ has found out what songs the 10 remaining Idol contestants will be singing tonight, and I was somewhat depressed to find that only one of them is older than me. Michael Johns is completely dominating the others in the age category. He was born in 1978, and the next-closest birth year is 1983.
Here's the song list. The most gag-inducing? Kristy Lee Cook singing 1984's "God Bless the U.S.A." by Lee Greenwood.
Pacman Jones is going to get an opportunity to tell you why he should be playing for the Cowboys once his suspension is lifted by the NFL. The Titans cornerback will be a guest on Michael Irvin's radio show on ESPN-FM (103.3) Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
"Certainly he wants to play here in Dallas," Irvin told the DMN on Monday night. "I think it's smart what he's trying to do: Get out, talk to people and try to humanize himself. One thing I've learned from doing this radio show every day is you try to get an understanding of people and people's perspective of athletes and ballplayers and all of that stuff."
I'm sure most women have stories about the jackasses they've dated. Well now there's a real "Jackass" on the market. Johnny Knoxville is officially single after 13 years of marriage. The star of MTV's Jackass filed for divorce on July 3 from Melanie Clapp, citing irreconcilable differences.
Fred Thompson, whose heart never really seemed to be in his failed GOP presidential run earlier this year, is reportedly ready to return to acting. EOnline.com reports that the one-time Law & Order prosecutor has signed with Hollywood's William Morris Agency to acquire future film and television roles on his behalf. So he may someday be president after all -- on the big screen.
Get ready for it -- the greatest reality show OF ALL TIME!!!! Animal Planet premieres Groomer Has It at 8 p.m. April 12. It's hosted by the most useless of the Queer Eye guys (Jai), and features 12 dog groomers battling it out for the title of Groomer of the Year. Oh yeah, it's gonna get ugly. Just watch this preview video here. "Ugly people do not deserve good things just because they can cut a dog." Do we feel sorry for the dogs yet?
Some people thought VH1 might have crossed the line with Celebrity Rehab, which showed us celebrities' sad struggles with addiction. The network has followed that with I Know My Kid's a Star, where we can see pathetic stage moms (and dads) push their kids into the show business world they failed to enter.
That's not the case with all the parents, but some of them are so obnoxious that I feel bad for the kids who have to deal with them. Some of the wannabe child stars genuinely seem like they want to be there, and their parents are helping them, and that's fine. But with others, you can tell the parents want it more so they can live vicariously through their children, and they're pressuring them to practice. The season preview at the end of the first episode showed catfighting moms, screaming matches and crying kids. I hate to wonder what follows this show.
Celebs such as Katherine Heigl and Siena Miller are reportedly going crazy for Smart Glass recycled jewelry, which is made from old wine and beer bottles. They come in multiple colors, ranging from lime to cobalt to amber. These are my favorite, in amber, the color of a bottle of Bud Light. So if I get a pair, it further justifies my consumption of the product. Right?
Reading about these babies also led me to the greatness that is delight.com, a shopping site where I found the same earrings for $16 less.
This quote from Mavericks coach Avery Johnson talking about Jason Kidd makes me wish I had hair ... so I could pull it out.
"There are opportunities where we think [Kidd] can push it even more, and we see windows of opportunity that he sometimes passes up. He has the freedom to take those opportunities, but I just think he's been a little hesitant because he's always trying to make the pass."
WHICH DO YOU WANT, Avery?!?!?
Do you want a point guard who looks to pass first -- such as Jason Kidd? Or do you want a point guard who can push the ball up court and get to the basket -- such as Devin Harris. Or, would you rather be the point guard yourself?
I think it's the latter, because that's the only person that will ever please the Little General.
During a mindless TV-channel-surfing episode the other night, I came upon dance show Randy Jackson Presents America's Best Dance Crewon MTV and decided to check it out. Once you get past host Mario Lopez (gag), crazy judge Lil Mama (what the hell did she just say?), and cheesy dance crew names like BreakSk8 and Fysh n Chicks, the dancing is actually mesmerizing. The finale is this Thursday at 9 p.m. on MTV, and the battle is between Boston group Status Quo and masked men the JabbaWockeeZ (my faves). Watch some videos and vote for your pick here.
What's that, Rover? You enjoy blogging? Apparently a lack of opposable thumbs or the inability to speak don't keep pets from sharing their thoughts on a blog. This recent story on CNN tells us all about how pet owners are trying to "capture" their pet's "energy" by setting up a blog for them and helping them communicate their "thoughts" online, including how much they miss their tennis ball or what their poo smells like. A German shepherd or cockatiel might be up for this, but I just asked my cat if she wanted a blog, and this is what she said: "[Expletive] you, I'm going back to bed. Now fill up my food bowl, woman, before I give you another scar." Me-ow.
So how is your NCAA Tournament bracket faring after the first two rounds? Is it this ugly?ESPN.com reports that 30 (out of 32) first-round games were correctly picked on 51 of the more than 3.65 million entries on its site. There also was one entry that guessed zero winners. That's some nifty guessing.
Grammy-winning Tejano singer Emilio Navaira is in critical condition after his band bus crashed in Houston this morning. The 45-year-old Navaira and his band, Rio, have released more than a dozen albums, including Acuerdate, which won the 2002 Grammy for best Tejano album.
This weekend I caught an episode of Pop Fiction on E!. It's produced by Ashton Kutcher. Celebrities (in this episode it was Paris Hilton, Avril Lavigne and Eva Longoria-Parker) set tabloids and paparazzi up in pranks and then laugh about how rumors fly. Avril Lavigne addressed pregnancy rumors by wearing a pregnancy pillow under her shirt and going shopping for baby stuff. It's hilarious how the paparazzi feed off celebrities. New episodes air Sunday nights on E!.
Here are some cute bunnies for your Easter enjoyment. I have to admit I haven't seen an actual rabbit in years, so I forgot how cute they are when they hop around to bossa-nova-type music. Other than that, they don't do a whole helluva lot.
Katy Trail visitors have wondering about those giant cement cylinders had their questions answered today, when workers started installing lights along the trail. Friends of the Katy Trail has started a fundraising drive to light the trail the rest of the trail from Knox to Airline Road, and they need all the help they can get. It's $50 a foot, but click here to donate whatever you can.
Ooops, how could I have forgotten about getting a snap of yet another Hollywood personality I saw at South by Southwest (in addition to Moby and Rachael Ray -- scroll down)??! Then again, I was on my fourth free mojito at Rachael's day party when I finally took a photo of DJ Efren Ramirez -- Pedro from Napoleon Dynamite!
The pleasant surprise? He was really good! Boy loves his '80s music, and kept the party peeps tapping their toes.
The Raconteurs have a new album coming out Tuesday -- just weeks after finishing recording.
The rock group, whose members include Jack White of the White Stripes, is bypassing the standard months-long wait between finishing an album and releasing it with Consolers of the Lonely.
"The purpose: to get the album to the fans as soon as possible and as we promised," the band says. "We wanted to get this record to fans, the press, radio, etc., all at the EXACT SAME TIME so that no one has an upper hand on anyone else regarding it's availability, reception or perception."
It makes perfect sense to me, although some question whether the rushed release is a way to limit the impact of negative reviews.
Ooh, I got this in just under the wire. It's still Wednesday, right?
Batman: The Killing Joke -- Special Edition: DC has reissued the seminal graphic novel written by Alan Moore and drawn by Brian Bolland, whose beautiful art is usually limited to covers. Thanks to a dastardly act by the Joker, Barbara Gordon hasn't worn the Batgirl costume since this story was published in 1988.
Ghost Whisperer #1: Many superheroines are drawn with the same proportions as Jennifer Love Hewitt, so it's only appropriate that her show be adapted into comics.
Voltron Omnibus: This massive hardcover includes a never-before-seen 12th issue of the series based on the Japanese cartoon.
Spider-Man: Reign: I haven't read the series collected here -- set in a futuristic police state, when Spidey's an old man -- but I've heard nothing but good things about it.
We realize a whole bunch of you will be skipping work tomorrow for a certain basketball tournament. (We won't tell.) With that, here are SI.com's 65 reasons why March Madness is simply great.
The Office is back with a new episode on Thursday, April 10th.
FINALLY!
I can't even remember where it left off before the writers' strike, but the word is that this upcoming episode is one of the funniest yet. I can't even remember where I heard that.
Anyway, to get you in the spirit of NBC's hit show, take The Office Personality Test to see which character you're most like. And I swear, if it says I'm most like Phyllis...
HeroBuilders, makers of creepy-looking political action figures such as the Larry Craig "I am not Gay" doll, have come out with a plush figure to accompany you through election season. The Plush Obamakinz can be yours to cuddle through the Democratic National Convention, and who knows, possibly for the next four and a half years. That is, If you're not too creeped out by its outstretched arms, ready to give you a squeeze, and its giant grin.
It's well known that Erica Kane has expensive tastes, but richest man in the world tastes?
Warren Buffett is set to appear on All My Children as himself, his second cameo on the ABC soap. (His first was in 1992.) According to the New York Post, Buffett is called in to help broker a deal to get Erica out of jail. The episode will air during May sweeps.
And by the way, when did jail attire become so flattering?
Ever since I first laid ears on it, I've been dying to learn who sings that twangy, ethereal song that plays in JcPenney's ad for its American Living apparel line. I was surprised to learn that "Killing The Blues" is by Robert Plant (!!) and Alison Krauss from their well-received album, Raising Sand. I'd been curious about this unusual musical collabo before I discovered the commercial -- now I must buy this CD!
We all get unwanted critters on our doorstep sometimes -- snakes, raccoons, dead rats lovingly offered by our cat -- but this guy in San Diego (click here for video) found something much cuter. A 6-month-old sea lion pup managed to wander onto his front porch in Ocean Beach, Calif. It drew a lot of attention from local residents until Sea World showed up to rescue it. Aww. Anybody experience a similar incident here in N. Texas? No?
Today's Fanboy column is about the series FX, specifically about how it began life as a John Byrne commission. After the jump, I've posted my entire Q&A with the series' writer and creator, Wayne Osborne.
Comments (0)
