Lakers vs Suns Game 5

Posted by admin | 9:47 PM | , , | 0 comments »


Lakers defeat Suns on last-second shot
by Ron Artest


He puts back a missed jumper by Kobe Bryant to give L.A. a 103-101 win in Game 5 for a 3-2 lead in best-of-seven series. Bryant has 30 points and nine assists. Steve Nash leads Phoenix with 29 points and 11 assists.

Phil Jackson said it with a wry smile, like he does a lot of things, so it was impossible to know if the Lakers coach was kidding before Game 5 of the Western Conference finals when he said he was "very nervous" and "quite worried."

It turned out there was plenty to fret. Except the ending

Ron Artest cut across the lane to grab an errant Kobe Bryant three-pointer and tossed it into the basket as time expired to give the Lakers an exhilarating 103-101 victory tonight at Staples Center.

Artest finished with only four points for the Lakers, who have a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series that shifts to US Airways Center in Phoenix on Saturday for Game 6. The home team has won each of the five games in the series.

Phoenix's Jason Richardson had tied the score at 101-101 with 3.5 seconds left when he banked in a three-point basket after Steve Nash and Richardson had missed earlier three-point attempts on the same possession. Nash finished with 29 points on 12-for-20 shooting and has a game-high 11 assists.

There seemed little reason for concern on Jackson's part given his team's recent history in this situation. The Lakers have won their last nine Game 5s under the coach, including a pair of triumphs this season, and they are 8-0 at home in the 2010 playoffs.

Phoenix won Games 3 and 4 at home by utilizing a zone defense, repeatedly getting to the free-throw line and enjoying several breakthrough performances from its bench. Only one of those factors -- free throws -- worked in the Suns' favor in Game 5.

The Suns' zone couldn't contain Bryant (30 points, 11 rebounds, 9 assists) or Derek Fisher, who finished with 22 points. Phoenix did attempt 29 free throws to the Lakers' 23, but the Suns' bench combined for 31 points after getting 54 in Game 4.

The Lakers also scored 38 points in the paint and 23 points off 15 Phoenix turnovers.

Phoenix went with its reserves to start the second and fourth quarters, and the unit failed to reproduce its Game 4 magic. Guard Goran Dragic did little besides shove the Lakers' Sasha Vujacic early in the fourth quarter, resulting in offsetting technical fouls.

The Lakers appeared to have put the game out of reach late in the third quarter when a free throw by Lamar Odom gave them an 18-point lead at 74-56. But the Suns closed the quarter on a 16-4 run that included a four-point play by Jared Dudley, who was fouled by Pau Gasol on a three-point basket and made the ensuing free throw.

Odom and Bryant were especially active for the Lakers, who took a 41-25 lead midway through the second quarter on Bryant's back-to-back-to-back three-point baskets that capped a 13-0 run. Bryant scored 15 points and Odom added 10 in the second quarter.

Suns Coach Alvin Gentry was assessed a technical foul shortly before Bryant's three-point barrage for complaining about the officiating. He might have been testy in part because his team had a trio of big men in foul trouble by the end of the first quarter, with Amare Stoudemire, Robin Lopez and Channing Frye each having picked up two fouls.

Gentry said before the game that he was concerned about an "initial onslaught" by the Lakers, but it was the Suns who came out the aggressor in the early going. Grant Hill stripped Bryant on the Lakers' first possession and then Stoudemire twice blocked Gasol the next time the Lakers got the ball.

Bryant picked up two fouls only 2 1/2 minutes into the game, forcing him to the bench and Shannon Brown into the game with the Lakers trailing by three points. The Suns extended their advantage with Bryant sidelined, taking a 15-8 lead on a turnaround jumper by Richardson.

Bryant returned a few minutes later, but it was Fisher who keyed a late first-quarter run with nine consecutive points for the Lakers. Fisher scored on a 22-foot jumper, a three-point basket, a pair of free throws and a driving layup to give the Lakers a 20-19 lead -- their first of the game -- with 1:18 left in the quarter.






"So You Think You Can Dance" opened its 2010 season with a bit of lechery from Nigel Lythgoe, some tears from Adam Shankman and Mia Michaels, and not nearly enough leg from Cat Deeley. So except for that last bit, business as usual for season 7? Nope. This year, SYTYCD is switching it up a bit (let's just hope they're not doing it just for the sake of doing it, like "American Idol" with the judge's save ... and Kara DioGuardi ... and Ellen DeGeneres ...). Instead of pairing off the 20 contestants with the same partner for the first half of the season (which often means a less-talented dancer can ride along on his or her more popular partner's coattails), there will be only 10 finalists, and each will be paired with an "all-star" -- a stellar competitor from a previous season, including favorites Stephen “tWitch” Boss, Mark Kanemura, Pasha Kovalev, Kathryn McCormick, and Ade Obayomi.

In another twist, judge and professional eardrum shatterer Mary Murphy will not be sitting at the judges' dais with Nigel and Adam. She's no longer a regular judge, but she will be choreographing some numbers this season, and Mia Michaels, who was MIA for most of last season, will be taking her place.

So let's get to the dancers: The star of the evening had to be Teddy Tedholm, the 18-year-old contemporary dancer from Rockaway who wowed the judges in auditions last season but flamed out in Las Vegas. You might remember his pants. This time out, he sported a more subtle look but the judges went wild again, Adam calling it "out there, naked emotionally" and Mia saying he tapped into genius. (My 8-year-old son said, "That looks like a guy who keeps falling down.") He's on to Vegas, as is Sarah Brinson, 22, of Philadelphia, who is a little larger than your average dancer ... meaning she weighs in the triple, not double, digits. When asked whether her parents were dancers, she said that her parents were pro golfers, prompting Nigel's first dirty remark of the season: "Has your mom played with Tiger Woods?" Ugh.

Other standouts: a Latin ballroom couple who appeared in Broadway's "Burn the Floor," Giselle Peacock, 28, of Menlo Park, Calif., and Henry Byalikov, 24, of Sydney, Australia (Adam: "a huge turn-on,"); Henry Rivera, 19, of Miami, a contemporary dancer who apparently couldn't string together a coherent thought in his interview but absolutely killed onstage; Ami Aguiar-Riley, a 27-year-old from Miami whose aggressive contemporary routine was much admired by Sonya Tayeh; and Tyrell Rolle, a 24-year-old contemporary dancer from Liberty City, Fla., who got the ol' dancing-his-way-out-of-the-ghetto treatment.

And speaking of patronizing, was anybody else a little ticked off at the way the judges salivated all over Megan Carter, 18, of Leesburg, who happens to be a heavy girl with a heck of a lot of flexibility and great moves? Yes, she's carrying some extra weight, but it's not like she has, say, no feet. "You make me so happy to be a woman of size," Mia told her. They liked her enough to move her into the choreography round but wouldn't move her on to Vegas.

The requisite shtick performers weren't even funny enough to merit a mention, except ballroom dancer Daria Kopylova, 19, of Tampa, who actually wasn't funny at all. She chose to dance with her father, which earned uncomfortable shudders and a quick rejection from the judges, even after she reminded them that she and her father were essentially acting. Hey, haven't I heard that argument somewhere else before?



Tom Cruise Dead

Posted by admin | 9:34 PM | , | 0 comments »


Tom Cruise Dead, Footballer David Beckham’s relationship seems to be getting stronger with actor friend Tom Cruise as he often seeks advice from him.

“For someone who has been in the public eye for so long, David is still not the most confident when it comes to speaking out. He’s very shy,” femalefirst.co.uk quoted a source as saying.

“He has spoken to Tom among others about how to motivate people. Tom is a confident guy and always gives him great advice. David wants to be able to do the same, whatever the circumstances are,” the source added.

This is not the first time David has sought advice from the actor. Last year, Tom and his actress wife Katie Holmes advised the Beckhams – David and his wife Victoria – on how to maintain a healthy balance between work and married life.

American Idol Winners

Posted by admin | 1:29 AM | , | 0 comments »


LOS ANGELES, Calif. --

Dozens of superstar celebrities and almost all of the former “American Idols” were on hand on Wednesday night as the FOX reality show crowned its Season 9 winner and judge Simon Cowell said goodbye to the show he launched and helped make a hit.

Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Jordin Sparks, Taylor Hicks, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino and last season’s winner, Kris Allen, were among the “American Idol” winners who saw Lee DeWyze beat out Crystal Bowersox for the title.

The Mount Prospect, Ill. singer actually dropped to his knees, unable to stand, just moments before show host Ryan Seacrest announced the news.

“Oh my God,” Lee gasped after learning the news. “This is amazing, thank you guys so much for everything… I can’t believe this… This is amazing. I love you.”

“I’m just happy man. I’m so happy right now. I’ve never been happier in my life,” he said before he sang one last time – a fitting song – U2’s “Beautiful Day,” which he will now release as a single.

Another recent reality show winner, Bret Michaels, who became “The Celebrity Apprentice” this past Sunday, was also on hand for the moment, having dueted earlier in the night with this season’s second-runner up, Texas cutie Casey James.

In addition to Casey’s duet with Bret – to Poison’s “Every Rose Has It’s Thorn” - the Top 12 group dueted with a host of superstar singers. Aaron Kelly and Siobhan Magnus performed “How Deep Is Your Love” with the BeeGees, Michael Lynche was joined by Michael McDonald on “Takin’ It To The Streets,” Christina Aguilera joined the Top 6 female contestants on a medley of “Beautiful” and “Fighter” (before singing a new ballad from her upcoming album), and the Top 6 men were joined by Hall & Oates as they performed a medley of “I Can’t Go For That” and “Maneater.”

Crystal Bowersox got the chance to duet with the similar-sounding Alanis Morissette, an artist she had previously covered during the season. Crystal began signing “Ironic,” before the two sang “You Oughta Know” together. Lee’s superstar pairing found him performing alongside “Chicago,” the band named after the big city he grew up near, on a collection of the band’s classic hits.

Paula Abdul made a return to the “Idol” stage for the finale – to lead the emotional send off to her friend, departing British judge Simon Cowell.

“My darling Simon, I’ve worked with a lot of people over the years, hot cheerlearders, big movie stars, world famous recording artists, but if I’m being truly honest, none of them holds a candle to you my friend,” she said, choking up a little.

”‘American Idol’s’ not gonna be the same without you, but as only I can tell you, it will go on,” she said as Simon laughed and clapped, a reference to how life went on, on “Idol” without her.

All of the former “Idol” winners, with the exception of Season 7’s David Cook who was elsewhere (click HERE to find out where), hit the stage to lead a musical tribute to Simon. The group, led by original American Idol Kelly Clarkson, was joined by dozens of other past contestants made famous on “Idol’s” stage, including David Archuleta, Blake Lewis, Kimberley Caldwell, Justin Guarini and Ace Young. Like David, however, Season 8 runner-up Adam Lambert, was also conspicuously absent. Click HERE to find out why.

There may have been a few faces missing, but the most emotional face in the crowd was definitely the man of the hour, Simon Cowell.

“I didn’t think I was gonna be this emotional, but I genuinely am,” Simon said

“The show goes forward,” he said, echoing the words Paula had to say earlier. “It will be different, but I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the support, the fun and your sense of humor — that’s what’s been the best part.

“Seeing these contestants back, that’s what made the show and you know what? The truth is, everyone asks who’s gonna replace me?…. Who’s gonna be the next judge? The truth is, you guys are the judge of this show and you’ve done an incredible job over the years,” Simon continued before turning Ryan. “And even you… I’m gonna honestly, honestly miss you… It’s been a blast.”

While the show featured plenty of stellar performances and memories of Simon, there was one moment that seemed to be unscripted.

During an original song consisting of Simon’s best insults, performed by comedian Dane Cook, the funnyman was joined on stage by a host of “Idol” rejects, one of whom decided to make the moment his own. Ian Bernardo grabbed the microphone off of Dane’s stand, a move which the comedian’s expression hinted was not supposed to happen. Ian then proceeded to take over.

“It’s all about Ian Bernardo,” the “Idol” reject screamed. “I wanna say I’m replacing you Simon Cowell because I’m more entertaining.”

Producers quickly cut the microphones as the camera panned away and the show cut to commercial.

General Larry Platt, who was cut in the audition rounds in Season 9 (not that he could have made it through anyways, as, well, he was way too old), also came back, performing his now infamous audition song, “Pants on the Ground,” with a hip-hop dance troupe. He too was joined by a star – Season 3’s most famous reject William Hung.


Willie Nelson "Haircut"

Posted by admin | 6:27 PM | | 0 comments »


Willie Nelson’s trademark pigtails are history.

"Oh Noooooo!," wrote one fan who saw a picture of the recently-shorn Willie's on the website of Nashville TV and radio personality Jimmy Carter.

Willie’s spokeswoman, Elaine Schock said Nelson, who's been hanging out in Hawaii, got his hair cut within the last couple of weeks.

She said the Central Texas-born performer didn't make a big fuss about the makeover, but she theorized Willie might have grown tired of dealing with the long locks.

"There's a lot of maintenance," she said.



Art Linkletter

Posted by admin | 6:05 PM | | 0 comments »


Art Linkletter, the genial host who parlayed his talent for the ad-libbed interview into two of television’s longest-running shows, “People Are Funny” and “House Party,” in the 1950s and 1960s, died on Wednesday at his home in the Bel Air section of Los Angeles. He was 97.

The death was confirmed by Art Hershey, a son-in-law.

From his early days as an announcer on local radio and a roving broadcaster at state fairs, Mr. Linkletter showed a talent for ingratiating himself with his subjects and getting them to open up, often with hilarious results.

He was particularly adept at putting small children at ease, which he did regularly on a segment of “House Party,” a reliably amusing question-and-answer session that provided the material for his best-selling book “Kids Say the Darndest Things!”

Television critics and intellectuals found the Linkletter persona bland and his popularity unfathomable. “There is nothing greatly impressive, one way or the other, about his appearance, mannerisms, or his small talk,” one newspaper critic wrote. Another referred to his “imperishable banality.”

Millions of Americans disagreed. They responded to his wholesome, friendly manner and upbeat appeal. Women, who made up three-quarters of the audience for “House Party,” which was broadcast in the afternoon, loved his easy, enthusiastic way with children.

“I know enough about a lot of things to be interesting, but I’m not interested enough in any one thing to be boring,” Mr. Linkletter told The New York Post in 1965. “I’m like everybody’s next-door neighbor, only a little bit smarter.”

He was also genuinely curious to know what was going on in the heads of the people he interviewed. “You have to listen,” he said. “A lot of guys can talk.”

Gordon Arthur Kelly was born on July 17, 1912, in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Before he was a month old he was abandoned by his parents and adopted by Fulton John and Mary Metzler Linkletter, a middle-age couple whose two children had died. It was not until he was 12, while rummaging through his father’s desk, that he discovered he was adopted.

In his autobiography, “Confessions of a Happy Man,” Mr. Linkletter recalled his adoptive father, a one-legged cobbler and itinerant evangelist, as “a strange, uncompromising man whose main interest in life was the Bible.” The family prayed and performed on street corners, with Art playing the triangle.

By the time Art was 5 the family had moved to an unpaved adobe section of San Diego. As a child he took on any job he could find. At one point he sorted through lemons left abandoned in piles outside a packing plant, cleaned them off and sold them for 6 cents a dozen.

After graduating from high school at 16, Mr. Linkletter decided to see the world. With $10 in his pocket, he rode freight trains and hitchhiked around the country, working here and there as a meatpacker, a harvester and a busboy in a roadhouse.

“Among other things, I learned to chisel rides on freight trains, outwit the road bulls, cook stew with the bindlestiffs and never to argue with a gun,” he later recalled. A fast typist, he found work in a Wall Street bank just in time to watch the stock market crash in 1929. He also shipped out to Hawaii and Rio de Janeiro as a merchant seaman.

After returning to California, he entered San Diego State Teachers College (now San Diego State University) with plans of becoming an English teacher. He earned a bachelor’s degree in 1934, but in his last year he was hired to do spot announcements by a local radio station, KGB, a job that led to radio work at the California Pacific International Exposition in San Diego and at similar fairs in Dallas and San Francisco.

With microphone in hand and countless programming hours to fill, Mr. Linkletter relied on ad-libbing, stunts and audience participation to get attention and keep listeners entertained. He was once lowered from a skyscraper in a boatswain’s chair, interviewing office workers on every floor as he descended. “It was the forced feeding of a young and growing M.C.,” he later said of his more than 9,000 fair broadcasts.

In 1936 he married Lois Foerster, a college student in San Diego, who survives him. The couple had five children: Jack, who followed his father into television and died of lymphoma in 2007; Dawn, of Sedona, Ariz.; Robert, who died in a car accident in 1980; Sharon, of Calabasas, Calif.; and Diane, who committed suicide in 1969, an event that spurred her father into becoming a crusader against drug use. There are 7 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.

Mr. Linkletter quickly established himself on local radio in San Francisco, but floundered when he moved to Los Angeles in the early 1940s. A radio show picked up by Shell Oil, “Shell Goes to a Party,” was canceled after Mr. Linkletter, reporting on a nighttime beach party, fell over some driftwood and lost his microphone.

He did have one piece of radio luck. With John Guedel, who would go on to create the quiz show “You Bet Your Life” and the comedy “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet,” Mr. Linkletter made an audition tape for an audience-participation show, with contests and gags, that would rely on his ability to ad-lib and coax humorous material from virtually anyone. Mr. Guedel came up with the name “People Are Funny,” and NBC put it on the air in 1942. Enormously popular, it ran on radio until 1960. The television version, which made its debut in 1954, ran until 1961.

Working without a script, Mr. Linkletter sent audience volunteers on silly assignments outside the studio with instructions to report back on their experience. One man was handed a $1,000 bill and told to buy chewing gum. Another was given $15,000 to invest in the stock market. Mr. Linkletter mingled with the audience, asking questions, setting up gags and handing out prizes like a yard of hot dogs or five feet of dollar bills.

On one show Mr. Linkletter spotted a woman’s enormous purse and began rummaging through it, announcing each item in turn: a can opener, a can of snuff, a losing racetrack ticket and a photograph of Herbert Hoover. The handbag bit became a staple of the show. More ingeniously, Mr. Linkletter set a dozen balls adrift in the Pacific, announcing a $1,000 prize for the first person to find one. Two years later a resident of the Marshall Islands claimed the money.

“House Party,” which ran five days a week on radio from 1945 to 1967 and on television from 1952 to 1969, was a looser version of “People Are Funny,” with beauty tips and cooking demonstrations filling time between Mr. Linkletter’s audience-chatter sessions. The highlight of the show was a segment in which five children between the ages of 5 and 10 sat down to be interviewed by Mr. Linkletter, who sat at eye level with his little subjects and, time and time again, made their parents wish television had never been invented.

After one boy revealed that his father was a policeman who arrested lots of burglars, Mr. Linkletter asked if his mother ever worried about the risks. “Naw, she thinks it’s great,” he answered. “He brings home rings and bracelets and jewelry almost every week.”

Mr. Linkletter assembled replies like that in “Kids Say the Darndest Things!,” illustrated by Charles M. Schulz, the creator of “Peanuts,” and its sequel, “Kids Still Say the Darndest Things.”

In 1969 Mr. Linkletter’s daughter Diane leapt to her death from her sixth-story apartment. Her father said that LSD had contributed to her death, and although an autopsy showed no signs of the drug in her body, the personal tragedy became a national event, suggesting to many Americans that drugs and the counterculture were making inroads even into seemingly model families like the Linkletters.

Mr. Linkletter, rather than retreating from the attention, became a crusader against drug use and an adviser to President Richard M. Nixon on drug policy, although, in 1972, he announced that he had changed his position on marijuana. After much thought and study he had concluded that the drug was relatively harmless and that law-enforcement officials should spend their time concentrating on hard drugs.

Much in demand as a public speaker and a fund-raiser for Republican candidates, Mr. Linkletter spent his subsequent years on lecture tours, appearing in commercials and tending to his far-flung business interests, including oil wells and toys. (One of his companies manufactured a version of the Hula-Hoop.)

A former college athlete, he remained remarkably healthy well into his 90s and the ideal front man for the United Seniors Association (renamed USA Next), a conservative organization formed in opposition to AARP and dedicated largely to privatizing Social Security. In keeping with his new role as a prominent elder American, Mr. Linkletter wrote “Old Age Is Not for Sissies.”

When he was well into his 80s and still going strong, someone asked him the secret of longevity. “You live between your ears,” he replied. “You can’t turn back the clock, but you can rewind it.”




It's been a long road on 'Dancing With the Stars' (Tue., 9PM ET on ABC). But now, we finally get to crown a champion.


Who gets to win, after this long, long process? Once upon a time, people like Kate Gosselin and Buzz Aldrin were on the show. Remember them? But in the end, it came down to three couples: Nicole and Derek, Evan and Anna, and Erin and Maksim. And your winner is ...

NICOLE AND DEREK. They are your champions. Olympic skater Evan Lysacek came in second, and sports reporter Erin Andrews got third place. It's been called the closest season of 'Dancing With the Stars' ever. During the season, Nicole has received criticism -- some viewers thought that her inclusion on the show was unfair, because she already had some dance experience as a member of the Pussycat Dolls. Still, she wowed the judges, and got the trophy.

What do you think? Should Nicole have won? Did the judges make the right choice?



Up to the Mountain

Posted by admin | 10:37 PM | | 0 comments »


The showdown has arrived -- will it be Crystal Bowersox or Lee DeWyze who wins "American Idol" Season 9?

Based on the beginning of the season, we would've said Crystal. Based on the last few weeks, we would've said Lee. Based on the final performances -- it's a toss-up.

It's not a toss-up in terms of who "won" each round, as Simon likes to say some years. We think Crystal clearly won the last round, but we'd call the first round a tie and (after listening to them back on TV) we'd give the middle round to Lee. "Black Velvet" was not as good as we thought it was in person.

Here is our order from best to worst:

No. 1 Crystal, "Up to the Mountain"

Crystal on stage: We will confess to not being familiar with this song prior to Crystal's performance. But we can now say we are fans. It took all night for us to finally find the right word to describe it -- "dynamic." This showed off Crystal's big voice and yet let her do the pretty, quiet thing she also does really well. It was a beautiful showcase for her talent.

Crystal on TV: Crystal made a home-run song choice. This is a perfect single for her to release and it was easily the best performance of the night. It doesn't stretch her voice into that range that starts to sound scream-y and it lets her be soft and lilting on parts -- exactly what "Black Velvet" could have been.

No. 2 (tie) Crystal, "Me and Bobby McGee"

Crystal on stage: We don't have a lot to add to this critique that we haven't said before -- Crystal is Janis Joplin without sounding like she smokes two packs a day. We love the switches to the melody she does on the song -- they are just enough to put her stamp on it without bastardizing a classic.

Crystal on TV: This bumped her down into a tie with Lee for second because the ending, where Crystal really lets it rip, seems super-exciting in person but is actually kinda messy when you can hear the vocal clearly. It was still strong, but just not quiiiite as strong as we originally thought.

No. 2 (tie) Lee, "The Boxer"

Lee on stage: Lee seemed nervous. Incredibly nervous. That surprised us because he got to ease into the night on a song he'd already done very well on the show. This just didn't seem to have the punch that it did the first time around or even on Lee's hometown visit, which we'll chalk up to his being so tight with nerves.

Lee on TV: Watching this back bumped Lee up to a tie with Crystal for the No. 2 spot. We were so far in the back of the theater that this seemed very boring and a little tight in person. Upon playback, much more emotion came through and the vocal was stronger than we originally thought. With Lee doing better than we thought on "Boxer" and Crystal not quite doing as well as we thought on "Bobby McGee," we declare those two tied.

No. 3 Lee, "Everybody Hurts"

Lee on stage: This one disappointed us in much the same way as "Black Velvet" -- too big. It would've been great if Lee had really rocked "The Boxer," then scaled way back and been all vulnerable for "Everybody Hurts," then really let it rip on "Beautiful Day." But instead of going BIG, intimate, BIGGER, he stayed very static throughout the night -- nothing terrible, but nothing mind-blowing. We did like his growl on this song, though.

Lee on TV: We blame the arrangement. Lee is a cutie pie and if he had just sat down and had a really intimate moment on this song, instead of having bongos driving the up-tempo rhythm, this maybe could've been a good song for him. Plus, the ending was really weird. It was just very blah. That being said -- we think it was still a better vocal than "Black Velvet," which turned out to be very scream-y and off-pitch when we watched the TV broadcast.

No. 4 Lee, "Beautiful Day"

Lee on stage: Not a good pick for Lee. He put his guitar down and seemed a bit lost, plus on the really big high stuff he didn't go big enough. A week ago, Lee let it absolutely effing rip on "Simple Man" and "Hallelujah," which is what he should've done on on this one. It was his last song of the night, his last big impression. And it was just okay.

Lee on TV: This started off VERY rough. Not only were there some pitch problems, but Lee was weirdly wandering around the stage, taking what our college acting teacher liked to call "two steps to nowhere." That being said, the chorus really picked up. The big notes were great, but we wanted him to go bigger. "TOUCH me. Take me to that other place. REE-EE-EE-EEACH me." We wanted him to really blow the roof off on the second time he same that line, but he didn't go for it.

No. 5 Crystal, "Black Velvet"

Crystal on stage: This could have been an excellent choice for Crystal. Unfortunately, Crystal does not quite have the big roaring pipes that Alannah Miles did on the original. And then the arrangement, instead of letting Crystal play with the dynamics (like in the original and also like Crystal did on "Mountain"), put in even more big belting moments. It felt forced and needed to have more quiet moments, like after the bridge on "happened so soon. What could you even do?" That was loud instead of soft and didn't work -- just one of many moments that didn't work. Our reaction when this song was announced was literally an excited "Ooooh!" and we were disappointed by it.

Crystal on TV: First of all, the idea to have her descend steps in heels was terrible Crystal had bigger things to worry about than looking down to make sure she didn't fall on her face. Also, upon listening to the playback, this dropped her behind Lee for the second round of songs. She had some serious pitch problems and again, missed all the quiet moments that make the original so sultry and fabulous. We strongly feel that the judges (if they watch tonight back, which they probably won't) will re-think how highly they praised this number. We actually dropped this from 3rd to last after watching it back.

Who's going to win?

We have no idea. Honestly. Crystal has been strong since the beginning, but America has the attention span of goldfish and Lee is what was hot in the past few weeks. But then he kinda tanked on the finale and she didn't, so we really aren't sure. There are also non-singing factors, like the fact that Lee's cute and guess who votes for this show? And where did Casey James' fanbase go? Probably Lee, if we had to guess. This really could go either way but we won't cop out -- we'll say Lee wins in an upset.

Thoughts & Tidbits

* There is no live dispatch tonight because the Nokia Theater is about 10x the size of the CBS studio where the show usually is. We're lucky we could hear the Idols perform, let alone get behind-the-scenes shenanigans to report.
* Crystal's weird send-off to Simon during her final critique was probably sincere, but seemed like a shill for votes. She should've saved that for tomorrow night.
* How do you feel about the "Idol" singles being covers? We think it's a great idea because the coronation songs usually suck, but we wish Lee had picked something more obscure like Crystal did. "Beautiful Day" had its turn, got burned into all our brains by Bono and doesn't need to be revived on the radio.


Nate Berkus Show

Posted by admin | 7:17 PM | , | 0 comments »



'Oprah Winfrey' regular and popular design expert Nate Berkus, a bestselling author and radio host with his own home line on Home Shopping Network and at Linens 'n Things, has his own syndicated show coming up this fall (co-produced by Winfrey's Harpo Prods. and Sony Pictures TV) and Winfrey took some tine on Tuesday's edition of 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' (weekdays, syndicated) to wish him good luck.

She also presented him with a handmade "coffee table book" put together by the 'Oprah Show' staff; each member of the staff wrote a special note expressing "what you mean to us." it was a touching tribute, and brought a tear to Berkus' eye. 'The Nate Berkus Show' begins September 13.



Superbowl 2014

Posted by admin | 6:51 PM | | 0 comments »



New York, NY - Mayor Michael Bloomberg visited the TechCrunch Disrupt Conference to announce that New York was open to the tech business. In his speech, he failed to mention the real story: that New York was in line to host the 2014 Super Bowl.

At another press conference held in an adjacent area to the main room at 570 Washington Street, this blogger asked Mayor Bloomberg if he knew of New York's chances. "I don't know. They're supposed to announce today, but I don't know what they're going to do," and the Mayor was talking about the NFL.

At 5 PM EDT, on a sunny Tuesday, and in Times Square while this blogger was at the TechCrunch Conference, they did it. The NFL awarded New York City the 2014 Super Bowl. Immediately, I thought of Oakland's Super Bowl Bid, 9-11, and New York's determination to be great.

What stopped Oakland from landing the 2005 Super Bowl was its lack of community determination and support. Regardless of the specific reasons, Oakland lacked an overall want to. That's even true with Oakland's World Cup bid: no fire in the collective belly.

New York managed to convince the NFL that it could host what would be the first outdoor cold-weather Super Bowl in history. This is wild because for decades, the National Football League has had a cold weather rule that such Super Bowls were to be played in dome stadiums.

That was eliminated for New York. And while it's a gift that is due to the trajedy of 9-11, it opens the door for other cities to bid on it. And why not? New York beat Miami for the win?

But New York was determined to win. It has a moxie that Oakland could have, but seems afraid to muster.

Stay tuned.

U2 Concert Postponed

Posted by admin | 6:44 PM | , | 0 comments »


The U2 360° Tour that was supposed to open in Salt Lake City on June 3 has been postponed until 2011, although no dates have been confirmed, Live Nation, the tour's promoter, stated in a news release Tuesday.

Details on rescheduled dates will follow "shortly," and fans should retain their tickets until the announcement, Live Nation stated.

Meanwhile, U2 lead singer Bono has been released from a German hospital following emergency back surgery, which caused the postponement of the tour.

The singer is expected to make a full recovery, but only after at least eight weeks of rehabilitation, according to the news release.

"This will necessitate the postponement of 16 shows on the U2 360° Tour from Salt Lake City on June 3 through New Jersey's Meadowlands Stadium on July 19," according to the news release.

Bono, born Paul Hewson, 50, was discharged from Ludwig Maximilians-University Hospital in Munich after a successful surgery to repair a ligament tear and a herniated disc.

Dr. Muller Wohlfahrt of the LMU Hospital said in the news release that Bono initially "suffered severe compression of the sciatic nerve," but after an MRI scan, doctors noticed the other injuries and recommended emergency spine surgery.

Bono was in "severe pain with partial paralysis in the lower leg," according to the news release. "The ligament surrounding the disc had an 8 mm tear, and during surgery we discovered fragments of the disc had traveled into the spinal canal."

U2 manager Paul McGuinness said Bono was very disappointed that the tour couldn't start on schedule.

"For a performer who lives to be on stage, this is more than a blow," McGuinness said. "He feels robbed of the chance to do what he does best and feels like he has badly let down the band and their audience.

"His concerns about more than a million ticket-buyers whose plans have been turned upside down we all share. But the most important thing right now is that Bono make a full recovery. We're working as fast as we can with Live Nation to reschedule these dates."

Chuck Season 4

Posted by admin | 2:27 AM | , | 0 comments »


May 25 – NBC TV show Chuck season 3 is end. And do you love this season ? So is there season 4 for Chuck ?

It was announced that Chuck had been renewed for a fourth season of 13 episodes. Unlike the third season which was held as a midseason replacement, Chuck will appear on NBC’s Fall 2010 schedule in its traditional Monday 8/7c timeslot.

Chuck is an action-comedy television program from the United States created by Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak. The series is about an “average computer-whiz-next-door” who receives an encoded e-mail from an old college friend now working in the CIA; the message embeds the only remaining copy of the world’s greatest spy secrets into Chuck’s brain.

Produced by College Hill Pictures, Wonderland Sound and Vision and Warner Bros. Television, the series premiered on September 24, 2007, on NBC, airing on Monday nights at 8/7c leading into Heroes. Despite receiving a full season pickup, the first season contained only thirteen episodes; production was stalled due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. The second season started on September 29, 2008, with a full 22-episode season order. NBC released the first episode of season two a week before its air date via multiple online distribution methods, and cable on demand.

Sex And The City 2 Premiere

Posted by admin | 2:22 AM | | 0 comments »



Sex and the City 2 is going to kill it at the box office this weekend no doubt, but don't tell that to Sarah Jessica Parker.

"I'm still so nervous," she told me at the movie's premiere at Radio City Music Hall. "Look at my cuticles!"

John Corbett, who returns as Carrie Bradshaw's former beau Aiden, wasn't sweating things at all...

In fact, Corbett says he wasn't even upset by reports claiming he'd turned down an offer to come back.

"I had to lie and tell people I wasn't coming back," said Corbett, who looked smashing in a Ralph Lauren Black Label suit. "Even up until two months ago I had to say I wasn't in the movie because they wanted to keep it a secret. But then one day, [director-writer] Michael Patrick King called me and said, "We're putting you in the trailer so you can stop lying now.'"

A new addition to the SATC family is smokin' hot model Noah Mills. He has quite the bedroom scene with Kim Cattrall in which he's wearing, well, nothing.

"It was some sort of sock device," he said of covering up his manhood. "I won't go into detail, but it didn't work very well."

Parker & Co. headed over to Lincoln Center after the screening for a Middle Eastern-themed party under a giant tent. Seen mingling were Gilles Marini, Gayle King, Vanessa Williams and Johnny Weir. Guests feasted on hummus and chicken and beef kabobs, but one of the biggest hits were the 1,200 bite-size Crumb cupcakes for dessert.

Former Melrose Place star Colin Egglesfield said he was on the hunt to meet Cattrall. "She embodies everything I love about a woman," he said. "She's sexy and she's got that moxy and sassiness that I love in a woman."




Wardrobe Malfunction of Serena Williams in Heat People are all searching out for the Wardrobe Malfunction pics and photos of Serena Williams. Looks like both Venus And Serena Williams are getting pumped up when wacky and weird pictures of both Tennis Players are spreading all over the internet. After Serena Willaims got fined of $82,500, we are not on the news again with the tennis star in a wardrobe malfunction. Serena Williams was bodysurfing in Barbados when the incident took place. Her swimsuit slipped off her chest causing her nipple to show up. See the actual Serena Williams Wardrobe Malfunction Pics Photo.


Serena Williams was embarrased with the Wardrobe Malfunction, but the Tennis Ace just laughed it off. Now you guys saw the Serena Williams Wardrobe Malfunction Pics Photo. This is better than Venus Williams’s Corset Dress that has shocked Tennis Fans during her game against Swtizerland’s ace player. We will have more updates behind the French open 2010 game with Serena Williams.

24 Finale

Posted by admin | 6:38 PM | , , | 0 comments »


(WIREUPDATE) — The final day of Fox’s 24 ended on Monday night. Jack Bauer is a wanted man and is taking revenge on everyone involved in the death of his lover Renee Walker.

At the beginning of the episode Cole breaks into Jack’s accomplice Jim Ricker’s headquarters and gives him an ultimatum. Help us get Jack, and we will forget you exist, or spend the rest of his life in Prison. He chooses to help Cole and Chloe find Jack

President Logan: "I think its time she knows everything".

President Taylor cell phone rings exactly at that same time. President Logan is on the other end. He tells her that Jack Bauer isn’t trying to gather evidence, he’s seeking retribution. He tells President Taylor that Jack Bauer murdered the the Russian delegation. Logan then confirms that the Russian President knew about the hit.

Jack Bauer listened on to the entire conversation. President Taylor told Logan to let the Russian President know she is aware of the situation. She then walks into the UN conference room with President Hassan’s wife and other delegates.

President Logan’s new secret service detail arrives and he drives off.

"Thank you Jason it’s been a long road. We are almost there." Jason Pillar asks his partner at CTU if there any new develops on Jack Bauer’s whereabouts In the backseat of the SUV is Jack Bauer.

"Now Drive!" They head to the United Nations. Jack informs Jason Pillar that he knows that the Russian President was involved.

President Hassan’s wife thanks the delegation. Her security says her daughter wants to speak with her, that its important. She gives President Taylor a memento from her husband, a pen.

President Taylor says she is very honored and walks off weeping.

Kayla Hassan tells her mother that Meredith Reed had called with information behind her father’s murder. She tells her mother that the Russians are involved. They decide to call Meredith Reed.

Cole arrives at the CTU headquarters at the UN. Chloe is acting director of CTU. She says there is still no sign from Jack. Cole asks what they should do with the information if they get it from Jack. Chloe says that she will use CTU servers to distribute it to everyone. Chloe puts Cole back in charge of security at the UN.

Jason Pillar, with Jack in the backseat arrive at the UN. They pass security and park underground. Jason notices that Jack is wounded and says that the president wouldn’t be there for another hour. That Jack won’t make it while bleed. Jack forces Jason to stitch up his wound at gunpoint.

Jack calls himself the Judge and Jury of those who were involved with the attack earlier in the day. Jason begs for his life. Instead of shooting him he knocks him out and yells out in pain.

Jack with a backpack of goodies explores the underground parking lot.

Dalia Hassan is trying to call Meredith Reed, but she isn’t picking up. When they can’t get hold of her Dalia says she is going to talk with President Taylor.

President Taylor is listening to the reports of the days events. Dalia approaches President Taylor with the new information in her husband’s murder. That the Russian government were involved. President Taylor asks in shock about this information, and says she heard a rumor about the Russian involvement. She lies and says there was nothing to backup the information. Dalia says that she believes Meredith Reed.

Dalia says that before she signs the treaty she needs help finding Meredith Reed. President Taylor says she will try her best. Dalia then clarifies, she won’t sign the treaty until she talks to Meredith Reed. She says she won’t change her mind.

President Taylor says, "You leave me no choice. I had Meredith Reed arrested because her allegations would be too damning."

"You wouldn’t arrest someone for false allegations. Unless they weren’t false. You knew! You knew!"

"Dalia, I’m so sorry. It was an impossible situation and I was trying to protect you."

"YOU BETRAYED ME" Dalia then came close to smacking President Taylor. She said that the treaty happened because her husband trusted her. She says she doesn’t trust President Taylor and there would be no agreement. She said that she will be filling a complaint with the UN for the release of Meredith Reed.

President Taylor says that in one hour they will sign the treaty. She says if she won’t then she will leak the information that military members of the Islamic Republic were part of the terrorist attack earlier in the day. That should use the military of the United States against them in full force for their involvement… unless she signs the treaty.

Dalia storms off.

Jack continues walking through points in the UN complex. He sets up some sort of device on the wall and breaks into a Utility Room. From the room he can see the entrance of the UN. He turns on his laptop for surveillance and gets out a rather large looking rifle.

Dalia is yelling at her advisor. He says he doesn’t see a way out of this. Dalia says that she can take their case to the head of the UN. He says there is no case. She says that she can reactivate their nuclear program.

The phone rings. President Taylor is expecting Dalia Hassan to great the Russian delegation as it arrives.

Chloe says that Jack was found in the perimeter of the UN! Chloe says that she is going to go find him. Cole asks what if he doesn’t listen to her, "Give me 20 minutes."

They agree. Cole gives Chloe a gun and she heads to the building.

Jack starts making a video. "I started out by saying how sorry I am. You are going to hear a lot of stories about what I’ve done today."

"No one will tell you what I did except for me. A lot of good people died today." He then lists people in several agencies and Renee Walker.

The Russian delegation arrives and so does Dalia. She doesn’t look at President Taylor. The motorcade makes it way to an underground entrance. The Russian President Yuri Suvarov thanks welcoming him.

President Taylor tries to sneak a word in with Dalia, but she is cut off"There is nothing for us to say Madam President".

At a news conference President Taylor, Yuri Suvarov and Dalia Hassan stand in the background as the U.N. Secretary General gives a few words about the days events and the peace treaty that they will be signing. President Logan watches on.

Chloe hears Jack in the building. She walks around the corridors with her gun drawn. She opens the door to the utility closet and Jack disarms her. She says that he doesn’t have to kill Yuri Suvarov. She says that there is a shooting order to kill him on site. Jack says that she should never have gone after him. She says that he is her friend. She didn’t have a choice. He chokes her until she passes out. He tells her not to fight it.

Cole keeps checking his watch. Jack gets is riffle ready and looks through the viewpoint. President Logan gets a phone call. Jack is pointing the gun at President Logan. He says that if he tries to move he is a dead man. He has to do what Jack says.

Logan says that he has already told Jack everything. He replays the recording of Logan talking to the Russian President about the day’s events. Jack wants Logan to tell the truth for a change, tell Suvarov that there is credible intelligence that his life is in danger.

Jack smiles.

—– Start of Episode 24 —–

Yuri Suvarov tells the press that they all stand in the shadow of President Hassan’s tragic death. He says he extends his open hand in friendship to President Taylor and Dalia Hassan. The Press conference ends. Suvarov says that it is surprising that he isn’t the only that doesn’t want to be there. Suvarov said that she knows. President Taylor tells him that she heard the truth from a reporter. He says whatever President Taylor said to Dalia must have been convincing.

He gets President Logan’s phone call.

Logan says that they need talk, that it’s a sensitive matter that can’t be discussed on the phone. He invites the President of Russia to his suite. Logan lies and says there is a possible leak in his camp which is the reason why they have to discuss.

Jack says that Logan is a world class liar. Chloe wakes up and says that the recording device can be used and sent to the media. Jack says that its too late. Cole tries to contact Chloe but he can’t. Cole then calls CTU forces and tells them that Jack Bauer is on the 22nd floor and is a possible sniper. He is armed and dangerous.

Chloe asks Jack to put down the rifle. Chloe says that Russians will consider the President’s assassination an act of war. She warns Jack that there is a risk of innocent lives. Suvarov arrives. Jack says that it isn’t about him. Chloe says that Renee wouldn’t want this. The last thing she would want is for him to start a war in her name. Jack has the Russian president in his rifles site. He pauses

Jack agrees with Chloe and puts down the rifle. Chloe says she will promise to see it through.

Logan lies to Suvarov again and says that his information was wrong. Yuri then calls in his security. They both leave.

CTU heads to the 22nd floor. Jack orders Chloe to shoot him. He says that the only way to keep it secret that her and Cole were trying to find Jack before CTU was to shoot him. She refuses to shoot him. Jack points a gun at her and says he must shoot him. She again refuses. The CTU team is getting close.

"Damn you Chloe!" Jack points the gun at his head and finally Chloe pulls the trigger hitting him in the upper chest.

Chloe explains to Cole that she had to shoot Jack. A CTU agent says that Jason Pillar wants to talk to Chloe. Pillar is on his way to talk to Chloe. Chloe can’t get away to get the recording.

President Logan tells Pillar that he has to get the recording from Jack that implicates him. Pillar says call me back when he gets the recording.

The agents say all they found was a recording device, but the card is missing. Chloe tells Pillar that she had to shoot Jack. Pillar searches Chloe for the data card. He doesn’t find it because she was hiding it inside her cell phone.

Pillar talks to Jack and asks where the data card was. Jack doesn’t say anything. Pillar realizes that Chloe must have taken the card. Before he can tell the agents to try and get Chloe Jack starts to talk. Pillar gets closer to listen and Jack bites his ear off.

Back at the UN CTU headquarters Chloe runs to a console and tries to upload the files to CTU. However, before she can get it finished agents take her and Cole in custody.

Pillar orders that the data card is taken to President Logan.

Logan gives the data card to President Taylor. Logan says that the plan to expose the truth almost worked. And that President Taylor won. President Taylor asked if he heard the recording. He says that he had and its not worth going.

Logan says that one thing to remember is that Jack Bauer will never let this go. President Logan says that the peace agreement needs to be protected. As long as Jack Bauer is around there is no way. Logan says that they must stop Jack Bauer before he can stop the peace agreement.

President Taylor watches the recording that Jack made earlier.

Tim Woods calls the President to tell her that the delegates were there.

She finishes the recording. Jack says that "lasting peace can’t be political, it must be based on trust on both sides to move forward".

Jack says he cannot let the peace deal to go forward. "You remind me of that earlier today, that’s who I am".

Jason Pillar tells President Logan that Jack is being taken care of. Taylor leaves her room and Logan wishes her luck.

Logan said that this calls for celebration. They go into Logan’s room and toast each other for their accomplishments.

Dalia and Yuri see each other. President Taylor enters the room.

The U.N. Secretary General welcomes everyone to the peace signing.



Slipknot bassist Paul Gray was found dead in an Iowa hotel room, the Associated Press reports. He was 38 years old.

A hotel employee discovered Gray's body in a room at the town Plaza Hotel in Urbandale, a suburb of Des Moines early Monday. Many of Slipknot's members are from the Des Moines area.

Foul play isn't suspected and an autopsy is planned for tomorrow.

Slipknot is best known for wearing crazy masks while performing. Their self-titled album sold more than one million copies in 1999 and the band won a GRAMMY in 2006 for Best Metal Performance for their single, 'Before I Forget.'

The band's rep has no comment at this time.

Paul Gray Dead

Posted by admin | 6:30 PM | | 0 comments »



There are numerous reports surfacing saying that Slipknot bassist Paul Gray was found dead in a hotel in Urbandale, IA today. KCCI Des Moines reports Gray was found six hours ago at a Marriott. This backs up an earlier post in the Des Moines Examiner. Gray was 38. He leaves behind a wife, Brenna Paul, who is expecting a child. According to the Examiner, the preliminary reports from the scene indicates a drug overdose as the cause of death.

This is seriously one of the most unfortunate years for deaths in metal that we can think of. In little more than a month, we’ve lost Peter Steele, Ronnie James Dio, and now Paul Gray. If it does indeed turn out to be drug related, it’s an extremely unfortunate turn of events from one of the most popular bands in metal. This is all preliminary, but if Gray is leaving behind a wife and a kid that will grow up never having met his dad, it’s the ultimate selfish move.

Forming in 1995, Slipknot burst onto the nu-metal scene with their self-titled album. Known initially for their appearance and masks, the nine-member band subsequently won over many fans that initially dismissed them with their mix of heaviness and their impressive stage show. The first three Slipknot albums have all gone platinum. Their fourth, 2008’s All Hope is Gone, was their first to debut at #1 and will go platinum later this year.




The 47-year-old glam rocker, who recently suffered "warning stroke" and subsequently found to have a hole in his heart, was named winner of this season's 'The Celebrity Apprentic during the live two-hour final episode, which was aired on May 23.

Bret is the newest Celebrity Apprentice
First Bret had an emergency appendectomy, then a brain hemorrhage, and a warning stroke with subsequent discovery of a hole in heart. But none of his health woes could stop him to make the finale.

Michaels, the frontman of glam rock band Poison, was crowned by Donald Trump as the new Celebrity Apprentice. After winning the title Michaels has the third Celebrity Apprentice.

After completing the task, Michaels invented a Trop-A-Rocka Blend while Peete came up with the Compassionberry Tea. Both finalists won Donald’s heart with their invented tea flavor.

"Bret, I have to tell you, you're hired," Donald told the singer on Sunday night’s ABC show finale.

The rocker moved his way through a Snapple challenge that involved creating a new flavor of Snapple tea, as well as a print ad and a commercial to go with it.

After completing the task, Michaels invented a Trop-A-Rocka Blend while Peete came up with the Compassionberry Tea. Both finalists won Donald’s heart with their invented tea flavor.

Donald thought both flavors were "fantastic," but in the end, the CEO chose Michaels.

Peete was a winner as well
Michaels beat out former 21 Jump Street queen Holly Robinson Peete to win a $250,000 bonus check for his charity of choice, the American Diabetes Association.

Despite placing at the second place the actress Peete also took home $250,000 for her chosen charity, her own HollyRod Foundation that supports families facing a serious illness.

About Michaels
Born on March 15, 1963, Bret Michaels is an American singer, best known as the lead vocalist of the glam metal band--Poison.

Besides his career as a lead singer of a rock band, he has several solo albums to his credit.

He has also starred in the VH1 reality show ‘Rock of Love with Bret Michaels’ and its sequels, and as a judge on the talent show ‘Nashville Star.’

Michaels’ health issues
Michaels has a history of medical issues. The entertainer is a diabetic, and is rather paranoid about it. He gives himself several insulin shots and checks his blood sugar four to six times a day.

The rocker had been hit by diabetes in his childhood. He has also suffered several injuries and is frequently hospitalized. At last year's Tony Awards, Michaels was hit by a stage prop, which caused him to suffer a broken nose.

Rocker’s recent health woes
The rock singer was rushed to an undisclosed Los Angeles hospital late April after complaining of a severe headache. He underwent an emergency appendectomy two weeks before suffering a potentially fatal brain hemorrhage on April 25.

After surviving the brain hemorrhage, Michaels appeared on the road to recovery but suffered a serious setback after he experienced a small "warning stroke" mere days ago.

After having what doctors are calling a Transient Ischemic Attack late last week, Michaels was taken to a Los Angeles hospital, where doctors discovered a hole in his heart, called a patent foramen ovale.

Brandy car accident photos

Posted by admin | 2:16 AM | | 0 comments »



Brandy and Lorenzo Sereno were dropping off their baby boy at grandma's in Alum Rock on Saturday evening hoping to catch the remake of "Nightmare on Elm Street."

But in a real-life nightmare, a suspected drunken driver — whose brother later told police had downed "20 Tecates" beforehand — caused a chain-reaction accident that sent cars plowing into the Serenos and three children playing in the front yard. All five were injured, two of the children seriously.

"Everyone was screaming and crying. Everyone called 911," Brandy Sereno told the Mercury News on Tuesday.

Sereno was pinned between the driver's white Plymouth minivan and her Expedition. Her husband, Lorenzo Sereno, who works in law enforcement, rushed to rescue his wife.

"My father-in-law, a neighbor and my husband pulled me up by my armpits to get me out from being pinned against my car by the van," Brandy Sereno said.

The Serenos suffered minor injuries, and their 10-month-old son, Lorenzo Jr., was unharmed in his car seat.

San Jose police arrested 28-year-old Rholdan Cabana, who lives a mile away on Wonderama Drive, on felony drunken-driving charges and one misdemeanor count for driving with a suspended license. His brother, who was in the van, told police he thought the 135-pound Cabana had drunk 20 Tecate beers at a party earlier that day.

Police reports show that Cabana tried to run away, but the 20 or so neighbors wouldn't let him
Advertisement
Click here to find out more!
go.

Cabana's blood alcohol level was more than the legal limit of 0.08, records show, but the exact level wasn't made public.

Lorenzo Sereno's two young relatives and a neighbor's son were more seriously injured. They had been playing in the yard of Lorenzo Sereno's parents' house on Farringdon Drive when the Serenos arrived about 6 p.m.

His 4-year-old sister, Lila Bruno, suffered the most serious injury — a fractured skull. She underwent brain surgery and was transferred Tuesday from Valley Medical Center to Children's Hospital in Oakland.

"The doctors had to clean her brain from dirt," Brandy Sereno said. "They're not sure how half of her brain will recover."

Christopher Ramirez, a 10-year-old neighbor, remains at Valley Medical Center with a skull fracture, a broken clavicle, a major rip to his left ear that requires surgery and cuts all over his face and body. Sereno's 6-year-old cousin, Leslie Manzano, was released from the hospital with some leg bruises.

When Lorenzo went up to the van to confront driver, the driver couldn't open his eyes and said, "Yeah man, I'm drunk. I'm drunk," according to a police report.

Cabana has no prior criminal history in Santa Clara County. But he was convicted three times since 2007 for minor traffic violations, such as not obeying signals and once, driving with either marijuana or an open container in his car, according to the Department of Motor Vehicles. He is scheduled to be arraigned today.

Calls to his parents' home were not immediately returned. He is in jail, and the number he provided police was not in service.

A police report says Cabana was driving at a "high rate of speed" when his minivan hit a black Chevy, which careened into a chain-link fence. The Chevy also struck Lila and the 6-year-old cousin. Cabana's van kept going, sideswiping a green Mercury Grand Marquis and a silver Ford Expedition, both parked on the street. And finally, it careened into Christopher.

The Serenos are thankful that their baby wasn't hurt. "It's really just a miracle," said Brandy Sereno, a student at San Jose City College who hopes to major in psychology.

The Serenos are praying for the two remaining hospitalized children to recover. They're trying not to be consumed by anger or grief but to turn the situation into something positive.

"My husband and I want to help out more in our community," Brandy Sereno said. "We put up fliers in the neighborhood saying we want speed bumps, or a sign that says, 'Kids at Play.' I made a call about joining MADD, too."

What happened on "Lost"?

Posted by admin | 2:12 AM | , | 0 comments »



Well, it's really over. After six years and 121.5 hours of episodes, we finally have closure. Our full analysis will be posted here first thing in the morning, but we wanted to go on record immediately with our gut reaction to tonight's finale and -- to better inform our analysis -- ask you to do the same.

First, our mini-instant analysis:

Jen: "DId you see that?" "Did you feel that?"

Those phrases kept repeating tonight. And I have to say, I saw it. And I felt. What about you?

Liz: I did. I saw it and felt it. I'm still feeling it.

If, as some said, "Lost" was to be judged by its finale then all I can say is Damon and Carlton pulled it off. I've been crying and laughing and basically an emotional basket case for the last 2.5 hours. I could not possibly have asked for anything more. I am in awe.

Jen: Agreed. I know there are some unanswered questions, which we'll talk about in the dueling analysis that will go up in the morning. But here are some things I was happy to see again tonight: Bernard. Rose. Charlie. Shannon. Boone. Juliet. Lots of walkie talkie action. Kate shooting people impulsively. Lapidus. (So not dead.) Vincent. And, of course, two "Star Wars" references within the first 10 minutes of the finale.

Liz: I'm right there with you on all of the above.

But I can't get over the fact that it's over and rather than feeling, well, lost, I feel exhilarated. I expected to be mad, sad or disappointed. I'm not really any of those things. As I just posted to Facebook: It's over. And it was so good. Thank you Damon. Thank you Carlton. Thank you cast for the best six years of TV ever.

Jen: While some people will probably complain that this episode had too much smooching and crying and not enough question-answering, I feel, like you, that it provided exactly what I needed: Satisfying emotional closure.

Liz: But I'm interested in hearing what our Lost-watching community has to say. So maybe, sista, we should move on and let them have the floor?

Jen: Yes, the church floor is now open.

Now it's your turn. Share your thoughts, emotion, criticism, angst, relief, etc. about the end of "Lost"...


Lost Finale Schedule:Lost Season Finale 2010 Series Time – One of the most popular television series of all time, Lost, will be coming to an end tonight. Tonight is the finale night, shown on a Sunday instead of their usual Tuesday schedule because there will be so much time needed to finish off the story and help wrap the series up for the fans. The finale will be two and a half hours long, and there will also be a recap episode that will help wrap up the series and the events for all of the fans.

The recap episode begins airing at nine. The recap episode will go over past, present, and future events to help fans get a better understanding of exactly what has gone on in their mysterious storyline. A number of actors on the show will make appearances during the recap episode to give their feelings and experiences throughout the creation of Lost. The recap episode will be followed by the main event of the night, the finale. The finale will be two and a half hours long, and will hopefully wrap the series up in a manner that can be respected by casual and hardcore fans alike.

After Lost ends, the cast will be appearing on a special Jimmy Kimmel Live titled “Aloha to Lost.” Throughout the week, advertisements of the show have been stating that Kimmel will also be presenting three unused alternate endings for the series. It will be a long night for Lost fans, who will have nearly six hours worth of Lost themed programming to watch tonight. It will be an exciting send off for one of the most watched television shows of all time.

Failure To Launch

Posted by admin | 8:20 PM | | 0 comments »



The following statement by Mars Society President Dr. Robert Zubrin appears in today's New York Daily News. With the permission of the Daily News, we reprint it in its entirety here.

Obama's failure to launch

BY Robert Zubrin

Monday, April 19th 2010, 4:00 AM

In a speech to political allies gathered at Cape Canaveral last week, President Obamalaid out his vision for America's space program. Under the Obama plan, NASA will spend $100 billion on human spaceflight over the next 10 years in order to accomplish nothing.

Of course, that's not how Mr. Obama phrased it. But beneath the President's flowery rhetoric, that's how things add up.

Here's the background. In 2004, the Bush administration launched a program called Constellation to develop a set of flight systems, including the Orion crew capsule and the Ares 1 and Ares 5 medium and heavy lift boosters, that together would allow astronauts to return to the Moon by 2020, and then fly to destinations beyond.

Under the plan announced by Obama, almost all of this will be scrapped. The only thing preserved out of the past six years and $9 billion worth of effort will be a version of the Orion capsule - but one so purposely stripped down that it will only be useful as a lifeboat for bringing astronauts down from the space station, not as a craft capable of providing a ride up to orbit.

With the Space Shuttle program set to sunset in the near future, what this means is that the only way Americans will be able even to reach low Earth orbit will be as passengers on Russian launchers, with tickets priced at the Kremlin's discretion. In other words, instead of flying astronauts from the Earth to the Moon, our human spaceflight program will become a vehicle for transporting cash from Washington to Moscow.

The most amazing thing about Obama's speech, however, was its cognitive dissonance. The President desperately tried to spin the abandonment of the Moon program not as a retreat, but as a daring advance. We've been to the Moon before, he declared, and so we have. There's a lot more of space to explore; we should set our sights on points beyond, to the near Earth asteroids, and reach for Mars. Indeed, we can and should.

But the President's plan makes no provision for actually doing so. Instead, he proposes to simply stall.

So, for example, as the first milestone in his allegedly daring program of exploration, Obama called for sending a crew to a near Earth asteroid by 2025.

Such a flight is certainly achievable. To do an asteroid mission, all that is required is a launch vehicle such as the Ares 5, a crew capsule (such as the Orion), and a habitation module similar to that employed on the space station. Had Obama not canceled the Ares 5, we could have used it to perform an asteroid mission by 2016. But the President, while calling for such a flight, actually is terminating the programs that would make it possible.

The same holds true with the question of reaching Mars. From a technical point of view, we are much closer today to being able to send humans to Mars than we were to being able to send men to the moon in 1961 when President John F. Kennedy made his speech committing us to that goal - and we were there eight years later. With Kennedy-like commitment, we could have astronauts on the Red Planet within a decade. Yet Obama chose to set that goal for the 2040s, a timeline so hazy as to not require him to actually do anything to realize it.

The bottom line: Under the Obama plan, NASA will be able to send astronauts anywhere it likes, provided that its effort to do so begins after he leaves office. The President's science adviser, John Holdren, attempts to justify this expensive ($10 billion per year) stalling game by claiming that the pause in flight programs will allow us to develop more advanced technologies that will make everything much more achievable later.

This is false to the core. We already know how to build heavy-lift boosters - we flew our first, the Saturn 5, in 1967. With current in-space propulsion technology, we can do a round-trip mission to a near-Earth asteroid or a one-way transit to Mars in six months - a time no greater than a standard crew shift on the space station.

Holdren claims that he wants to develop a new electrically powered space thruster to speed up such trips. But without gigantic space nuclear power reactors to provide them with juice, such thrusters are useless, and the administration has no intention of developing such reactors. So far from enabling a quick trip to Mars, the unnecessary futuristic electric thruster concept simply provides an excuse for not flying anywhere at all.

The American people want and deserve a space program that really is going somewhere. To offer that, Obama needs to stop the fakery. That means a program whose effort will commence not in some future administration, but in his own; one whose goal is not Mars in our dreams, but Mars in our time.

Zubrin, an aerospace engineer, is president of the Mars Society and author of "The Case for Mars: The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must."

A link to the article may be found at http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2010/04/19/2010-04-19_obamas_failure_to_launch.html



The Mars Society is the only major space advocacy organization that has been willing to take a stand and expose the go-nowhere space policy for what it is.



Help us tell truth to power.

Help us save America's human spaceflight program



Donate to the Mars Society. Come to the August 5-8 conference. Join the Mars Society.

Lakers vs Suns Game 3

Posted by admin | 8:15 PM | | 0 comments »


Game 3, Fourth quarter, 2:42, Suns 106, Lakers 96

The Lakers found themselves down by six coming out of the last timeout with slightly less than seven minutes to play. But the Lakers didn't capitalize when Lamar Odom committed an offensive foul. It was their sixth turnover of the quarter.

Each team exchanged misses until Amare Stoudemire connected and the Suns were up by eight. Both teams started to miss as the clock ticked down. The Lakers finally were able to cut into the Phoenix lead when Grant Hill fouled Kobe Bryant, who made both foul shots.

After several misses, a foul by Robin Lopez on Bryant allowed the Lakers to cut the lead to four as he made his seventh and eighth consectuive free throws.


But Stoudemire answered with a quick basket. Things suddenly got worse for the Lakers when Odom committed his sixth foul and Lopez extended the Suns' lead to eight with a couple of free throws.

The Lakers started to look desperate as Ron Artest missed on a three and Steve Nash buried a three to suddenly extend the Suns' lead to 10 with less than three minutes to play.

Looks like the Lakers won't be getting a sweep.

Game 3, Fourth quarter, 6:57, Suns 98, Lakers 92

Lamar Odom came out of the timeout and made both free throws to give the Lakers their first lead of the second half. But it was short-lived as Jared Dudley made a two and after a Lakers turnover Robin Lopez put the Suns up by three.

Odom quickly answered to make it a one-point game but Amare Stoudemire extended the Suns' lead to three with two free throws.

Things then took a bad turn for the Lakers after another turnover when Jason Richardson buried a three from the corner and the Suns' lead was six. Lakers Coach Phil Jackson needed a timeout and took one.

Game 3, Fourth quarter, 8:47, Suns 89, Lakers 88

The Lakers tied the score with a nice play in the lane resulting in a basket by Lamar Odom. But Amare Stoudemire continued his hot hand with a two, giving him 31 points for the game.

Kobe Bryant then tied the score with a two after an offensive rebound by Pau Gasol. But the see-saw continued as Goran Dragic made one of two free throws and the teams were finally on odd-even.

After a couple of misses and a jump ball, a foul by Channing Frye on Lamar Odom gave the Lakers a chance to take the lead after they come out of a timeout.

Game 3, End of third quarter, Suns 86, Lakers 84

The Lakers came out of the timeout with a chance to tie the score, but Derek Fisher was off target on a three. Amare Stoudemire came back and hit for two to extend the Suns' lead to four points.

But it was Kobe Bryant who answered with a three, and it was clear this game would not likely be decided until the very end. Stoudemire came back and made two free throws and Gasol answered that with a bucket just as the shot clock was ready to expire.

Stoudemire, off a Fisher foul, went to the line with 39 seconds to play in the quarter and made one of two, giving the Lakers a chance to tie the score and erase a seven-point halftime deficit. Bryant was fouled and went to the line for the first time in the game and made both to tie the score.

Stoudemire then connected from underneath the basket with eight seconds left, but Bryant ended up back at the line and made both.

However, an unwise foul by Shannon Brown sent Suns guard Leandro Barbosa to the line and he sank both free throws and the Suns ended the period with a two-point lead.

Game 3, Third quarter, 3:16, Suns 77, Lakers 75

Ron Artest made two foul shots coming out of the timeout and the Lakers were trailing by three. He has nine points in the quarter.

Robin Lopez came back down the court and scored on the hook, but Derek Fisher buried a three from 26 feet to make it a two-point game.

A Lamar Odom foul sent Amare Stoudemire to the line, where he made both shots and the margin was back to four. After a steal, Pau Gasol cut the Lakers' deficit to two and the Lakers were knocking on the door.

Game 3, Third quarter, 5:20, Suns 73, Lakers 68

The Lakers certainly were outplayed in the first half as Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol were forced to carry the load. Coach Phil Jackson needed to open up the offense and he was sure to see how serious the Lakers were at the start of this period.

But it didn't start well as Bryant missed his first shot and Suns' Jason Richardson connected for two. But a Gasol basket and a Ron Artest three-pointer brought the Lakers a little closer. Amare Stoudmire came back down and connected on a three-point play.

After a Lamar Odom tip-in and three foul shots by Derek Fisher, the Lakers had closed their deficit to two. But it was short-lived as Robin Lopez made a two and Richardson added a basket.

The Lakers were clearly struggling to stop the Suns. With about eight minutes to play the Suns lead was eight. A couple of buckets later the Lakers closed it to three on a Derek Fisher three. That's when things heated up as Fisher and Lopez were assessed technicals. Artest followed with a bucket and it was answered by Stoudemire.

The Lakers were down by five as the period's first timeout was called, but Artest was headed to the free-throw line after a Lopez foul.

-- John Cherwa

Game 3, Halftime: Suns 54, Lakers 47

The Suns pulled away late in the second quarter as Steve Nash controlled their up-tempo offense during a 14-2 spurt to close the half.

Suns center Robin Lopez hit two free throws to make it 54-47, giving the Suns their biggest lead of the game.

The Suns outscored the Lakers, 25-15, in the second quarter.

Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol carried the Lakers' offense in the first half: Bryant has 19 poiints, Gasol has 12.

But the Suns countered with their big three: Nash, Amare Stoudemire and Jason Richardson combined for 34 of the Suns' 54 points. Stoudemire leads the Suns with 13 points; Nash also penetrated well and has seven assists, plus 11 points.

The Suns were far more aggressive taking the ball to the hoop, drawing fouls and hitting 18 of 20 free throws. Meanwhile, the Lakers only had three free-throw attempts and missed all of them.

Suns backup point guard Goran Dragic played more than six minutes to open the second quarter, giving Nash a long rest, and has five points and one assist.

Lamar Odom is cold tonight, missing six of seven shots from the field and both free throws.

Game 3, Second quarter 2:58 remaining, Lakers 45, Suns 45

Amare Stoudemire made a layup on a give and go from Steve Nash to tie the score at 45-45.

Kobe Bryant has hit nine of his 11 shots, scoring 19 points.

The Suns' bench has been cold, missing nine of their 11 shots.

Suns backup point guard Goran Dragic played more than half the second quarter, giving Steve Nash a long rest, and has five points and one assist. His two free throws cut the lead to 41-35 with about 5:51 remaining.

Game 3, Second quarter, 6:41 remaining, Lakers 41, Suns 35

Jordan Farmar hit a three-pointer from the right wing on an assist from Shannon Brown just before the timeout.

Andrew Bynum drew a foul on Channing Frye while hitting a jumper to open the second quarter. Bynum missed the free throw but Brown swept in and dunked on Bynum's miss to make it 36-29, giving the Lakers their biggest lead of the game.

The Suns continue to be hurt by Frye's cold shooting spell. He's missed his first seven shots of the game.

Game 3, End of First Quarter: Lakers 32, Suns 29

The Lakers pulled away from the Suns at the end of the quarter thanks to Kobe Bryant's ridiculously hot hand. He hit seven of his eight shots and has 15 points as well as four assists.

A Pau Gasol dunk on a feed from Bryant made it 32-29 with about 25 seconds left in the quarter.

The Suns were aggressive in taking the ball to the hoop throughout the quarter. Amare Stoudemire has nine points, Jason Richardson has eight and Steve Nash has six points and five assists.

One difference in the quarter was free-throw shooting. The Suns made nine of their 11 free throws. Meanwhile, the Lakers have yet to shoot from the line.

Game 3, First quarter, 2:15 remaining, Suns 27, Lakers 26

Both teams are shotting well, the Suns at 47%, the Lakers at 60%.

Jason Richardson hit consecutive three-pointers from the right and left wings to put the Suns up, 27-22.

Kobe Bryant is hot as well. He hit his first five shots shots and has 11 points.

Lamar Odom once again scored on a cut to the basket on his first possession to tie the score at 15-15.

Game 3, First quarter, 7:43 remaining: Suns 15, Lakers 13

In a good start for Phoenix, Amare Stoudemire has driven to the hoop six times already and has put Andrew Bynum on the bench with two fouls. Stoudemire has nine points to lead the Suns.

Because of the aggressive moves to the hoop the Lakers were over the foul limit only four minutes into the quarter.

Kobe Bryant hit his three jump shots and has six points. Pau Gasol is two for four from the field.

Derek Fisher hit a three-pointer on his first shot.

Lakers vs. Suns Game 3: Pregame

The Lakers have won eight playoff games in a row over three series. Now the Western Conference finals against the Suns shifts to Phoenix.

Oddsmaker Beted.com calls today's game completely even, that is, neither team is favored, which is very unusual, particularly for the home team.

So far the Lakers have had their way with Phoenix, averaging 126 points in their two wins. Phil Jackson said before the game that the Suns are an excellent home team, and have been for the last five seasons.

Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m., possibly a little later.

Duncan keith Teeth

Posted by admin | 8:11 PM | , | 0 comments »


CHICAGO -- The face of hockey, the window to the pain and sacrifice it takes to play this game, is frozen like the Indian head at the center of the United Center floor.

The hair is typical, long and greasy and poking out of the back of an old free hat honoring Tony Esposito. The eyes are languid, the mouth shy, concealing a void where its teeth used to be. The lips are bloodied and unhurried.

Duncan Keith, all beardy and sweaty and hockey humble, is trying to tell a revolving group of reporters why it wasn't that big of a deal that a puck collided with his face, costing him seven teeth and only a handful of shifts. He's talking at a whisper, and with a pronounced lisp. He isn't trying to be humble. This isn't an act.

About seven minutes of ice time, one for each tooth, elapsed from the time he stumbled off the ice, teeth in his throat, and got shot up with enough numbing medicine to return.

Keith, the Olympian and candidate for the Norris Trophy, wound up skating four more shifts in the second period and 13 in the third as the Blackhawks clinched their first Stanley Cup finals appearance since the days of Roenick and Belfour and Chelios.

"Honestly, I was fine," Keith said. "You get hit in the teeth, obviously it hurts the gums, but it's not like you got your jaw smashed in or anything like that. It's tougher talking, but it's not as bad as you think it is."

[+] EnlargeDuncan Keith
Rob Grabowski/US PresswireDuncan Keith lost seven teeth but returned to the ice to help the Blackhawks win Game 4.

Here's a new Chicago Blackhawks motto for you: "One Goal. Seven Teeth."

Keith's Komeback was one of many positive stories in the Blackhawks' 4-2 win over the San Jose Sharks on Sunday to close out the Western Conference finals in a 4-0 sweep. This wasn't a must-win game, but Keith wasn't about to miss any time. The doctors jammed seven needles in his jaw, and he was back on the ice. He assisted on Dave Bolland's tying goal with 1:22 to go in the second.

"He created the whole play, taking the big hit to set it up," Patrick Sharp said. "And he's skating around before the power play, telling us what to do, but he's mumbling. I don't think anyone understood what he was talking about. But he's one of our leaders."

"I wanted to get out there," Keith said. "I heard they scored. It was kind of frustrating. It was nice to hear the crowd cheering when we scored again. So I missed a couple goals there. I wanted to get out there as quick as I can."

The Hawks had to struggle to get past the seventh-seeded Nashville Predators in the first round, but they've gotten better each and every series. No one could accuse this team of looking toward the Stanley Cup with a 3-0 lead. After a slow start -- one shot in the first 16 minutes -- the Hawks turned in a championship performance, sweeping the top seed and setting up a playoff series that will engulf this city.

Last year, the Hawks were just happy to be in the Western Conference finals against a veteran Detroit Red Wings team. This year, for obvious reasons, the team had different goals.

"This year, it's almost like we feel we shouldn't lose a game," Patrick Kane said. "It's not cocky. That's just our attitude. We feel like we have such a good team and the way we can play, we feel we're as good as anyone in the league."

ESPNChicago.com Blackhawks blog

Blackhawks blog The latest news from Hawks beat reporter Jesse Rogers. Blog

Down 2-0 early in the second period, Chicago scored the last four goals, tying the game late in the second and taking a lead in the third on Dustin Byfuglien's third game winner of this series. Kris Versteeg's empty-netter with 42 seconds to go iced it. Brent Seabrook was credited with the Blackhawks' first goal after an official review. No Kane, no Toews, no Marian Hossa. And that was a good thing.

"So many guys stepped up," Kane said. "Every game was a new challenge for us. It looked like things weren't going to go our way today and we still stepped up and got the win. It's a really cool feeling right now."

The Hawks will take on the winner of the Philadelphia Flyers-Montreal Canadiens series in the franchise's first Cup finals appearance since 1992, but there was no celebration off the ice Sunday. No beer showers, not a hint of champagne. They got new hats and cheap T-shirts, but that about covered it.

Then again, this is a sport in which teams snub a conference championship trophy like it was an annoying reporter. It's Stanley Cup or bust. No use celebrating the milestones.

"We don't do that. We go for the big one," said John Madden, one of a few Hawks with Stanley Cup experience, on the lack of premature jocularity. "It's always been like that, the two times I won the Cup. We just congratulated each other and maybe had a cold one and that's it."

The Hawks' locker room was buzzing with activity, but each player stayed in their stall, wearing a cap and a T-shirt commemorating their feat and looking toward their next task. Certainly celebrations would take place later in nightclubs and tony restaurants, with parents and girlfriends and wives and bottle service.

Keith will be celebrating in the dentist's chair. He could feel the medicine wearing off as he talked. But he sat at his locker to talk to every reporter, answering every question.

"One, no two were fake already," he said. "Hopefully I can get some nice teeth now."

How many did he lose? In-game reports said four, which were later amended to seven.

"Let's take a look," he said, opening his mouth and showing a top shelf of gums. "I haven't even seen what I look like, you tell me."

Seven and a half minutes into the second period, Keith crumpled to the ice after Patrick Marleau, battling with Toews for puck possession in the Blackhawks' end, nailed him point-blank with a puck. Keith staggered off the ice and a few seconds later, Marleau scored to give the Sharks a 2-0 lead.

Keith said he knew right away his teeth were smashed in. This isn't his first rodeo. He could feel one hitting the back of his throat.

"I felt a chunk of something back there," he said. "I figured it was a tooth. It wouldn't have been anything else."

It's almost cliché to write about a tough hockey player, but it's not unfair to say he was motivation for his teammates, even the veterans.

"There are a lot of things that go undisclosed," said Brian Campbell, who missed the last month of the regular season and the first three games of the first round of the playoffs with a broken clavicle and fractured rib. "Duncan's is out there. You look at guys like that, it's inspiration."

"It's not that [impressive] … I'm just kidding. It's very impressive," Madden said. "I think the last guy I saw with all his teeth knocked out was Ken Daneyko, and he came back the same way. And that was years ago. I saw Duncs take that right in the mouth. To overcome something like that and come back, it's a tribute to how great of a guy he is and how great of a teammate he is."

After last year's surprising run to the conference finals, this season has been a virtual countdown up to this point. This team had the talent, the depth and the leadership to get here. They carried a bull's-eye all season. Now the end is almost here, and there will be plenty to celebrate soon enough. So flash a smile, Blackhawks, with or without original teeth.

One Goal. Seven Teeth. Four More Games.


Lakers vs Suns Game 5


Lakers defeat Suns on last-second shot
by Ron Artest


He puts back a missed jumper by Kobe Bryant to give L.A. a 103-101 win in Game 5 for a 3-2 lead in best-of-seven series. Bryant has 30 points and nine assists. Steve Nash leads Phoenix with 29 points and 11 assists.

Phil Jackson said it with a wry smile, like he does a lot of things, so it was impossible to know if the Lakers coach was kidding before Game 5 of the Western Conference finals when he said he was "very nervous" and "quite worried."

It turned out there was plenty to fret. Except the ending

Ron Artest cut across the lane to grab an errant Kobe Bryant three-pointer and tossed it into the basket as time expired to give the Lakers an exhilarating 103-101 victory tonight at Staples Center.

Artest finished with only four points for the Lakers, who have a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series that shifts to US Airways Center in Phoenix on Saturday for Game 6. The home team has won each of the five games in the series.

Phoenix's Jason Richardson had tied the score at 101-101 with 3.5 seconds left when he banked in a three-point basket after Steve Nash and Richardson had missed earlier three-point attempts on the same possession. Nash finished with 29 points on 12-for-20 shooting and has a game-high 11 assists.

There seemed little reason for concern on Jackson's part given his team's recent history in this situation. The Lakers have won their last nine Game 5s under the coach, including a pair of triumphs this season, and they are 8-0 at home in the 2010 playoffs.

Phoenix won Games 3 and 4 at home by utilizing a zone defense, repeatedly getting to the free-throw line and enjoying several breakthrough performances from its bench. Only one of those factors -- free throws -- worked in the Suns' favor in Game 5.

The Suns' zone couldn't contain Bryant (30 points, 11 rebounds, 9 assists) or Derek Fisher, who finished with 22 points. Phoenix did attempt 29 free throws to the Lakers' 23, but the Suns' bench combined for 31 points after getting 54 in Game 4.

The Lakers also scored 38 points in the paint and 23 points off 15 Phoenix turnovers.

Phoenix went with its reserves to start the second and fourth quarters, and the unit failed to reproduce its Game 4 magic. Guard Goran Dragic did little besides shove the Lakers' Sasha Vujacic early in the fourth quarter, resulting in offsetting technical fouls.

The Lakers appeared to have put the game out of reach late in the third quarter when a free throw by Lamar Odom gave them an 18-point lead at 74-56. But the Suns closed the quarter on a 16-4 run that included a four-point play by Jared Dudley, who was fouled by Pau Gasol on a three-point basket and made the ensuing free throw.

Odom and Bryant were especially active for the Lakers, who took a 41-25 lead midway through the second quarter on Bryant's back-to-back-to-back three-point baskets that capped a 13-0 run. Bryant scored 15 points and Odom added 10 in the second quarter.

Suns Coach Alvin Gentry was assessed a technical foul shortly before Bryant's three-point barrage for complaining about the officiating. He might have been testy in part because his team had a trio of big men in foul trouble by the end of the first quarter, with Amare Stoudemire, Robin Lopez and Channing Frye each having picked up two fouls.

Gentry said before the game that he was concerned about an "initial onslaught" by the Lakers, but it was the Suns who came out the aggressor in the early going. Grant Hill stripped Bryant on the Lakers' first possession and then Stoudemire twice blocked Gasol the next time the Lakers got the ball.

Bryant picked up two fouls only 2 1/2 minutes into the game, forcing him to the bench and Shannon Brown into the game with the Lakers trailing by three points. The Suns extended their advantage with Bryant sidelined, taking a 15-8 lead on a turnaround jumper by Richardson.

Bryant returned a few minutes later, but it was Fisher who keyed a late first-quarter run with nine consecutive points for the Lakers. Fisher scored on a 22-foot jumper, a three-point basket, a pair of free throws and a driving layup to give the Lakers a 20-19 lead -- their first of the game -- with 1:18 left in the quarter.




Read more


So you think you can dance 2010



"So You Think You Can Dance" opened its 2010 season with a bit of lechery from Nigel Lythgoe, some tears from Adam Shankman and Mia Michaels, and not nearly enough leg from Cat Deeley. So except for that last bit, business as usual for season 7? Nope. This year, SYTYCD is switching it up a bit (let's just hope they're not doing it just for the sake of doing it, like "American Idol" with the judge's save ... and Kara DioGuardi ... and Ellen DeGeneres ...). Instead of pairing off the 20 contestants with the same partner for the first half of the season (which often means a less-talented dancer can ride along on his or her more popular partner's coattails), there will be only 10 finalists, and each will be paired with an "all-star" -- a stellar competitor from a previous season, including favorites Stephen “tWitch” Boss, Mark Kanemura, Pasha Kovalev, Kathryn McCormick, and Ade Obayomi.

In another twist, judge and professional eardrum shatterer Mary Murphy will not be sitting at the judges' dais with Nigel and Adam. She's no longer a regular judge, but she will be choreographing some numbers this season, and Mia Michaels, who was MIA for most of last season, will be taking her place.

So let's get to the dancers: The star of the evening had to be Teddy Tedholm, the 18-year-old contemporary dancer from Rockaway who wowed the judges in auditions last season but flamed out in Las Vegas. You might remember his pants. This time out, he sported a more subtle look but the judges went wild again, Adam calling it "out there, naked emotionally" and Mia saying he tapped into genius. (My 8-year-old son said, "That looks like a guy who keeps falling down.") He's on to Vegas, as is Sarah Brinson, 22, of Philadelphia, who is a little larger than your average dancer ... meaning she weighs in the triple, not double, digits. When asked whether her parents were dancers, she said that her parents were pro golfers, prompting Nigel's first dirty remark of the season: "Has your mom played with Tiger Woods?" Ugh.

Other standouts: a Latin ballroom couple who appeared in Broadway's "Burn the Floor," Giselle Peacock, 28, of Menlo Park, Calif., and Henry Byalikov, 24, of Sydney, Australia (Adam: "a huge turn-on,"); Henry Rivera, 19, of Miami, a contemporary dancer who apparently couldn't string together a coherent thought in his interview but absolutely killed onstage; Ami Aguiar-Riley, a 27-year-old from Miami whose aggressive contemporary routine was much admired by Sonya Tayeh; and Tyrell Rolle, a 24-year-old contemporary dancer from Liberty City, Fla., who got the ol' dancing-his-way-out-of-the-ghetto treatment.

And speaking of patronizing, was anybody else a little ticked off at the way the judges salivated all over Megan Carter, 18, of Leesburg, who happens to be a heavy girl with a heck of a lot of flexibility and great moves? Yes, she's carrying some extra weight, but it's not like she has, say, no feet. "You make me so happy to be a woman of size," Mia told her. They liked her enough to move her into the choreography round but wouldn't move her on to Vegas.

The requisite shtick performers weren't even funny enough to merit a mention, except ballroom dancer Daria Kopylova, 19, of Tampa, who actually wasn't funny at all. She chose to dance with her father, which earned uncomfortable shudders and a quick rejection from the judges, even after she reminded them that she and her father were essentially acting. Hey, haven't I heard that argument somewhere else before?



Read more


Tom Cruise Dead


Tom Cruise Dead, Footballer David Beckham’s relationship seems to be getting stronger with actor friend Tom Cruise as he often seeks advice from him.

“For someone who has been in the public eye for so long, David is still not the most confident when it comes to speaking out. He’s very shy,” femalefirst.co.uk quoted a source as saying.

“He has spoken to Tom among others about how to motivate people. Tom is a confident guy and always gives him great advice. David wants to be able to do the same, whatever the circumstances are,” the source added.

This is not the first time David has sought advice from the actor. Last year, Tom and his actress wife Katie Holmes advised the Beckhams – David and his wife Victoria – on how to maintain a healthy balance between work and married life.

Read more


American Idol Winners


LOS ANGELES, Calif. --

Dozens of superstar celebrities and almost all of the former “American Idols” were on hand on Wednesday night as the FOX reality show crowned its Season 9 winner and judge Simon Cowell said goodbye to the show he launched and helped make a hit.

Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Jordin Sparks, Taylor Hicks, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino and last season’s winner, Kris Allen, were among the “American Idol” winners who saw Lee DeWyze beat out Crystal Bowersox for the title.

The Mount Prospect, Ill. singer actually dropped to his knees, unable to stand, just moments before show host Ryan Seacrest announced the news.

“Oh my God,” Lee gasped after learning the news. “This is amazing, thank you guys so much for everything… I can’t believe this… This is amazing. I love you.”

“I’m just happy man. I’m so happy right now. I’ve never been happier in my life,” he said before he sang one last time – a fitting song – U2’s “Beautiful Day,” which he will now release as a single.

Another recent reality show winner, Bret Michaels, who became “The Celebrity Apprentice” this past Sunday, was also on hand for the moment, having dueted earlier in the night with this season’s second-runner up, Texas cutie Casey James.

In addition to Casey’s duet with Bret – to Poison’s “Every Rose Has It’s Thorn” - the Top 12 group dueted with a host of superstar singers. Aaron Kelly and Siobhan Magnus performed “How Deep Is Your Love” with the BeeGees, Michael Lynche was joined by Michael McDonald on “Takin’ It To The Streets,” Christina Aguilera joined the Top 6 female contestants on a medley of “Beautiful” and “Fighter” (before singing a new ballad from her upcoming album), and the Top 6 men were joined by Hall & Oates as they performed a medley of “I Can’t Go For That” and “Maneater.”

Crystal Bowersox got the chance to duet with the similar-sounding Alanis Morissette, an artist she had previously covered during the season. Crystal began signing “Ironic,” before the two sang “You Oughta Know” together. Lee’s superstar pairing found him performing alongside “Chicago,” the band named after the big city he grew up near, on a collection of the band’s classic hits.

Paula Abdul made a return to the “Idol” stage for the finale – to lead the emotional send off to her friend, departing British judge Simon Cowell.

“My darling Simon, I’ve worked with a lot of people over the years, hot cheerlearders, big movie stars, world famous recording artists, but if I’m being truly honest, none of them holds a candle to you my friend,” she said, choking up a little.

”‘American Idol’s’ not gonna be the same without you, but as only I can tell you, it will go on,” she said as Simon laughed and clapped, a reference to how life went on, on “Idol” without her.

All of the former “Idol” winners, with the exception of Season 7’s David Cook who was elsewhere (click HERE to find out where), hit the stage to lead a musical tribute to Simon. The group, led by original American Idol Kelly Clarkson, was joined by dozens of other past contestants made famous on “Idol’s” stage, including David Archuleta, Blake Lewis, Kimberley Caldwell, Justin Guarini and Ace Young. Like David, however, Season 8 runner-up Adam Lambert, was also conspicuously absent. Click HERE to find out why.

There may have been a few faces missing, but the most emotional face in the crowd was definitely the man of the hour, Simon Cowell.

“I didn’t think I was gonna be this emotional, but I genuinely am,” Simon said

“The show goes forward,” he said, echoing the words Paula had to say earlier. “It will be different, but I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the support, the fun and your sense of humor — that’s what’s been the best part.

“Seeing these contestants back, that’s what made the show and you know what? The truth is, everyone asks who’s gonna replace me?…. Who’s gonna be the next judge? The truth is, you guys are the judge of this show and you’ve done an incredible job over the years,” Simon continued before turning Ryan. “And even you… I’m gonna honestly, honestly miss you… It’s been a blast.”

While the show featured plenty of stellar performances and memories of Simon, there was one moment that seemed to be unscripted.

During an original song consisting of Simon’s best insults, performed by comedian Dane Cook, the funnyman was joined on stage by a host of “Idol” rejects, one of whom decided to make the moment his own. Ian Bernardo grabbed the microphone off of Dane’s stand, a move which the comedian’s expression hinted was not supposed to happen. Ian then proceeded to take over.

“It’s all about Ian Bernardo,” the “Idol” reject screamed. “I wanna say I’m replacing you Simon Cowell because I’m more entertaining.”

Producers quickly cut the microphones as the camera panned away and the show cut to commercial.

General Larry Platt, who was cut in the audition rounds in Season 9 (not that he could have made it through anyways, as, well, he was way too old), also came back, performing his now infamous audition song, “Pants on the Ground,” with a hip-hop dance troupe. He too was joined by a star – Season 3’s most famous reject William Hung.


Read more


Willie Nelson "Haircut"


Willie Nelson’s trademark pigtails are history.

"Oh Noooooo!," wrote one fan who saw a picture of the recently-shorn Willie's on the website of Nashville TV and radio personality Jimmy Carter.

Willie’s spokeswoman, Elaine Schock said Nelson, who's been hanging out in Hawaii, got his hair cut within the last couple of weeks.

She said the Central Texas-born performer didn't make a big fuss about the makeover, but she theorized Willie might have grown tired of dealing with the long locks.

"There's a lot of maintenance," she said.



Read more


Art Linkletter


Art Linkletter, the genial host who parlayed his talent for the ad-libbed interview into two of television’s longest-running shows, “People Are Funny” and “House Party,” in the 1950s and 1960s, died on Wednesday at his home in the Bel Air section of Los Angeles. He was 97.

The death was confirmed by Art Hershey, a son-in-law.

From his early days as an announcer on local radio and a roving broadcaster at state fairs, Mr. Linkletter showed a talent for ingratiating himself with his subjects and getting them to open up, often with hilarious results.

He was particularly adept at putting small children at ease, which he did regularly on a segment of “House Party,” a reliably amusing question-and-answer session that provided the material for his best-selling book “Kids Say the Darndest Things!”

Television critics and intellectuals found the Linkletter persona bland and his popularity unfathomable. “There is nothing greatly impressive, one way or the other, about his appearance, mannerisms, or his small talk,” one newspaper critic wrote. Another referred to his “imperishable banality.”

Millions of Americans disagreed. They responded to his wholesome, friendly manner and upbeat appeal. Women, who made up three-quarters of the audience for “House Party,” which was broadcast in the afternoon, loved his easy, enthusiastic way with children.

“I know enough about a lot of things to be interesting, but I’m not interested enough in any one thing to be boring,” Mr. Linkletter told The New York Post in 1965. “I’m like everybody’s next-door neighbor, only a little bit smarter.”

He was also genuinely curious to know what was going on in the heads of the people he interviewed. “You have to listen,” he said. “A lot of guys can talk.”

Gordon Arthur Kelly was born on July 17, 1912, in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Before he was a month old he was abandoned by his parents and adopted by Fulton John and Mary Metzler Linkletter, a middle-age couple whose two children had died. It was not until he was 12, while rummaging through his father’s desk, that he discovered he was adopted.

In his autobiography, “Confessions of a Happy Man,” Mr. Linkletter recalled his adoptive father, a one-legged cobbler and itinerant evangelist, as “a strange, uncompromising man whose main interest in life was the Bible.” The family prayed and performed on street corners, with Art playing the triangle.

By the time Art was 5 the family had moved to an unpaved adobe section of San Diego. As a child he took on any job he could find. At one point he sorted through lemons left abandoned in piles outside a packing plant, cleaned them off and sold them for 6 cents a dozen.

After graduating from high school at 16, Mr. Linkletter decided to see the world. With $10 in his pocket, he rode freight trains and hitchhiked around the country, working here and there as a meatpacker, a harvester and a busboy in a roadhouse.

“Among other things, I learned to chisel rides on freight trains, outwit the road bulls, cook stew with the bindlestiffs and never to argue with a gun,” he later recalled. A fast typist, he found work in a Wall Street bank just in time to watch the stock market crash in 1929. He also shipped out to Hawaii and Rio de Janeiro as a merchant seaman.

After returning to California, he entered San Diego State Teachers College (now San Diego State University) with plans of becoming an English teacher. He earned a bachelor’s degree in 1934, but in his last year he was hired to do spot announcements by a local radio station, KGB, a job that led to radio work at the California Pacific International Exposition in San Diego and at similar fairs in Dallas and San Francisco.

With microphone in hand and countless programming hours to fill, Mr. Linkletter relied on ad-libbing, stunts and audience participation to get attention and keep listeners entertained. He was once lowered from a skyscraper in a boatswain’s chair, interviewing office workers on every floor as he descended. “It was the forced feeding of a young and growing M.C.,” he later said of his more than 9,000 fair broadcasts.

In 1936 he married Lois Foerster, a college student in San Diego, who survives him. The couple had five children: Jack, who followed his father into television and died of lymphoma in 2007; Dawn, of Sedona, Ariz.; Robert, who died in a car accident in 1980; Sharon, of Calabasas, Calif.; and Diane, who committed suicide in 1969, an event that spurred her father into becoming a crusader against drug use. There are 7 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.

Mr. Linkletter quickly established himself on local radio in San Francisco, but floundered when he moved to Los Angeles in the early 1940s. A radio show picked up by Shell Oil, “Shell Goes to a Party,” was canceled after Mr. Linkletter, reporting on a nighttime beach party, fell over some driftwood and lost his microphone.

He did have one piece of radio luck. With John Guedel, who would go on to create the quiz show “You Bet Your Life” and the comedy “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet,” Mr. Linkletter made an audition tape for an audience-participation show, with contests and gags, that would rely on his ability to ad-lib and coax humorous material from virtually anyone. Mr. Guedel came up with the name “People Are Funny,” and NBC put it on the air in 1942. Enormously popular, it ran on radio until 1960. The television version, which made its debut in 1954, ran until 1961.

Working without a script, Mr. Linkletter sent audience volunteers on silly assignments outside the studio with instructions to report back on their experience. One man was handed a $1,000 bill and told to buy chewing gum. Another was given $15,000 to invest in the stock market. Mr. Linkletter mingled with the audience, asking questions, setting up gags and handing out prizes like a yard of hot dogs or five feet of dollar bills.

On one show Mr. Linkletter spotted a woman’s enormous purse and began rummaging through it, announcing each item in turn: a can opener, a can of snuff, a losing racetrack ticket and a photograph of Herbert Hoover. The handbag bit became a staple of the show. More ingeniously, Mr. Linkletter set a dozen balls adrift in the Pacific, announcing a $1,000 prize for the first person to find one. Two years later a resident of the Marshall Islands claimed the money.

“House Party,” which ran five days a week on radio from 1945 to 1967 and on television from 1952 to 1969, was a looser version of “People Are Funny,” with beauty tips and cooking demonstrations filling time between Mr. Linkletter’s audience-chatter sessions. The highlight of the show was a segment in which five children between the ages of 5 and 10 sat down to be interviewed by Mr. Linkletter, who sat at eye level with his little subjects and, time and time again, made their parents wish television had never been invented.

After one boy revealed that his father was a policeman who arrested lots of burglars, Mr. Linkletter asked if his mother ever worried about the risks. “Naw, she thinks it’s great,” he answered. “He brings home rings and bracelets and jewelry almost every week.”

Mr. Linkletter assembled replies like that in “Kids Say the Darndest Things!,” illustrated by Charles M. Schulz, the creator of “Peanuts,” and its sequel, “Kids Still Say the Darndest Things.”

In 1969 Mr. Linkletter’s daughter Diane leapt to her death from her sixth-story apartment. Her father said that LSD had contributed to her death, and although an autopsy showed no signs of the drug in her body, the personal tragedy became a national event, suggesting to many Americans that drugs and the counterculture were making inroads even into seemingly model families like the Linkletters.

Mr. Linkletter, rather than retreating from the attention, became a crusader against drug use and an adviser to President Richard M. Nixon on drug policy, although, in 1972, he announced that he had changed his position on marijuana. After much thought and study he had concluded that the drug was relatively harmless and that law-enforcement officials should spend their time concentrating on hard drugs.

Much in demand as a public speaker and a fund-raiser for Republican candidates, Mr. Linkletter spent his subsequent years on lecture tours, appearing in commercials and tending to his far-flung business interests, including oil wells and toys. (One of his companies manufactured a version of the Hula-Hoop.)

A former college athlete, he remained remarkably healthy well into his 90s and the ideal front man for the United Seniors Association (renamed USA Next), a conservative organization formed in opposition to AARP and dedicated largely to privatizing Social Security. In keeping with his new role as a prominent elder American, Mr. Linkletter wrote “Old Age Is Not for Sissies.”

When he was well into his 80s and still going strong, someone asked him the secret of longevity. “You live between your ears,” he replied. “You can’t turn back the clock, but you can rewind it.”


Read more


Who won dancing with the stars 2010



It's been a long road on 'Dancing With the Stars' (Tue., 9PM ET on ABC). But now, we finally get to crown a champion.


Who gets to win, after this long, long process? Once upon a time, people like Kate Gosselin and Buzz Aldrin were on the show. Remember them? But in the end, it came down to three couples: Nicole and Derek, Evan and Anna, and Erin and Maksim. And your winner is ...

NICOLE AND DEREK. They are your champions. Olympic skater Evan Lysacek came in second, and sports reporter Erin Andrews got third place. It's been called the closest season of 'Dancing With the Stars' ever. During the season, Nicole has received criticism -- some viewers thought that her inclusion on the show was unfair, because she already had some dance experience as a member of the Pussycat Dolls. Still, she wowed the judges, and got the trophy.

What do you think? Should Nicole have won? Did the judges make the right choice?



Read more


Up to the Mountain


The showdown has arrived -- will it be Crystal Bowersox or Lee DeWyze who wins "American Idol" Season 9?

Based on the beginning of the season, we would've said Crystal. Based on the last few weeks, we would've said Lee. Based on the final performances -- it's a toss-up.

It's not a toss-up in terms of who "won" each round, as Simon likes to say some years. We think Crystal clearly won the last round, but we'd call the first round a tie and (after listening to them back on TV) we'd give the middle round to Lee. "Black Velvet" was not as good as we thought it was in person.

Here is our order from best to worst:

No. 1 Crystal, "Up to the Mountain"

Crystal on stage: We will confess to not being familiar with this song prior to Crystal's performance. But we can now say we are fans. It took all night for us to finally find the right word to describe it -- "dynamic." This showed off Crystal's big voice and yet let her do the pretty, quiet thing she also does really well. It was a beautiful showcase for her talent.

Crystal on TV: Crystal made a home-run song choice. This is a perfect single for her to release and it was easily the best performance of the night. It doesn't stretch her voice into that range that starts to sound scream-y and it lets her be soft and lilting on parts -- exactly what "Black Velvet" could have been.

No. 2 (tie) Crystal, "Me and Bobby McGee"

Crystal on stage: We don't have a lot to add to this critique that we haven't said before -- Crystal is Janis Joplin without sounding like she smokes two packs a day. We love the switches to the melody she does on the song -- they are just enough to put her stamp on it without bastardizing a classic.

Crystal on TV: This bumped her down into a tie with Lee for second because the ending, where Crystal really lets it rip, seems super-exciting in person but is actually kinda messy when you can hear the vocal clearly. It was still strong, but just not quiiiite as strong as we originally thought.

No. 2 (tie) Lee, "The Boxer"

Lee on stage: Lee seemed nervous. Incredibly nervous. That surprised us because he got to ease into the night on a song he'd already done very well on the show. This just didn't seem to have the punch that it did the first time around or even on Lee's hometown visit, which we'll chalk up to his being so tight with nerves.

Lee on TV: Watching this back bumped Lee up to a tie with Crystal for the No. 2 spot. We were so far in the back of the theater that this seemed very boring and a little tight in person. Upon playback, much more emotion came through and the vocal was stronger than we originally thought. With Lee doing better than we thought on "Boxer" and Crystal not quite doing as well as we thought on "Bobby McGee," we declare those two tied.

No. 3 Lee, "Everybody Hurts"

Lee on stage: This one disappointed us in much the same way as "Black Velvet" -- too big. It would've been great if Lee had really rocked "The Boxer," then scaled way back and been all vulnerable for "Everybody Hurts," then really let it rip on "Beautiful Day." But instead of going BIG, intimate, BIGGER, he stayed very static throughout the night -- nothing terrible, but nothing mind-blowing. We did like his growl on this song, though.

Lee on TV: We blame the arrangement. Lee is a cutie pie and if he had just sat down and had a really intimate moment on this song, instead of having bongos driving the up-tempo rhythm, this maybe could've been a good song for him. Plus, the ending was really weird. It was just very blah. That being said -- we think it was still a better vocal than "Black Velvet," which turned out to be very scream-y and off-pitch when we watched the TV broadcast.

No. 4 Lee, "Beautiful Day"

Lee on stage: Not a good pick for Lee. He put his guitar down and seemed a bit lost, plus on the really big high stuff he didn't go big enough. A week ago, Lee let it absolutely effing rip on "Simple Man" and "Hallelujah," which is what he should've done on on this one. It was his last song of the night, his last big impression. And it was just okay.

Lee on TV: This started off VERY rough. Not only were there some pitch problems, but Lee was weirdly wandering around the stage, taking what our college acting teacher liked to call "two steps to nowhere." That being said, the chorus really picked up. The big notes were great, but we wanted him to go bigger. "TOUCH me. Take me to that other place. REE-EE-EE-EEACH me." We wanted him to really blow the roof off on the second time he same that line, but he didn't go for it.

No. 5 Crystal, "Black Velvet"

Crystal on stage: This could have been an excellent choice for Crystal. Unfortunately, Crystal does not quite have the big roaring pipes that Alannah Miles did on the original. And then the arrangement, instead of letting Crystal play with the dynamics (like in the original and also like Crystal did on "Mountain"), put in even more big belting moments. It felt forced and needed to have more quiet moments, like after the bridge on "happened so soon. What could you even do?" That was loud instead of soft and didn't work -- just one of many moments that didn't work. Our reaction when this song was announced was literally an excited "Ooooh!" and we were disappointed by it.

Crystal on TV: First of all, the idea to have her descend steps in heels was terrible Crystal had bigger things to worry about than looking down to make sure she didn't fall on her face. Also, upon listening to the playback, this dropped her behind Lee for the second round of songs. She had some serious pitch problems and again, missed all the quiet moments that make the original so sultry and fabulous. We strongly feel that the judges (if they watch tonight back, which they probably won't) will re-think how highly they praised this number. We actually dropped this from 3rd to last after watching it back.

Who's going to win?

We have no idea. Honestly. Crystal has been strong since the beginning, but America has the attention span of goldfish and Lee is what was hot in the past few weeks. But then he kinda tanked on the finale and she didn't, so we really aren't sure. There are also non-singing factors, like the fact that Lee's cute and guess who votes for this show? And where did Casey James' fanbase go? Probably Lee, if we had to guess. This really could go either way but we won't cop out -- we'll say Lee wins in an upset.

Thoughts & Tidbits

* There is no live dispatch tonight because the Nokia Theater is about 10x the size of the CBS studio where the show usually is. We're lucky we could hear the Idols perform, let alone get behind-the-scenes shenanigans to report.
* Crystal's weird send-off to Simon during her final critique was probably sincere, but seemed like a shill for votes. She should've saved that for tomorrow night.
* How do you feel about the "Idol" singles being covers? We think it's a great idea because the coronation songs usually suck, but we wish Lee had picked something more obscure like Crystal did. "Beautiful Day" had its turn, got burned into all our brains by Bono and doesn't need to be revived on the radio.


Read more


Nate Berkus Show



'Oprah Winfrey' regular and popular design expert Nate Berkus, a bestselling author and radio host with his own home line on Home Shopping Network and at Linens 'n Things, has his own syndicated show coming up this fall (co-produced by Winfrey's Harpo Prods. and Sony Pictures TV) and Winfrey took some tine on Tuesday's edition of 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' (weekdays, syndicated) to wish him good luck.

She also presented him with a handmade "coffee table book" put together by the 'Oprah Show' staff; each member of the staff wrote a special note expressing "what you mean to us." it was a touching tribute, and brought a tear to Berkus' eye. 'The Nate Berkus Show' begins September 13.



Read more


Superbowl 2014



New York, NY - Mayor Michael Bloomberg visited the TechCrunch Disrupt Conference to announce that New York was open to the tech business. In his speech, he failed to mention the real story: that New York was in line to host the 2014 Super Bowl.

At another press conference held in an adjacent area to the main room at 570 Washington Street, this blogger asked Mayor Bloomberg if he knew of New York's chances. "I don't know. They're supposed to announce today, but I don't know what they're going to do," and the Mayor was talking about the NFL.

At 5 PM EDT, on a sunny Tuesday, and in Times Square while this blogger was at the TechCrunch Conference, they did it. The NFL awarded New York City the 2014 Super Bowl. Immediately, I thought of Oakland's Super Bowl Bid, 9-11, and New York's determination to be great.

What stopped Oakland from landing the 2005 Super Bowl was its lack of community determination and support. Regardless of the specific reasons, Oakland lacked an overall want to. That's even true with Oakland's World Cup bid: no fire in the collective belly.

New York managed to convince the NFL that it could host what would be the first outdoor cold-weather Super Bowl in history. This is wild because for decades, the National Football League has had a cold weather rule that such Super Bowls were to be played in dome stadiums.

That was eliminated for New York. And while it's a gift that is due to the trajedy of 9-11, it opens the door for other cities to bid on it. And why not? New York beat Miami for the win?

But New York was determined to win. It has a moxie that Oakland could have, but seems afraid to muster.

Stay tuned.

Read more


U2 Concert Postponed


The U2 360° Tour that was supposed to open in Salt Lake City on June 3 has been postponed until 2011, although no dates have been confirmed, Live Nation, the tour's promoter, stated in a news release Tuesday.

Details on rescheduled dates will follow "shortly," and fans should retain their tickets until the announcement, Live Nation stated.

Meanwhile, U2 lead singer Bono has been released from a German hospital following emergency back surgery, which caused the postponement of the tour.

The singer is expected to make a full recovery, but only after at least eight weeks of rehabilitation, according to the news release.

"This will necessitate the postponement of 16 shows on the U2 360° Tour from Salt Lake City on June 3 through New Jersey's Meadowlands Stadium on July 19," according to the news release.

Bono, born Paul Hewson, 50, was discharged from Ludwig Maximilians-University Hospital in Munich after a successful surgery to repair a ligament tear and a herniated disc.

Dr. Muller Wohlfahrt of the LMU Hospital said in the news release that Bono initially "suffered severe compression of the sciatic nerve," but after an MRI scan, doctors noticed the other injuries and recommended emergency spine surgery.

Bono was in "severe pain with partial paralysis in the lower leg," according to the news release. "The ligament surrounding the disc had an 8 mm tear, and during surgery we discovered fragments of the disc had traveled into the spinal canal."

U2 manager Paul McGuinness said Bono was very disappointed that the tour couldn't start on schedule.

"For a performer who lives to be on stage, this is more than a blow," McGuinness said. "He feels robbed of the chance to do what he does best and feels like he has badly let down the band and their audience.

"His concerns about more than a million ticket-buyers whose plans have been turned upside down we all share. But the most important thing right now is that Bono make a full recovery. We're working as fast as we can with Live Nation to reschedule these dates."

Read more


Chuck Season 4


May 25 – NBC TV show Chuck season 3 is end. And do you love this season ? So is there season 4 for Chuck ?

It was announced that Chuck had been renewed for a fourth season of 13 episodes. Unlike the third season which was held as a midseason replacement, Chuck will appear on NBC’s Fall 2010 schedule in its traditional Monday 8/7c timeslot.

Chuck is an action-comedy television program from the United States created by Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak. The series is about an “average computer-whiz-next-door” who receives an encoded e-mail from an old college friend now working in the CIA; the message embeds the only remaining copy of the world’s greatest spy secrets into Chuck’s brain.

Produced by College Hill Pictures, Wonderland Sound and Vision and Warner Bros. Television, the series premiered on September 24, 2007, on NBC, airing on Monday nights at 8/7c leading into Heroes. Despite receiving a full season pickup, the first season contained only thirteen episodes; production was stalled due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. The second season started on September 29, 2008, with a full 22-episode season order. NBC released the first episode of season two a week before its air date via multiple online distribution methods, and cable on demand.

Read more


Sex And The City 2 Premiere



Sex and the City 2 is going to kill it at the box office this weekend no doubt, but don't tell that to Sarah Jessica Parker.

"I'm still so nervous," she told me at the movie's premiere at Radio City Music Hall. "Look at my cuticles!"

John Corbett, who returns as Carrie Bradshaw's former beau Aiden, wasn't sweating things at all...

In fact, Corbett says he wasn't even upset by reports claiming he'd turned down an offer to come back.

"I had to lie and tell people I wasn't coming back," said Corbett, who looked smashing in a Ralph Lauren Black Label suit. "Even up until two months ago I had to say I wasn't in the movie because they wanted to keep it a secret. But then one day, [director-writer] Michael Patrick King called me and said, "We're putting you in the trailer so you can stop lying now.'"

A new addition to the SATC family is smokin' hot model Noah Mills. He has quite the bedroom scene with Kim Cattrall in which he's wearing, well, nothing.

"It was some sort of sock device," he said of covering up his manhood. "I won't go into detail, but it didn't work very well."

Parker & Co. headed over to Lincoln Center after the screening for a Middle Eastern-themed party under a giant tent. Seen mingling were Gilles Marini, Gayle King, Vanessa Williams and Johnny Weir. Guests feasted on hummus and chicken and beef kabobs, but one of the biggest hits were the 1,200 bite-size Crumb cupcakes for dessert.

Former Melrose Place star Colin Egglesfield said he was on the hunt to meet Cattrall. "She embodies everything I love about a woman," he said. "She's sexy and she's got that moxy and sassiness that I love in a woman."



Read more


Serena Williams Wardrobe Malfunction


Wardrobe Malfunction of Serena Williams in Heat People are all searching out for the Wardrobe Malfunction pics and photos of Serena Williams. Looks like both Venus And Serena Williams are getting pumped up when wacky and weird pictures of both Tennis Players are spreading all over the internet. After Serena Willaims got fined of $82,500, we are not on the news again with the tennis star in a wardrobe malfunction. Serena Williams was bodysurfing in Barbados when the incident took place. Her swimsuit slipped off her chest causing her nipple to show up. See the actual Serena Williams Wardrobe Malfunction Pics Photo.


Serena Williams was embarrased with the Wardrobe Malfunction, but the Tennis Ace just laughed it off. Now you guys saw the Serena Williams Wardrobe Malfunction Pics Photo. This is better than Venus Williams’s Corset Dress that has shocked Tennis Fans during her game against Swtizerland’s ace player. We will have more updates behind the French open 2010 game with Serena Williams.

Read more


24 Finale


(WIREUPDATE) — The final day of Fox’s 24 ended on Monday night. Jack Bauer is a wanted man and is taking revenge on everyone involved in the death of his lover Renee Walker.

At the beginning of the episode Cole breaks into Jack’s accomplice Jim Ricker’s headquarters and gives him an ultimatum. Help us get Jack, and we will forget you exist, or spend the rest of his life in Prison. He chooses to help Cole and Chloe find Jack

President Logan: "I think its time she knows everything".

President Taylor cell phone rings exactly at that same time. President Logan is on the other end. He tells her that Jack Bauer isn’t trying to gather evidence, he’s seeking retribution. He tells President Taylor that Jack Bauer murdered the the Russian delegation. Logan then confirms that the Russian President knew about the hit.

Jack Bauer listened on to the entire conversation. President Taylor told Logan to let the Russian President know she is aware of the situation. She then walks into the UN conference room with President Hassan’s wife and other delegates.

President Logan’s new secret service detail arrives and he drives off.

"Thank you Jason it’s been a long road. We are almost there." Jason Pillar asks his partner at CTU if there any new develops on Jack Bauer’s whereabouts In the backseat of the SUV is Jack Bauer.

"Now Drive!" They head to the United Nations. Jack informs Jason Pillar that he knows that the Russian President was involved.

President Hassan’s wife thanks the delegation. Her security says her daughter wants to speak with her, that its important. She gives President Taylor a memento from her husband, a pen.

President Taylor says she is very honored and walks off weeping.

Kayla Hassan tells her mother that Meredith Reed had called with information behind her father’s murder. She tells her mother that the Russians are involved. They decide to call Meredith Reed.

Cole arrives at the CTU headquarters at the UN. Chloe is acting director of CTU. She says there is still no sign from Jack. Cole asks what they should do with the information if they get it from Jack. Chloe says that she will use CTU servers to distribute it to everyone. Chloe puts Cole back in charge of security at the UN.

Jason Pillar, with Jack in the backseat arrive at the UN. They pass security and park underground. Jason notices that Jack is wounded and says that the president wouldn’t be there for another hour. That Jack won’t make it while bleed. Jack forces Jason to stitch up his wound at gunpoint.

Jack calls himself the Judge and Jury of those who were involved with the attack earlier in the day. Jason begs for his life. Instead of shooting him he knocks him out and yells out in pain.

Jack with a backpack of goodies explores the underground parking lot.

Dalia Hassan is trying to call Meredith Reed, but she isn’t picking up. When they can’t get hold of her Dalia says she is going to talk with President Taylor.

President Taylor is listening to the reports of the days events. Dalia approaches President Taylor with the new information in her husband’s murder. That the Russian government were involved. President Taylor asks in shock about this information, and says she heard a rumor about the Russian involvement. She lies and says there was nothing to backup the information. Dalia says that she believes Meredith Reed.

Dalia says that before she signs the treaty she needs help finding Meredith Reed. President Taylor says she will try her best. Dalia then clarifies, she won’t sign the treaty until she talks to Meredith Reed. She says she won’t change her mind.

President Taylor says, "You leave me no choice. I had Meredith Reed arrested because her allegations would be too damning."

"You wouldn’t arrest someone for false allegations. Unless they weren’t false. You knew! You knew!"

"Dalia, I’m so sorry. It was an impossible situation and I was trying to protect you."

"YOU BETRAYED ME" Dalia then came close to smacking President Taylor. She said that the treaty happened because her husband trusted her. She says she doesn’t trust President Taylor and there would be no agreement. She said that she will be filling a complaint with the UN for the release of Meredith Reed.

President Taylor says that in one hour they will sign the treaty. She says if she won’t then she will leak the information that military members of the Islamic Republic were part of the terrorist attack earlier in the day. That should use the military of the United States against them in full force for their involvement… unless she signs the treaty.

Dalia storms off.

Jack continues walking through points in the UN complex. He sets up some sort of device on the wall and breaks into a Utility Room. From the room he can see the entrance of the UN. He turns on his laptop for surveillance and gets out a rather large looking rifle.

Dalia is yelling at her advisor. He says he doesn’t see a way out of this. Dalia says that she can take their case to the head of the UN. He says there is no case. She says that she can reactivate their nuclear program.

The phone rings. President Taylor is expecting Dalia Hassan to great the Russian delegation as it arrives.

Chloe says that Jack was found in the perimeter of the UN! Chloe says that she is going to go find him. Cole asks what if he doesn’t listen to her, "Give me 20 minutes."

They agree. Cole gives Chloe a gun and she heads to the building.

Jack starts making a video. "I started out by saying how sorry I am. You are going to hear a lot of stories about what I’ve done today."

"No one will tell you what I did except for me. A lot of good people died today." He then lists people in several agencies and Renee Walker.

The Russian delegation arrives and so does Dalia. She doesn’t look at President Taylor. The motorcade makes it way to an underground entrance. The Russian President Yuri Suvarov thanks welcoming him.

President Taylor tries to sneak a word in with Dalia, but she is cut off"There is nothing for us to say Madam President".

At a news conference President Taylor, Yuri Suvarov and Dalia Hassan stand in the background as the U.N. Secretary General gives a few words about the days events and the peace treaty that they will be signing. President Logan watches on.

Chloe hears Jack in the building. She walks around the corridors with her gun drawn. She opens the door to the utility closet and Jack disarms her. She says that he doesn’t have to kill Yuri Suvarov. She says that there is a shooting order to kill him on site. Jack says that she should never have gone after him. She says that he is her friend. She didn’t have a choice. He chokes her until she passes out. He tells her not to fight it.

Cole keeps checking his watch. Jack gets is riffle ready and looks through the viewpoint. President Logan gets a phone call. Jack is pointing the gun at President Logan. He says that if he tries to move he is a dead man. He has to do what Jack says.

Logan says that he has already told Jack everything. He replays the recording of Logan talking to the Russian President about the day’s events. Jack wants Logan to tell the truth for a change, tell Suvarov that there is credible intelligence that his life is in danger.

Jack smiles.

—– Start of Episode 24 —–

Yuri Suvarov tells the press that they all stand in the shadow of President Hassan’s tragic death. He says he extends his open hand in friendship to President Taylor and Dalia Hassan. The Press conference ends. Suvarov says that it is surprising that he isn’t the only that doesn’t want to be there. Suvarov said that she knows. President Taylor tells him that she heard the truth from a reporter. He says whatever President Taylor said to Dalia must have been convincing.

He gets President Logan’s phone call.

Logan says that they need talk, that it’s a sensitive matter that can’t be discussed on the phone. He invites the President of Russia to his suite. Logan lies and says there is a possible leak in his camp which is the reason why they have to discuss.

Jack says that Logan is a world class liar. Chloe wakes up and says that the recording device can be used and sent to the media. Jack says that its too late. Cole tries to contact Chloe but he can’t. Cole then calls CTU forces and tells them that Jack Bauer is on the 22nd floor and is a possible sniper. He is armed and dangerous.

Chloe asks Jack to put down the rifle. Chloe says that Russians will consider the President’s assassination an act of war. She warns Jack that there is a risk of innocent lives. Suvarov arrives. Jack says that it isn’t about him. Chloe says that Renee wouldn’t want this. The last thing she would want is for him to start a war in her name. Jack has the Russian president in his rifles site. He pauses

Jack agrees with Chloe and puts down the rifle. Chloe says she will promise to see it through.

Logan lies to Suvarov again and says that his information was wrong. Yuri then calls in his security. They both leave.

CTU heads to the 22nd floor. Jack orders Chloe to shoot him. He says that the only way to keep it secret that her and Cole were trying to find Jack before CTU was to shoot him. She refuses to shoot him. Jack points a gun at her and says he must shoot him. She again refuses. The CTU team is getting close.

"Damn you Chloe!" Jack points the gun at his head and finally Chloe pulls the trigger hitting him in the upper chest.

Chloe explains to Cole that she had to shoot Jack. A CTU agent says that Jason Pillar wants to talk to Chloe. Pillar is on his way to talk to Chloe. Chloe can’t get away to get the recording.

President Logan tells Pillar that he has to get the recording from Jack that implicates him. Pillar says call me back when he gets the recording.

The agents say all they found was a recording device, but the card is missing. Chloe tells Pillar that she had to shoot Jack. Pillar searches Chloe for the data card. He doesn’t find it because she was hiding it inside her cell phone.

Pillar talks to Jack and asks where the data card was. Jack doesn’t say anything. Pillar realizes that Chloe must have taken the card. Before he can tell the agents to try and get Chloe Jack starts to talk. Pillar gets closer to listen and Jack bites his ear off.

Back at the UN CTU headquarters Chloe runs to a console and tries to upload the files to CTU. However, before she can get it finished agents take her and Cole in custody.

Pillar orders that the data card is taken to President Logan.

Logan gives the data card to President Taylor. Logan says that the plan to expose the truth almost worked. And that President Taylor won. President Taylor asked if he heard the recording. He says that he had and its not worth going.

Logan says that one thing to remember is that Jack Bauer will never let this go. President Logan says that the peace agreement needs to be protected. As long as Jack Bauer is around there is no way. Logan says that they must stop Jack Bauer before he can stop the peace agreement.

President Taylor watches the recording that Jack made earlier.

Tim Woods calls the President to tell her that the delegates were there.

She finishes the recording. Jack says that "lasting peace can’t be political, it must be based on trust on both sides to move forward".

Jack says he cannot let the peace deal to go forward. "You remind me of that earlier today, that’s who I am".

Jason Pillar tells President Logan that Jack is being taken care of. Taylor leaves her room and Logan wishes her luck.

Logan said that this calls for celebration. They go into Logan’s room and toast each other for their accomplishments.

Dalia and Yuri see each other. President Taylor enters the room.

The U.N. Secretary General welcomes everyone to the peace signing.

Read more


Slipknot Bassist Found Dead in Hotel Room



Slipknot bassist Paul Gray was found dead in an Iowa hotel room, the Associated Press reports. He was 38 years old.

A hotel employee discovered Gray's body in a room at the town Plaza Hotel in Urbandale, a suburb of Des Moines early Monday. Many of Slipknot's members are from the Des Moines area.

Foul play isn't suspected and an autopsy is planned for tomorrow.

Slipknot is best known for wearing crazy masks while performing. Their self-titled album sold more than one million copies in 1999 and the band won a GRAMMY in 2006 for Best Metal Performance for their single, 'Before I Forget.'

The band's rep has no comment at this time.

Read more


Paul Gray Dead



There are numerous reports surfacing saying that Slipknot bassist Paul Gray was found dead in a hotel in Urbandale, IA today. KCCI Des Moines reports Gray was found six hours ago at a Marriott. This backs up an earlier post in the Des Moines Examiner. Gray was 38. He leaves behind a wife, Brenna Paul, who is expecting a child. According to the Examiner, the preliminary reports from the scene indicates a drug overdose as the cause of death.

This is seriously one of the most unfortunate years for deaths in metal that we can think of. In little more than a month, we’ve lost Peter Steele, Ronnie James Dio, and now Paul Gray. If it does indeed turn out to be drug related, it’s an extremely unfortunate turn of events from one of the most popular bands in metal. This is all preliminary, but if Gray is leaving behind a wife and a kid that will grow up never having met his dad, it’s the ultimate selfish move.

Forming in 1995, Slipknot burst onto the nu-metal scene with their self-titled album. Known initially for their appearance and masks, the nine-member band subsequently won over many fans that initially dismissed them with their mix of heaviness and their impressive stage show. The first three Slipknot albums have all gone platinum. Their fourth, 2008’s All Hope is Gone, was their first to debut at #1 and will go platinum later this year.

Read more


Who won celebrity apprentice 2010




The 47-year-old glam rocker, who recently suffered "warning stroke" and subsequently found to have a hole in his heart, was named winner of this season's 'The Celebrity Apprentic during the live two-hour final episode, which was aired on May 23.

Bret is the newest Celebrity Apprentice
First Bret had an emergency appendectomy, then a brain hemorrhage, and a warning stroke with subsequent discovery of a hole in heart. But none of his health woes could stop him to make the finale.

Michaels, the frontman of glam rock band Poison, was crowned by Donald Trump as the new Celebrity Apprentice. After winning the title Michaels has the third Celebrity Apprentice.

After completing the task, Michaels invented a Trop-A-Rocka Blend while Peete came up with the Compassionberry Tea. Both finalists won Donald’s heart with their invented tea flavor.

"Bret, I have to tell you, you're hired," Donald told the singer on Sunday night’s ABC show finale.

The rocker moved his way through a Snapple challenge that involved creating a new flavor of Snapple tea, as well as a print ad and a commercial to go with it.

After completing the task, Michaels invented a Trop-A-Rocka Blend while Peete came up with the Compassionberry Tea. Both finalists won Donald’s heart with their invented tea flavor.

Donald thought both flavors were "fantastic," but in the end, the CEO chose Michaels.

Peete was a winner as well
Michaels beat out former 21 Jump Street queen Holly Robinson Peete to win a $250,000 bonus check for his charity of choice, the American Diabetes Association.

Despite placing at the second place the actress Peete also took home $250,000 for her chosen charity, her own HollyRod Foundation that supports families facing a serious illness.

About Michaels
Born on March 15, 1963, Bret Michaels is an American singer, best known as the lead vocalist of the glam metal band--Poison.

Besides his career as a lead singer of a rock band, he has several solo albums to his credit.

He has also starred in the VH1 reality show ‘Rock of Love with Bret Michaels’ and its sequels, and as a judge on the talent show ‘Nashville Star.’

Michaels’ health issues
Michaels has a history of medical issues. The entertainer is a diabetic, and is rather paranoid about it. He gives himself several insulin shots and checks his blood sugar four to six times a day.

The rocker had been hit by diabetes in his childhood. He has also suffered several injuries and is frequently hospitalized. At last year's Tony Awards, Michaels was hit by a stage prop, which caused him to suffer a broken nose.

Rocker’s recent health woes
The rock singer was rushed to an undisclosed Los Angeles hospital late April after complaining of a severe headache. He underwent an emergency appendectomy two weeks before suffering a potentially fatal brain hemorrhage on April 25.

After surviving the brain hemorrhage, Michaels appeared on the road to recovery but suffered a serious setback after he experienced a small "warning stroke" mere days ago.

After having what doctors are calling a Transient Ischemic Attack late last week, Michaels was taken to a Los Angeles hospital, where doctors discovered a hole in his heart, called a patent foramen ovale.

Read more


Brandy car accident photos



Brandy and Lorenzo Sereno were dropping off their baby boy at grandma's in Alum Rock on Saturday evening hoping to catch the remake of "Nightmare on Elm Street."

But in a real-life nightmare, a suspected drunken driver — whose brother later told police had downed "20 Tecates" beforehand — caused a chain-reaction accident that sent cars plowing into the Serenos and three children playing in the front yard. All five were injured, two of the children seriously.

"Everyone was screaming and crying. Everyone called 911," Brandy Sereno told the Mercury News on Tuesday.

Sereno was pinned between the driver's white Plymouth minivan and her Expedition. Her husband, Lorenzo Sereno, who works in law enforcement, rushed to rescue his wife.

"My father-in-law, a neighbor and my husband pulled me up by my armpits to get me out from being pinned against my car by the van," Brandy Sereno said.

The Serenos suffered minor injuries, and their 10-month-old son, Lorenzo Jr., was unharmed in his car seat.

San Jose police arrested 28-year-old Rholdan Cabana, who lives a mile away on Wonderama Drive, on felony drunken-driving charges and one misdemeanor count for driving with a suspended license. His brother, who was in the van, told police he thought the 135-pound Cabana had drunk 20 Tecate beers at a party earlier that day.

Police reports show that Cabana tried to run away, but the 20 or so neighbors wouldn't let him
Advertisement
Click here to find out more!
go.

Cabana's blood alcohol level was more than the legal limit of 0.08, records show, but the exact level wasn't made public.

Lorenzo Sereno's two young relatives and a neighbor's son were more seriously injured. They had been playing in the yard of Lorenzo Sereno's parents' house on Farringdon Drive when the Serenos arrived about 6 p.m.

His 4-year-old sister, Lila Bruno, suffered the most serious injury — a fractured skull. She underwent brain surgery and was transferred Tuesday from Valley Medical Center to Children's Hospital in Oakland.

"The doctors had to clean her brain from dirt," Brandy Sereno said. "They're not sure how half of her brain will recover."

Christopher Ramirez, a 10-year-old neighbor, remains at Valley Medical Center with a skull fracture, a broken clavicle, a major rip to his left ear that requires surgery and cuts all over his face and body. Sereno's 6-year-old cousin, Leslie Manzano, was released from the hospital with some leg bruises.

When Lorenzo went up to the van to confront driver, the driver couldn't open his eyes and said, "Yeah man, I'm drunk. I'm drunk," according to a police report.

Cabana has no prior criminal history in Santa Clara County. But he was convicted three times since 2007 for minor traffic violations, such as not obeying signals and once, driving with either marijuana or an open container in his car, according to the Department of Motor Vehicles. He is scheduled to be arraigned today.

Calls to his parents' home were not immediately returned. He is in jail, and the number he provided police was not in service.

A police report says Cabana was driving at a "high rate of speed" when his minivan hit a black Chevy, which careened into a chain-link fence. The Chevy also struck Lila and the 6-year-old cousin. Cabana's van kept going, sideswiping a green Mercury Grand Marquis and a silver Ford Expedition, both parked on the street. And finally, it careened into Christopher.

The Serenos are thankful that their baby wasn't hurt. "It's really just a miracle," said Brandy Sereno, a student at San Jose City College who hopes to major in psychology.

The Serenos are praying for the two remaining hospitalized children to recover. They're trying not to be consumed by anger or grief but to turn the situation into something positive.

"My husband and I want to help out more in our community," Brandy Sereno said. "We put up fliers in the neighborhood saying we want speed bumps, or a sign that says, 'Kids at Play.' I made a call about joining MADD, too."

Read more


What happened on "Lost"?



Well, it's really over. After six years and 121.5 hours of episodes, we finally have closure. Our full analysis will be posted here first thing in the morning, but we wanted to go on record immediately with our gut reaction to tonight's finale and -- to better inform our analysis -- ask you to do the same.

First, our mini-instant analysis:

Jen: "DId you see that?" "Did you feel that?"

Those phrases kept repeating tonight. And I have to say, I saw it. And I felt. What about you?

Liz: I did. I saw it and felt it. I'm still feeling it.

If, as some said, "Lost" was to be judged by its finale then all I can say is Damon and Carlton pulled it off. I've been crying and laughing and basically an emotional basket case for the last 2.5 hours. I could not possibly have asked for anything more. I am in awe.

Jen: Agreed. I know there are some unanswered questions, which we'll talk about in the dueling analysis that will go up in the morning. But here are some things I was happy to see again tonight: Bernard. Rose. Charlie. Shannon. Boone. Juliet. Lots of walkie talkie action. Kate shooting people impulsively. Lapidus. (So not dead.) Vincent. And, of course, two "Star Wars" references within the first 10 minutes of the finale.

Liz: I'm right there with you on all of the above.

But I can't get over the fact that it's over and rather than feeling, well, lost, I feel exhilarated. I expected to be mad, sad or disappointed. I'm not really any of those things. As I just posted to Facebook: It's over. And it was so good. Thank you Damon. Thank you Carlton. Thank you cast for the best six years of TV ever.

Jen: While some people will probably complain that this episode had too much smooching and crying and not enough question-answering, I feel, like you, that it provided exactly what I needed: Satisfying emotional closure.

Liz: But I'm interested in hearing what our Lost-watching community has to say. So maybe, sista, we should move on and let them have the floor?

Jen: Yes, the church floor is now open.

Now it's your turn. Share your thoughts, emotion, criticism, angst, relief, etc. about the end of "Lost"...

Read more


Lost Finale Schedule


Lost Finale Schedule:Lost Season Finale 2010 Series Time – One of the most popular television series of all time, Lost, will be coming to an end tonight. Tonight is the finale night, shown on a Sunday instead of their usual Tuesday schedule because there will be so much time needed to finish off the story and help wrap the series up for the fans. The finale will be two and a half hours long, and there will also be a recap episode that will help wrap up the series and the events for all of the fans.

The recap episode begins airing at nine. The recap episode will go over past, present, and future events to help fans get a better understanding of exactly what has gone on in their mysterious storyline. A number of actors on the show will make appearances during the recap episode to give their feelings and experiences throughout the creation of Lost. The recap episode will be followed by the main event of the night, the finale. The finale will be two and a half hours long, and will hopefully wrap the series up in a manner that can be respected by casual and hardcore fans alike.

After Lost ends, the cast will be appearing on a special Jimmy Kimmel Live titled “Aloha to Lost.” Throughout the week, advertisements of the show have been stating that Kimmel will also be presenting three unused alternate endings for the series. It will be a long night for Lost fans, who will have nearly six hours worth of Lost themed programming to watch tonight. It will be an exciting send off for one of the most watched television shows of all time.

Read more


Failure To Launch



The following statement by Mars Society President Dr. Robert Zubrin appears in today's New York Daily News. With the permission of the Daily News, we reprint it in its entirety here.

Obama's failure to launch

BY Robert Zubrin

Monday, April 19th 2010, 4:00 AM

In a speech to political allies gathered at Cape Canaveral last week, President Obamalaid out his vision for America's space program. Under the Obama plan, NASA will spend $100 billion on human spaceflight over the next 10 years in order to accomplish nothing.

Of course, that's not how Mr. Obama phrased it. But beneath the President's flowery rhetoric, that's how things add up.

Here's the background. In 2004, the Bush administration launched a program called Constellation to develop a set of flight systems, including the Orion crew capsule and the Ares 1 and Ares 5 medium and heavy lift boosters, that together would allow astronauts to return to the Moon by 2020, and then fly to destinations beyond.

Under the plan announced by Obama, almost all of this will be scrapped. The only thing preserved out of the past six years and $9 billion worth of effort will be a version of the Orion capsule - but one so purposely stripped down that it will only be useful as a lifeboat for bringing astronauts down from the space station, not as a craft capable of providing a ride up to orbit.

With the Space Shuttle program set to sunset in the near future, what this means is that the only way Americans will be able even to reach low Earth orbit will be as passengers on Russian launchers, with tickets priced at the Kremlin's discretion. In other words, instead of flying astronauts from the Earth to the Moon, our human spaceflight program will become a vehicle for transporting cash from Washington to Moscow.

The most amazing thing about Obama's speech, however, was its cognitive dissonance. The President desperately tried to spin the abandonment of the Moon program not as a retreat, but as a daring advance. We've been to the Moon before, he declared, and so we have. There's a lot more of space to explore; we should set our sights on points beyond, to the near Earth asteroids, and reach for Mars. Indeed, we can and should.

But the President's plan makes no provision for actually doing so. Instead, he proposes to simply stall.

So, for example, as the first milestone in his allegedly daring program of exploration, Obama called for sending a crew to a near Earth asteroid by 2025.

Such a flight is certainly achievable. To do an asteroid mission, all that is required is a launch vehicle such as the Ares 5, a crew capsule (such as the Orion), and a habitation module similar to that employed on the space station. Had Obama not canceled the Ares 5, we could have used it to perform an asteroid mission by 2016. But the President, while calling for such a flight, actually is terminating the programs that would make it possible.

The same holds true with the question of reaching Mars. From a technical point of view, we are much closer today to being able to send humans to Mars than we were to being able to send men to the moon in 1961 when President John F. Kennedy made his speech committing us to that goal - and we were there eight years later. With Kennedy-like commitment, we could have astronauts on the Red Planet within a decade. Yet Obama chose to set that goal for the 2040s, a timeline so hazy as to not require him to actually do anything to realize it.

The bottom line: Under the Obama plan, NASA will be able to send astronauts anywhere it likes, provided that its effort to do so begins after he leaves office. The President's science adviser, John Holdren, attempts to justify this expensive ($10 billion per year) stalling game by claiming that the pause in flight programs will allow us to develop more advanced technologies that will make everything much more achievable later.

This is false to the core. We already know how to build heavy-lift boosters - we flew our first, the Saturn 5, in 1967. With current in-space propulsion technology, we can do a round-trip mission to a near-Earth asteroid or a one-way transit to Mars in six months - a time no greater than a standard crew shift on the space station.

Holdren claims that he wants to develop a new electrically powered space thruster to speed up such trips. But without gigantic space nuclear power reactors to provide them with juice, such thrusters are useless, and the administration has no intention of developing such reactors. So far from enabling a quick trip to Mars, the unnecessary futuristic electric thruster concept simply provides an excuse for not flying anywhere at all.

The American people want and deserve a space program that really is going somewhere. To offer that, Obama needs to stop the fakery. That means a program whose effort will commence not in some future administration, but in his own; one whose goal is not Mars in our dreams, but Mars in our time.

Zubrin, an aerospace engineer, is president of the Mars Society and author of "The Case for Mars: The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must."

A link to the article may be found at http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2010/04/19/2010-04-19_obamas_failure_to_launch.html



The Mars Society is the only major space advocacy organization that has been willing to take a stand and expose the go-nowhere space policy for what it is.



Help us tell truth to power.

Help us save America's human spaceflight program



Donate to the Mars Society. Come to the August 5-8 conference. Join the Mars Society.

Read more


Lakers vs Suns Game 3


Game 3, Fourth quarter, 2:42, Suns 106, Lakers 96

The Lakers found themselves down by six coming out of the last timeout with slightly less than seven minutes to play. But the Lakers didn't capitalize when Lamar Odom committed an offensive foul. It was their sixth turnover of the quarter.

Each team exchanged misses until Amare Stoudemire connected and the Suns were up by eight. Both teams started to miss as the clock ticked down. The Lakers finally were able to cut into the Phoenix lead when Grant Hill fouled Kobe Bryant, who made both foul shots.

After several misses, a foul by Robin Lopez on Bryant allowed the Lakers to cut the lead to four as he made his seventh and eighth consectuive free throws.


But Stoudemire answered with a quick basket. Things suddenly got worse for the Lakers when Odom committed his sixth foul and Lopez extended the Suns' lead to eight with a couple of free throws.

The Lakers started to look desperate as Ron Artest missed on a three and Steve Nash buried a three to suddenly extend the Suns' lead to 10 with less than three minutes to play.

Looks like the Lakers won't be getting a sweep.

Game 3, Fourth quarter, 6:57, Suns 98, Lakers 92

Lamar Odom came out of the timeout and made both free throws to give the Lakers their first lead of the second half. But it was short-lived as Jared Dudley made a two and after a Lakers turnover Robin Lopez put the Suns up by three.

Odom quickly answered to make it a one-point game but Amare Stoudemire extended the Suns' lead to three with two free throws.

Things then took a bad turn for the Lakers after another turnover when Jason Richardson buried a three from the corner and the Suns' lead was six. Lakers Coach Phil Jackson needed a timeout and took one.

Game 3, Fourth quarter, 8:47, Suns 89, Lakers 88

The Lakers tied the score with a nice play in the lane resulting in a basket by Lamar Odom. But Amare Stoudemire continued his hot hand with a two, giving him 31 points for the game.

Kobe Bryant then tied the score with a two after an offensive rebound by Pau Gasol. But the see-saw continued as Goran Dragic made one of two free throws and the teams were finally on odd-even.

After a couple of misses and a jump ball, a foul by Channing Frye on Lamar Odom gave the Lakers a chance to take the lead after they come out of a timeout.

Game 3, End of third quarter, Suns 86, Lakers 84

The Lakers came out of the timeout with a chance to tie the score, but Derek Fisher was off target on a three. Amare Stoudemire came back and hit for two to extend the Suns' lead to four points.

But it was Kobe Bryant who answered with a three, and it was clear this game would not likely be decided until the very end. Stoudemire came back and made two free throws and Gasol answered that with a bucket just as the shot clock was ready to expire.

Stoudemire, off a Fisher foul, went to the line with 39 seconds to play in the quarter and made one of two, giving the Lakers a chance to tie the score and erase a seven-point halftime deficit. Bryant was fouled and went to the line for the first time in the game and made both to tie the score.

Stoudemire then connected from underneath the basket with eight seconds left, but Bryant ended up back at the line and made both.

However, an unwise foul by Shannon Brown sent Suns guard Leandro Barbosa to the line and he sank both free throws and the Suns ended the period with a two-point lead.

Game 3, Third quarter, 3:16, Suns 77, Lakers 75

Ron Artest made two foul shots coming out of the timeout and the Lakers were trailing by three. He has nine points in the quarter.

Robin Lopez came back down the court and scored on the hook, but Derek Fisher buried a three from 26 feet to make it a two-point game.

A Lamar Odom foul sent Amare Stoudemire to the line, where he made both shots and the margin was back to four. After a steal, Pau Gasol cut the Lakers' deficit to two and the Lakers were knocking on the door.

Game 3, Third quarter, 5:20, Suns 73, Lakers 68

The Lakers certainly were outplayed in the first half as Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol were forced to carry the load. Coach Phil Jackson needed to open up the offense and he was sure to see how serious the Lakers were at the start of this period.

But it didn't start well as Bryant missed his first shot and Suns' Jason Richardson connected for two. But a Gasol basket and a Ron Artest three-pointer brought the Lakers a little closer. Amare Stoudmire came back down and connected on a three-point play.

After a Lamar Odom tip-in and three foul shots by Derek Fisher, the Lakers had closed their deficit to two. But it was short-lived as Robin Lopez made a two and Richardson added a basket.

The Lakers were clearly struggling to stop the Suns. With about eight minutes to play the Suns lead was eight. A couple of buckets later the Lakers closed it to three on a Derek Fisher three. That's when things heated up as Fisher and Lopez were assessed technicals. Artest followed with a bucket and it was answered by Stoudemire.

The Lakers were down by five as the period's first timeout was called, but Artest was headed to the free-throw line after a Lopez foul.

-- John Cherwa

Game 3, Halftime: Suns 54, Lakers 47

The Suns pulled away late in the second quarter as Steve Nash controlled their up-tempo offense during a 14-2 spurt to close the half.

Suns center Robin Lopez hit two free throws to make it 54-47, giving the Suns their biggest lead of the game.

The Suns outscored the Lakers, 25-15, in the second quarter.

Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol carried the Lakers' offense in the first half: Bryant has 19 poiints, Gasol has 12.

But the Suns countered with their big three: Nash, Amare Stoudemire and Jason Richardson combined for 34 of the Suns' 54 points. Stoudemire leads the Suns with 13 points; Nash also penetrated well and has seven assists, plus 11 points.

The Suns were far more aggressive taking the ball to the hoop, drawing fouls and hitting 18 of 20 free throws. Meanwhile, the Lakers only had three free-throw attempts and missed all of them.

Suns backup point guard Goran Dragic played more than six minutes to open the second quarter, giving Nash a long rest, and has five points and one assist.

Lamar Odom is cold tonight, missing six of seven shots from the field and both free throws.

Game 3, Second quarter 2:58 remaining, Lakers 45, Suns 45

Amare Stoudemire made a layup on a give and go from Steve Nash to tie the score at 45-45.

Kobe Bryant has hit nine of his 11 shots, scoring 19 points.

The Suns' bench has been cold, missing nine of their 11 shots.

Suns backup point guard Goran Dragic played more than half the second quarter, giving Steve Nash a long rest, and has five points and one assist. His two free throws cut the lead to 41-35 with about 5:51 remaining.

Game 3, Second quarter, 6:41 remaining, Lakers 41, Suns 35

Jordan Farmar hit a three-pointer from the right wing on an assist from Shannon Brown just before the timeout.

Andrew Bynum drew a foul on Channing Frye while hitting a jumper to open the second quarter. Bynum missed the free throw but Brown swept in and dunked on Bynum's miss to make it 36-29, giving the Lakers their biggest lead of the game.

The Suns continue to be hurt by Frye's cold shooting spell. He's missed his first seven shots of the game.

Game 3, End of First Quarter: Lakers 32, Suns 29

The Lakers pulled away from the Suns at the end of the quarter thanks to Kobe Bryant's ridiculously hot hand. He hit seven of his eight shots and has 15 points as well as four assists.

A Pau Gasol dunk on a feed from Bryant made it 32-29 with about 25 seconds left in the quarter.

The Suns were aggressive in taking the ball to the hoop throughout the quarter. Amare Stoudemire has nine points, Jason Richardson has eight and Steve Nash has six points and five assists.

One difference in the quarter was free-throw shooting. The Suns made nine of their 11 free throws. Meanwhile, the Lakers have yet to shoot from the line.

Game 3, First quarter, 2:15 remaining, Suns 27, Lakers 26

Both teams are shotting well, the Suns at 47%, the Lakers at 60%.

Jason Richardson hit consecutive three-pointers from the right and left wings to put the Suns up, 27-22.

Kobe Bryant is hot as well. He hit his first five shots shots and has 11 points.

Lamar Odom once again scored on a cut to the basket on his first possession to tie the score at 15-15.

Game 3, First quarter, 7:43 remaining: Suns 15, Lakers 13

In a good start for Phoenix, Amare Stoudemire has driven to the hoop six times already and has put Andrew Bynum on the bench with two fouls. Stoudemire has nine points to lead the Suns.

Because of the aggressive moves to the hoop the Lakers were over the foul limit only four minutes into the quarter.

Kobe Bryant hit his three jump shots and has six points. Pau Gasol is two for four from the field.

Derek Fisher hit a three-pointer on his first shot.

Lakers vs. Suns Game 3: Pregame

The Lakers have won eight playoff games in a row over three series. Now the Western Conference finals against the Suns shifts to Phoenix.

Oddsmaker Beted.com calls today's game completely even, that is, neither team is favored, which is very unusual, particularly for the home team.

So far the Lakers have had their way with Phoenix, averaging 126 points in their two wins. Phil Jackson said before the game that the Suns are an excellent home team, and have been for the last five seasons.

Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m., possibly a little later.

Read more


Duncan keith Teeth


CHICAGO -- The face of hockey, the window to the pain and sacrifice it takes to play this game, is frozen like the Indian head at the center of the United Center floor.

The hair is typical, long and greasy and poking out of the back of an old free hat honoring Tony Esposito. The eyes are languid, the mouth shy, concealing a void where its teeth used to be. The lips are bloodied and unhurried.

Duncan Keith, all beardy and sweaty and hockey humble, is trying to tell a revolving group of reporters why it wasn't that big of a deal that a puck collided with his face, costing him seven teeth and only a handful of shifts. He's talking at a whisper, and with a pronounced lisp. He isn't trying to be humble. This isn't an act.

About seven minutes of ice time, one for each tooth, elapsed from the time he stumbled off the ice, teeth in his throat, and got shot up with enough numbing medicine to return.

Keith, the Olympian and candidate for the Norris Trophy, wound up skating four more shifts in the second period and 13 in the third as the Blackhawks clinched their first Stanley Cup finals appearance since the days of Roenick and Belfour and Chelios.

"Honestly, I was fine," Keith said. "You get hit in the teeth, obviously it hurts the gums, but it's not like you got your jaw smashed in or anything like that. It's tougher talking, but it's not as bad as you think it is."

[+] EnlargeDuncan Keith
Rob Grabowski/US PresswireDuncan Keith lost seven teeth but returned to the ice to help the Blackhawks win Game 4.

Here's a new Chicago Blackhawks motto for you: "One Goal. Seven Teeth."

Keith's Komeback was one of many positive stories in the Blackhawks' 4-2 win over the San Jose Sharks on Sunday to close out the Western Conference finals in a 4-0 sweep. This wasn't a must-win game, but Keith wasn't about to miss any time. The doctors jammed seven needles in his jaw, and he was back on the ice. He assisted on Dave Bolland's tying goal with 1:22 to go in the second.

"He created the whole play, taking the big hit to set it up," Patrick Sharp said. "And he's skating around before the power play, telling us what to do, but he's mumbling. I don't think anyone understood what he was talking about. But he's one of our leaders."

"I wanted to get out there," Keith said. "I heard they scored. It was kind of frustrating. It was nice to hear the crowd cheering when we scored again. So I missed a couple goals there. I wanted to get out there as quick as I can."

The Hawks had to struggle to get past the seventh-seeded Nashville Predators in the first round, but they've gotten better each and every series. No one could accuse this team of looking toward the Stanley Cup with a 3-0 lead. After a slow start -- one shot in the first 16 minutes -- the Hawks turned in a championship performance, sweeping the top seed and setting up a playoff series that will engulf this city.

Last year, the Hawks were just happy to be in the Western Conference finals against a veteran Detroit Red Wings team. This year, for obvious reasons, the team had different goals.

"This year, it's almost like we feel we shouldn't lose a game," Patrick Kane said. "It's not cocky. That's just our attitude. We feel like we have such a good team and the way we can play, we feel we're as good as anyone in the league."

ESPNChicago.com Blackhawks blog

Blackhawks blog The latest news from Hawks beat reporter Jesse Rogers. Blog

Down 2-0 early in the second period, Chicago scored the last four goals, tying the game late in the second and taking a lead in the third on Dustin Byfuglien's third game winner of this series. Kris Versteeg's empty-netter with 42 seconds to go iced it. Brent Seabrook was credited with the Blackhawks' first goal after an official review. No Kane, no Toews, no Marian Hossa. And that was a good thing.

"So many guys stepped up," Kane said. "Every game was a new challenge for us. It looked like things weren't going to go our way today and we still stepped up and got the win. It's a really cool feeling right now."

The Hawks will take on the winner of the Philadelphia Flyers-Montreal Canadiens series in the franchise's first Cup finals appearance since 1992, but there was no celebration off the ice Sunday. No beer showers, not a hint of champagne. They got new hats and cheap T-shirts, but that about covered it.

Then again, this is a sport in which teams snub a conference championship trophy like it was an annoying reporter. It's Stanley Cup or bust. No use celebrating the milestones.

"We don't do that. We go for the big one," said John Madden, one of a few Hawks with Stanley Cup experience, on the lack of premature jocularity. "It's always been like that, the two times I won the Cup. We just congratulated each other and maybe had a cold one and that's it."

The Hawks' locker room was buzzing with activity, but each player stayed in their stall, wearing a cap and a T-shirt commemorating their feat and looking toward their next task. Certainly celebrations would take place later in nightclubs and tony restaurants, with parents and girlfriends and wives and bottle service.

Keith will be celebrating in the dentist's chair. He could feel the medicine wearing off as he talked. But he sat at his locker to talk to every reporter, answering every question.

"One, no two were fake already," he said. "Hopefully I can get some nice teeth now."

How many did he lose? In-game reports said four, which were later amended to seven.

"Let's take a look," he said, opening his mouth and showing a top shelf of gums. "I haven't even seen what I look like, you tell me."

Seven and a half minutes into the second period, Keith crumpled to the ice after Patrick Marleau, battling with Toews for puck possession in the Blackhawks' end, nailed him point-blank with a puck. Keith staggered off the ice and a few seconds later, Marleau scored to give the Sharks a 2-0 lead.

Keith said he knew right away his teeth were smashed in. This isn't his first rodeo. He could feel one hitting the back of his throat.

"I felt a chunk of something back there," he said. "I figured it was a tooth. It wouldn't have been anything else."

It's almost cliché to write about a tough hockey player, but it's not unfair to say he was motivation for his teammates, even the veterans.

"There are a lot of things that go undisclosed," said Brian Campbell, who missed the last month of the regular season and the first three games of the first round of the playoffs with a broken clavicle and fractured rib. "Duncan's is out there. You look at guys like that, it's inspiration."

"It's not that [impressive] … I'm just kidding. It's very impressive," Madden said. "I think the last guy I saw with all his teeth knocked out was Ken Daneyko, and he came back the same way. And that was years ago. I saw Duncs take that right in the mouth. To overcome something like that and come back, it's a tribute to how great of a guy he is and how great of a teammate he is."

After last year's surprising run to the conference finals, this season has been a virtual countdown up to this point. This team had the talent, the depth and the leadership to get here. They carried a bull's-eye all season. Now the end is almost here, and there will be plenty to celebrate soon enough. So flash a smile, Blackhawks, with or without original teeth.

One Goal. Seven Teeth. Four More Games.

Read more