Up until yesterday, I probably would've answered that question with a big old 'no,' but yesterday, during my regular Sunday-afternoon veg-out watching horse racing on TVG, host Simon Bray cut to an interview with none other than Teri Hatcher. Apparently, every Mother's Day, the Desperate Housewives star takes her mom and her daughter to Hollywood Park for some live racing action; Bray noted that last year, Hatcher correctly predicted (on air) that 17-1 shot Ashley's Kitty would win the featured Railbird Stakes. This year, however, Hatcher wasn't feeling as decisive, telling Bray that since she'd already gambled away the money she won on the third-race trifecta, she'd decided to place a win bet on every horse in the 2008 Railbird field. Lucky for her, the $31.40 payout on longshot Million Dollar Run turned out to be greater than the $16 it would've cost to play all eight fillies in the field, once again making Hatcher a winner, not only at the windows, but also in my fickle, horse-addicted heart.
How about you PopWatchers? Have you ever discovered something about an entertainer's private life that turned you into an instantaneous fan?
Buried deep in an SI.com interview with Philadelphia Soul owner Jon Bon Jovi comes news that Bon Jovi will play Central Park. "We
always end every tour at Giants Stadium, but we're going to do Central
Park this year," Jon said. "That hasn't been announced yet, there you go, we're
doing Central Park."
My first reaction: OMFG!* I can hear the chorus to "Livin' on a Prayer" already, and we sound amazing, New York. My second reaction: Wait. You don't like crowds.
What's your reaction?
* Already overused? Come on. It was my first time.
Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon turns 55 today, and to celebrate, I am embedding the band's "Bull in the Heather" video after the jump because, well, it totally rocks.
And yet while I've always enjoyed the song on its musical merits alone, I'd be lying if I said there wasn't another reason the track is still in regular rotation at Casa Slezak. Indeed, the title of the song comes from the name of 1993 Florida Derby winner (and Kentucky Derby starter) Bull inthe Heather (who's enjoying a happy retirement in the Bluegrass State), and as a lifelong horseracing buff, I always get an extra rush hearing a musical reference to my favorite sport. After all, aside from Peter Paul and Mary's "Stewball," the sport of kings doesn't exactly get a lot of love in popular music.
So again, here's wishing Kim Gordon a very happy birthday; may she keep on rockin' for many years to come. And since it just so happens to be Kentucky Derby week, I'll pass on my live longshot for Saturday's big race -- Smooth Air, who's gotten over his fever (whew!) and therefore gets my vote to spring the upset in the most exciting two minutes in sports.
I am not a huge sports person (shocker, I know), but I
do greatly enjoy arcane disputes between rappers — and just in time for
the NBA playoffs, those two worlds have collided. As one of my less hopelessly dorky friends informed me at a convivial seder recently, Washington
Wizards shooting guard DeShawn Stevenson said last month that Cleveland Cavaliers small forward LeBron James was "overrated"; LeBron retorted that said insult was akin
to, say, Soulja Boy dissing Jay-Z; and just this past weekend, Soulja Boy himself chimed in to express his displeasure at being used as a synonym for
"wack rapper." (My NBA-savvy sources tell me that
Stevenson's the one who should really be miffed: He might not be in
shouting distance of LeBron's talent, but he is not an irritatingly
talentless nobody like Soulja Boy, whose greatest achievement to date is providing the raw material for a brilliant parody by blogger Jay Smooth.)
Point is, I see the makings of an epic musical battle shaping up. LeBron name-checked Jay-Z for a reason: He and the Jiggaman are good buddies. (Jay's even called LeBron an honorary "Roc member.") And we know that Jay's nursed his share of lyrical grudges in the past. Sure, he says he's older and wiser now — but he's been sounding more and more like his hungry old self lately. So could he defend his guy with some poisonous couplets aimed at Stevenson and/or Soulja Boy? The watch for a ruthless subliminal attack hidden inside Jay's next guest verse starts now.
Okay, maybe this is an unlikely scenario considering that neither Soulja Boy nor Stevenson have said anything at all negative about him — and since the whole point of LeBron's wisecrack was that someone as powerful as Jay would have no reason to swat back at an annoyance like Soulja Boy. Whatever! Let me have my dream! Alternately, Soulja
Boy also told the Cleveland Plain Dealer that he'd consider "a 2-on-2 basketball
game for charity between himself and Stevenson against James and
Jay-Z." Now that's a game I'd tune in for. In the meantime, have any of you been following this somewhat contrived war of words?
With baseball season upon us, Sports Illustrated has drafted 10 of the most memorable onscreen ballplayers in movie history to its fantasy team. (Eleven, if you count groupie Jessica Biel from Summer Catch.) Great minds think alike, as we've just brought back our own gallery of the 10 best movie ballplayers, and there's a lot of overlap. One player-to-be-named-later who didn't make either of our lists — but should have — is Stan Ross (Bernie Mac, pictured), the unceremoniously unretired slugger from the underrated Mr. 3000. Anyone else we left out of our batting order who deserves a shot? Write in your own Hollywood Hall-of-Famers below.
I'm not a fan of E!'s Keeping Up with the Kardashians (if only because I've never seen it), but I am a fan of Sports Illustrated's Extra Mustard testing the show's Kim Kardashian — girlfriend of New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush — on her football knowledge. Since I know we've got some pigskin fans on PopWatch, let's see who knows more — or less — than she does...
SI.com: How many points is a touchdown? Kardashian: It's six, and then if you hit the field goal, it's seven.
SI.com: Close enough. It's actually called an extra point, but we'll give you that one. Do you know how many points a field goal is? Kardashian: That's three, right?
SI.com: Yes. Good job. Do you know the name of Reggie's position? Kardashian:
Of course. Running back. This is how I remembered his position, because
I couldn't remember it for a long time: Reggie Bush is RB. Running back
is RB.
SI.com: Very impressive. Do you know how many yards a team needs for a first down? Kardashian: OK, I'm guessing. It's either four or 10.
SI.com: It's 10. Kardashian:
I thought it was 10. I was going to say that first. I sit in the box
and the other wives explain everything to me and I knew it was 10.
The 50th running of the Daytona 500, the start of the 2008 NASCAR Spring Cup season, is Sunday. Pre-race coverage on Fox starts at 2 p.m. ET. The green flag waves at 3:30 p.m. There are many reasons to tune in, besides what I imagine will be an amazing national anthem from Trisha Yearwood: Can Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch, already on probation after trading paint in a practice session, play nice? Will Ashley Judd be on pit road to support her husband, Dario Franchitti? Just how many new commercials did Dale Earnhardt Jr. (pictured) shoot? But seriously, if you haven't tuned into a race before, this is the one you want to watch. Some drivers would trade a championship just to win the Daytona 500 once. That's why you get incredible last laps like last year's, which literally had me up off the couch, screaming at willing Mark Martin to cross the finish line first. He didn't. I still haven't recovered completely.
I wonder which of the celebs NASCAR got to predict Sunday's winner will be feeling that pain this year. Check out some of their picks after the jump.
Will Ferrell, who knows a thing or two about viral Web promotion, sure is plugging the heck out of Semi-Pro (opens Feb. 29), and his goofy new b-baller character, Jackie Moon, online. (See "viral" stunts here and here.) Now, Moon and his white-man's-Afro have even muscled their way into the brand new Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. (SI, EW.com, and Semi-Pro studio New Line are all part of Time Warner.) Here's Jackie and good sport Heidi Klum, who's probably thinking that his is a look so unfortunate that even Tim Gunn couldn't make it work. Still, if you want to see more of Will and Heidi, there's plenty of pics in this SI gallery. Oh, and more from the 2008 SI swimsuit issue here. You're welcome.
I'm not saying that the Super Bowl was decided the moment the teams took the field yesterday. But Kanye West's "Stronger," which the Giants exited the tunnel to, definitely gets me more juiced than Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train," which played for the Pats.
What about you? What song would you (or do you) play when it's your time to kick a little ass?
I know it's been around for 42 years, but I've never paid much mind to the Super Bowl. (I greatly prefer Animal Planet's Puppy Bowl, now in its fourth season, for the sheer puppiness of it all. Check out clips of the MVPs, the highlights reel, not to mention the itty-bitty-kitty halftime show. Awwww!) But as its commercials seem to attract more and more press each year — with a commensurate rise in price, some 30-second spots fetching more than $2.7 million — the stakes for these brands are that much higher. So did the marketing execs rise to the challenge? I'd say no — for once, I was actually more taken with the action on the field than in the ads, especially during Tom Petty's kind of awesome halftime performance (the phallic arrow — hat tip to Stereogum, whose post contains NSFW language — really brought it all to life, I think). Anyway, here are three reasons why:
SoBe Life Water Okay, so the lizard is pretty much a normal lizard (read: puny) until he literally gets "juiced up" and throws down with Naomi Campbell, who shakes her thang in a shimmery silver number. Is SoBe covertly endorsing the use of steroids? Nature couldn't possibly have gifted Tom Brady with guns like those. Or maybe he just drinks a lot of Life Water.
Hey-o, PopWatchers! I'm coming to you live from a backyard in Long Beach, CA where me and 30 of my closest friends (okay, I just met half of them today) are gathered at a ridiculous Super Bowl Party (seriously, they have projection screens set up in their backyard, along with smokers cooking every kind of meat you can imagine) to watch the Patriots take on Eli Manning (or Peyton Manning's baby brother, as I will refer to him from this point on) and the Giants. Sorry, did I not mention that I was a Pats fan? (I grew up in Boston.) Commence the hating now, Giants fans -- and those who just generally despise the Patriots. Nothing you say will make me love Tom Brady and his golden arm any less.
But let's not get distracted. My job today is to focus on the commercials, although I can't guarantee I won't let a few snarky comments fly about the game. So settle in for the next few hours, because I, along with EW.com News Editor Mike Bruno, will be bringing you the lowdown on this year's Superbowl commericials.
I can understand why you'd want to skip Fox's pre-game Super Bowl coverage, which begins at 2 p.m. ET Sunday and features Ryan Seacrest interviewing celebs as they arrive to watch whether Eli Manning chokes, the "world premiere performance" of Paula Abdul’s new single “Dance Like There's No Tomorrow” (sometime between 4 and 4:30 p.m., according to the latest press release), and a performance by Alicia Keys (sometime between 5 and 5:30 p.m.). But if you insist on skipping the game itself at 6 p.m. — Jordin Sparks sings the national anthem! Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers handle halftime! EW.com live-blogs the commercials! — here are some of your TV alternatives.
• TNT's The Closer marathon (begins at noon ET): Now's your chance to get hooked on Kyra Sedgwick (pictured)'s series, and to test your tolerance of accents.
• Bravo's Law & Order: Criminal Intent marathon (begins at 6 p.m. ET): Interesting choice. I'd have expected Project Runway to be the counter-programming pick. But I guess Bravo doesn't gender-stereotype like I just did?
• USA's Law & Order: SVU marathon (begins at noon ET): Obviously.
• Discovery Channel's MythBusters marathon (begins at 9 a.m. ET): This makes our own Annie Barrett very happy.
• ESPN 2's World's Strongest Man marathon (begins at 6 p.m. ET): This makes our own Dawnie Walton very happy.
• DIY's Bathroom Renovations marathon (begins at noon ET): For the record, I wanted to use a picture of a toilet for this blog post, in honor of DIY's "Toilet Bowl" programming block, but my editor said no. [Editor's note: Cute puppy pic or toilet pic? You decide.]
• Hallmark Channel's Murder, She Wrote marathon (begins at 8 a.m. ET): That is a lot of murder, and a lot of Angela Lansbury.
As you probably know by now, it's the Super Bowl this Sunday, and even those of us who watch it just for the commercials (guilty!) and the excuse to pound a 40 on a school night, have a new reason to tune in, courtesy of our corporate siblings at Sports Illustrated. Check out their very funny gallery of potential casting ideas for "Super Bowl: The Movie." James Cromwell as Tom Coughlin? Laurence Fishburne as Michael Strahan? Or how about Ned Beatty as Robert Kraft? Wouldn't the phrase "tossing the ol' pigskin around" take on entirely new and awkward shades of meaning?
Funniest choices: Haley Joel Osment (right) as Eli Manning (left; SI points out that they both still look like they're 11 years old) and Tom Brady as Tom Brady (apparently, not even Hollywood can top the golden-boy quarterback's own performance as himself).
How about you, PopWatchers? Are you going to watch the game? If so, who would you cast in your own movie version of the Super Bowl?
If you've gotten the latest issue of EW, you now have "67 tips to beat the entertainment dry spell" during the writers' strike. But I'm here to offer you another one: Watch sports.
How radical of an idea is it? You tell me. I have some colleagues who refuse to see sports as entertainment — and some who refuse to watch sports, period. I asked Deadwood's Timothy Olyphant, who's been moonlighting as a sports reporter for LA's Indie 103.1 FM morning show for the last two years, why he's a fan. "I'm sure the writers will come picket my house," he joked, "but the reason I like sports is because it's unscripted. That's always been the reason to watch sports. You can't make that sh-- up."
So let's settle this once and for all: Do you watch sports? And if so, which ones?
You know I'm alway pushing the PBR (Professional Bull Riders), which you can catch on the weekends on VERSUS. (Olyphant, by the way, approves. Deadwood creator David Milch hired a bunch of cowboys to hang around the set because they had the right vibe. "They get drunk. They get in fights. And they tell terribly inappropriate jokes," Olyphant said, before sharing one punch line we can't print. "I just like knowing that when you're watching a guy get thrown around, that's his day.") If that doesn't sell you, maybe Travis Briscoe's recent record-tying ride on Copperhead Slinger (below) will:
Call me obtuse, but I still can't get a handle on why I should be interested in the steroids scandal. Sure, I'm a bigger pop culture fanatic than sports nut, but it didn't clarify anything for me to learn that Jason Priestley's name was mentioned tangentially in connection with the story. Now, according to an investigation by the Albany Times-Union, several other stars are accused of buying steroids: 50 Cent (pictured), Mary J. Blige, Wyclef Jean, Timbaland, and Tyler Perry. (Talking to the New York Times, Blige's rep has denied the Times-Union's allegations.)
Even if the allegations are true, what's the big deal? None of the celebs is accused of breaking the law, but are we supposed to be shocked to learn that musicians might be injecting dangerous substances into their bodies? (As for Perry: Well, he does like to dress in drag, but I don't think hormone injections are the reason.) And while the scandal probably won't help sales of Fiddy's vitamin water, it's not likely to harm any of the musicians' public images, as this Times commentary piece notes. Though I do love the Times' headline: "Jeepers, Rappers, Where’d You Get Those Arms and Torsos?" Jeepers!
Help me, PopWatchers: Explain why I should care if hip-hoppers are juiced. And would you think any less of them if they were?
I know you probably laughed (or maybe cried) (or shook your head incredulously) when you heard the news that Paula Abdul would be singing at this year's Super Bowl. But on the other hand, you probably haven't watched the video for "Straight Up" in a while either. So quit trying to resist the catchy! And let's be honest, whether she's great or an absolute train wreck, the viewing public wins!
This just in: Brittany Spears was named the Big 12 Conference Women’s Basketball Rookie of the Week, following an impressive performance on January 4th, against Pepperdine. What? Britney was under lockdown on the 4th? Right, but Brittany was not. She plays basketball for the University of Colorado along with roommate Whitney Houston. A Whitney Houston who also sings. Apologies in advance for totally blowing your minds this time. Now back to your regularly scheduled procrastinating.
I'm obsessed with this YouTube clip of miracle horse Numaany--who gets distracted by something on the outside rail, takes a hard right, comes to almost a complete stop, and still somehow wins this Nov. 7 race at Aqueduct Racetrack in New York. Yet while Numaany is eligible for the 2008 Kentucky Derby (he's my early pick to win it…woot!), one place you won't find him is on the Must List page in next week's issue of Entertainment Weekly.
Poor Numaany, but lucky you, since you still have the opportunity to get your Must List pick into the next issue of EW. All you have to do is submit up to three suggestions for your favorite TV shows/albums/books/movies/video games/websites right now; be sure to post your ideas before 10 a.m. on Thursday, January 10, and make sure to include your email address (which we'll need to contact you if your submission is chosen). Don't say "neigh" (sorry!), just go to the comments section below and get into the race!
The results are in: American Gladiatorsperformed decently in the ratings last night on NBC, giving the network its highest-rated premiere for a new show since Heroes. But as a newcomer to the David-vs.-Hellga genre, I was mildly befuddled by what happened on my screen last night. I had to turn to my colleague Mandi Bierly, a Gladiators expert, for answers. Our IM convo went as follows:
Slezak: So Mandi, question: Did you actually enjoy American Gladiators last night? I ask because halfway through, I had to switch to Cashmere Mafia. Maybe the better question is: Why does everything on TV have to be a "two-hour event"?
Mandi: I liked it enough to watch it again if I stumble across it, but not enough to DVR. I was ready for it to end after an hour, too—I didn't need to see the skateboarder's kid watch his dad get his ass kicked anymore.
Slezak: I know, right? The firefighter dude dominated him! I'd have been furious if AA (pictured, right) had lost out in the eliminator round. Does that mean I actually cared about what was happening?
Mandi: Since you know the firefighter's nickname is AA, then the answer is "Yes." But don't worry: I would have flown through my TV if that had happened, too.
Slezak: Also making me want to fly through my TV: Hulk Hogan declaring, "Now we're getting serious because up next are the guys"? Sexist much?
Mandi: Totally sexist. And hello, did he not just watch a female Gladiator take a contestant out of the competition on Power Ball? Laila Ali should have pounded him into the floor mats.
Slezak: Speaking of the women's competition, what about that doctor, Venus? She worked so hard in med school, and her family came to this country…so she could be on American Gladiators? I wonder if she's in my HMO plan?
So NBC and CBS will simulcast the Patriots-Giants game Saturday night at 8 p.m. ET, using the NFL Network's production team (that means Bryant Gumbel and Cris Collinsworth in the booth on all three networks). Apparently, this rare synergy (it's the first NFL game to air on more than one network since the first Super Bowl almost 41 years ago) is huge news for pro football fans. Had it only been broadcast on the NFL Network as originally scheduled, most football fans across the country wouldn't have been able to see the "potentially historic game," in which Tom Brady (pictured) and the Pats try to become the first team to go unbeaten and untied in the regular season since the '72 Dolphins.
Of course, now the question becomes: Which network will you choose? Luckily, I won't have to make that call: I'll be at sports bar in State College, PA., watching Penn State beat Texas A&M in the Alamo Bowl on ESPN. But if I had to, I'd go NBC. You?
Was watching a little late-night TV over the weekend, and stumbled across There's Something About Mary, in which Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre shows up to do his doughy best as Mary's ex-boyfriend. Given that he is not only better looking but also a better QB these days, perhaps that's one cameo best left semi-forgotten somewhere on a shelf alongside Shaquille O'Neal in Kazaam and the entire cinematic career of O.J. Simpson.
But the athletes just keep acting, as evidenced by New York Ranger (and former Elisha Cuthbert flame) Sean Avery (pictured) who shows up in the hockey biopic The Rocket (just out on DVD) as--coincidence!--a New York Ranger named Bob Dill who gets the crap beaten out of him by the movie's subject, legendary Montreal Canadien Maurice Richard. The movie's half in French and half in English and all about hockey, yet I kept watching; Avery's role, while small, is damn entertaining. Probably because he's known as quite the aggressor in real life, and there's always something fun about watching people like that get clocked, even if it's fake--and especially when they're in on the joke.
Assuming it's not Avery, what athlete has given the best onscreen performance in Hollywood history? Johnny Damon in Fever Pitch? Michael Jordan in Space Jam? Ring in with your comments! Let's force EW.com's editors to spin a gallery from your numerous (and witty) responses!
The full, two-minute trailer for season 4 of Lost seems to confirm Doc Jensen's speculations based on the 30-second teaser released last week. There's Jeremy Davies, as one of the new characters from the freighter, telling the Lost-ies that rescuing them wasn't exactly his first priority. There's Locke and Ben and the drowning Charlie, repeating their warnings from last season's finale about the newcomers. And there's the title cards, telling us that some of our heroes aren't going to leave the island. (Does that mean some will choose to stay behind, or be abandoned, or die? Or does that refer to Jack, who we know will leave but who will remain mentally and emotionally trapped there?) Say, was that a glimpse of Naomi, the parachutist apparently slain by Locke, still alive? Lots of tantalizing questions; really can't wait to see how they play out, can you?
On a lighter note, the trailer for Leatherheads, George Clooney's period comedy about the transformation of the 1920s-era National Football League from a barnstorming group of anarchic roughnecks into a professional but much less fun organization, leaves me with mixed feelings. With John Krasinski along for the ride as the strong-but-naive rookie mentored by Clooney's sly veteran, and Renee Zellweger (pictured, with Clooney) as the skeptical reporter who comes between them, it's clear that the movie wants to be another Bull Durham, with a little Seabiscuit/Cinderella Man historical interest thrown in. But it all looks so rote and by-the-playbook. (Also, Office-boy Krasinski seems overmatched by his glamorous old-pro co-stars.) The actual movie is going to have to try a little harder than the familiar tactics suggested by the trailer in order not to fumble at the box office this spring.
This whole baseball steroids scandal baffles and bewilders me — how can a pop-culture geek like yours truly get a handle on it? Hat tip, then, to our corporate siblings over at Sports Illustrated's Extra Mustard, who gave me a point of entry via Jason Priestley (pictured). Sure, the actor's mention in association with this saga is tenuous and tangential, but Extra Mustard helpfully reminds us that that the connection goes a wee bit deeper, with Barry Bonds having appeared on Beverly Hills 90210 back in the day (see clips here and here). If any of you, dear readers, can find another pop-cultural angle to help explain this mess to me, let me know below.
Another holiday season, another reason to remember how much you love figure skating specials. (Oh, you know you do.) We'll be sitting down with Brian Boitano on Friday afternoon to chat about his latest offering, NBC's Dec. 22 Brian Boitano Skating Spectacular. (Picture Viktor Petrenko and Steven Cousins skating while Barry Manilow sings songs from the '70s live... and enjoy.)
We'll also be asking Boitano the best of the questions you submit. So remember where you were when you first saw him perform that "Missing You" chair routine (below) and wondered if it was the best use of a prop on ice — ever. Ponder his opinions of the current competitive and professional figure skating scenes (and Blades of Glory). Pitch him an idea for his next TV special, which will be his production company's 20th. And think of a clever way to ask him about "What Would Brian Boitano Do?" (As always, just keep it clean — not like that South Park clip we just linked to.)
I was a little surprised last week by how quickly my post in defense of Justin Timberlake's musical oeuvre turned into a fierce comments-section debate over JT's precise role in Janet Jackson's notorious Super Bowl '04 "wardrobe malfunction." I probably shouldn't have been, given that EW named Nipplegate the No. 1 celeb scandal of the past quarter-century just last month, but still, I hadn't quite realized that people still felt so strongly about that subject three years after the fact.
Turns out you're not the only ones mulling over that particular debacle at the moment. CBS is in court this week re-appealing the $550,000 fine that the Federal Communications Commission slammed them with for broadcasting the notorious split-second slip. I'm rooting for the network all the way. That's mostly because I'm never comfortable with moralistic Washington bureaucrats regulating pop culture, but the FCC's arguments this time around are just laughable. "FCC lawyer Eric Miller argued that CBS was indifferent to the risk that 'a highly sexualized performance' might cross the line," the Associated Press reports. "Timberlake sang the lyrics, 'Gonna have you naked by the end of this song,' and that's exactly what happened, Miller said." Well, gee, it's a good thing that Timberlake hadn't written his 2006 songs "Chop Me Up" or "LoveStoned" yet — just imagine the rampant on-air violence and drug use CBS would have been forced to anticipate with lyrical images like those in the mix!
The network's lawyers, of course, say they did everything they could to prevent any on-air mishaps. Do you buy that argument? More importantly, have your feelings on Nipplegate changed at all over the past three years? I'm curious whether anyone's outrage has cooled — or if there's anyone who's actually grown more offended by the incident with time. So how about it?
Aside from college fight songs and a handful of pro franchise crowd faves (like "Hail to the Redskins" and "Go New York Go New York Go"),
American sports lack great team songs and anthems. Most stadiums
and arenas pump out the same Top 40 hits night after night, and when teams
decide to make one song their go-to jam, it usually makes very little sense and
has nothing to do with the city. (For example, the Celtics always play
"Welcome to the Jungle" during the fourth quarter, though no one
actually calls the TD Banknorth Garden "the jungle" anymore.) Meanwhile, crowd
participation usually revolves around uninspired chants like
"DE-FENSE!" and "Kobe is an a--hole!" (I actually like the latter).
Meanwhile, the football-crazed culture that reigns in most
other parts of the globe — in particular, Europe and South
America — has singing at its very core. Anyone who has been
fortunate enough to attend a Premier League match (or even watch a World Cup
game on TV) has heard the ceaseless chorus of club songs and incredibly inappropriate
chants pouring out of the stands. Fans of England's
national team have anthems like Baddiel and Skinner's "Three Lions,"
while diehards can be brought to tears by the
sounds of "You'll Never Walk Alone." Even musical missteps like the
"Anfield Rap," a ridiculous track recorded by Liverpool's '88 squad,
have an organic feeling to them that had more to do with sporting zeitgeist
than commercial success (though it did reach No. 3 in the UK charts).
Not since Mighty Casey whiffed on a high hard one has baseball so sapped a hamlet's joy. For the last 18 years, a devout corps of "Ghost Players" has emerged from the outfield cornstalks to entertain the 60,000 people who annually visit the Field of Dreams baseball diamond in Dyersville, Iowa. The field and neighboring farmhouse were the setting for the 1989 Kevin Costner baseball film and have grown into one of the state's most popular landmarks. The field's not going anywhere, fortunately, but on Sept. 30, the ballplayers — representing the infamous Eight Men Out of the 1919 Chicago White Sox (including Shoeless Joe Jackson, played in the film by Ray Liotta, pictured) — will officially retire.
The announcement coincides with the recent consolidation of the site; the field was constructed on adjacent properties and the neighbors hadn't always behaved neighborly about the management of the attraction. The Lansing family, who own the diamond and the farmhouse, had declined hosting recent high-profile events, while the Ameskamps, who owned left and centerfield, promoted the "Ghost Players" and welcomed Netflix and ESPN to their field of dreams. Last week, the Ameskamps sold their 93 acres to the Lansings, and Shoeless Joe's redemptive romps in the cornfield are down to their last few at-bats. Say it ain't so.
A few weeks ago, I typed "100% Pure Love" into YouTube's search field -- because why wouldn't I do that? Having just reenacted the break-it-down section of Crystal Waters' '90s classic ("back back to the middle and a back to the middle and AH!"), I was on a performance high. Slezak, Samantha Harmon, and most importantly I, had all awarded me a 100% retention rate of this special slice of history. Naturally I had to watch the video on YouTube.
But the first hit to pop up for "100% Pure Love" isn't Crystal Waters. It's one-time Olympic gold medalist and today's extra-special PopWatch Birthday Princess Kristi Yamaguchi's routine to "100% Pure Love." Logically. Kristi's literal interpretation of the "back to the middle" breakdown was 100% pure better than mine, thanks to a dazzling scratch spin during which you think "She's going to die!" but then she doesn't. Kristi Yamaguchi's centrifugal force nullifies my very existence.
So consider this a challenge. Anyone worth his/her weight in fringed spandex remembers "100% Pure Love." I'm looking for someone who remembers this particular ass-slappin' 1994 figure skating performance. Why don't you blow my mind? And happy birthday, KY! Ewwww, K-Y.
Wimbledon is over, but fear not, tennis fans: the
''Cougars vs. Kittens'' Davis Cup of Love is in full swing, and the Poo's forehand
is looking strong. (Shout-out to Mandi for covering last week's madness and
introducing the incredible nickname. I was going to thank her by saying, "Mandi's
the poo, take a big whiff," but then I realized that a) it would be sort of
a confusing statement, contextually speaking, and b) quoting Kirsten Dunst
lines is never a good look, even if they're from Bring It On.)
With memories of Sunday's thrilling Federer-Nadal final fresh in my mind, I
came into last night's episode of Age of
Love wondering if the Poo feels bad about the fact that's he's no longer a
big name in tennis. But which is better: winning five straight Wimbledon finals and being touted as the greatest player of all time like Roger Federer,
or hanging out in L.A. with the handsome Mark Consuelos and kissing women of
various ages all day? It's a tough call, but my ''Hawk Eye'' technology is
telling me that the Poo's lifestyle is aces right now.
So where are we after week 4? With the Kittens moving in with the Cougars
and Amanda catching feelings way too
hard for a reality show contestant, the game is getting pretty physical. Check
back in after the jump to see how last night's activities played out.
Perhaps it's only a war in my mind because I'm desperate to see more of Deadwood's Timothy Olyphant (pictured, right) at the moment. But play along: Will Olyphant (currently the baddie in Live Free or Die Hard) or his Las Vegas lookalike Josh Duhamel (left), featured in next week's Transformers, emerge the bigger star this summer? And by "bigger star," I mean "the one who'll get offered the roles they'll both be considered for first."
The reasons I'm on Team Olyphant:
• He finally found a hair length that doesn't make him look at all slimy. With that killer smirk, you know this took some work.
• He's already shown range, while Duhamel has primarily shown skin. (Not that I'm complaining.)
• He uses double guns as assassin Agent 47 in October's Hitman. And I love double guns. (I hope you're growing your hair back, Mister.)
• He's the sports reporter for Indie 103.1 FM's morning show with Joe Escalante, which is way cooler than dating Fergie. Olyphant had appeared on the program to promote the third season of Deadwood, and heard the station was planning on hiring a sports guy. He just started calling in every morning. That was over a year ago. Some recent highlights:
If you read the music blogs, you've probably already seen "Arcade Fire Stole My Basketball" this morning, a site alleging that frontman Win Butler snaked some guy's ball from a rec center in Berkeley after an altercation involving court space. You've also most likely seen "Arcade Fire Didn't Steal Dude's Basketball," the response blog purportedly set up by Win's brother Will.
But I would be remiss in my job here at PopWatch if I didn't draw your attention to this post over at Stereogum, which has generated one of the funniest comment threads in a long while. (Warning: It's slightly NSFW.) I won't ruin it with over-explanation; I'll just say I find it hard to believe anyone will ever top "The Decemberists trained a falcon to crap on my head at my wedding."
PS: Cross your fingers that this whole thing is a scam, some sort of viral marketing campaign designed to inform us that the Canadian collective will be replacing the Pussycat Dolls as interstitial music for the upcoming NBA Finals. Because I cannot hear that Pussycat Dolls song ever again. I hate it more than I hate Manu Ginobili, and that is a LOT.
Mike Tyson's announcement that he plans to appear in an upcoming Bollywood musical no doubt has many of my fellow pop-culture observers sharpening their snarkiest remarks as we speak. After all, targets just don't come much easier than the squeaky-voiced former heavyweight champ who bit off part of a guy's ear that one time. Let me be the first, then, to step forward and do the unthinkable: defend Mike Tyson.
Will I lose your trust forever, PopWatchers, if I say that I'd honestly like to see this movie? Tyson has all the necessary skills for at least a halfway-decent Bollywood performance. Love him or hate him, he's clearly got screen presence for days. The Bollywood tradition's kitschier strains thrive on melodramatic outbursts and outlandish emotional extremes, and his public statements have suffered from no shortage of either. And I'm sure his years in the ring have prepared him for the nimble footwork involved in a Bollywood dance sequence. That voice might be a sticking point for the big singing numbers — but thanks to the magic of overdubbing by a voice double (a standard practice in the genre), we won't have to worry about that.
As you can imagine, I've been eagerly awaiting the CMT press release announcing the names of the "celebrities" participating in Ty Murray's Celebrity Bull Riding Challenge, a six-part reality show premiering August 10. Today, it came. They are: Stephen Baldwin, Vanilla Ice, Leif Garrett, Survivor's Jonny Fairplay, former NFL star Rocket (Raghib) Ismail, Moto X rider Kenny Bartram, UFC fighter Josh Haynes, American Gladiator "Nitro" Dan Clark, and Platoon's Francesco Quinn (son of Anthony). As I type, the contestants are in Texas, on Day 2 of their 10-day training led by Mr. Murray, bull riding's top ambassador (and Jewel's boyfriend). Here's my favorite part of the release: "Those that survive will compete at a Professional Bull Riders event in Nashville where they will try to hang on for dear life in front of a stadium full of rodeo fans." Yes, I already looked up the date of said event: It's June 16.
Is this the craziest celebreality show ever? Am I wrong to be counting the moments until I witness Stephen Baldwin's pre-ride prayer circle? And will scenes like the one below be even funnier when they're happening to semi-famous people?
I've never blogged before. I've been too scared to. The mere thought of setting up a Typepad account kept me awake at nights. But if there's anyone I would overcome my fear for, it's Katie Couric. Particularly when it involves the cause closest to her heart, the fight against colon cancer. So when I heard about her Strike Out Colon Cancer event, held last night at the newly-relaunched 300 New York bowling alley at Chelsea Piers, I decided now was the time to lose my blog-inity.
Katie gathered a few hundred of her closest friends, including Whoopi Goldberg, The Sopranos' Steve Schirripa and John Ventimiglia, and Queer Eye's Kyan Douglas for the event. For each strike anyone bowled, 300 New York would donate $1,000 to the National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance (NCCRA). I love bowling but I'm horrible at it, so my goal was to score just one strike so that my attendance wasn't completely useless. My first few frames were pretty pathetic. But luckily for us, they hired the dashing former pro bowler Brian Voss to give us a few pointers. After Brian showed me his four-step technique, I hit not one, not two, but three strikes. Hear that, Katie? Three thousand bucks! No need to thank me; it was my pleasure.
After initially serving him a two-week suspension, CBS has fired Don Imus for his racist and sexist remarks against the Rutgers women's basketball team (pictured, with junior Matee Ajavon standing). The players appeared on Oprah today, before the news was announced, and said what they really wanted was to meet with Imus face-to-face. "We wanted to see the man behind the mike," said junior Essence Carson. Neither the players or their coach had called for Imus' firing.
But now, that's done. As someone who had never listened to Imus' talk show and never would have, I think this is the right move in terms of acknowledging that times are changing. "Free speech" alone was not reason enough for Imus to get to stick around, having said what he did about innocent teenagers, not to mention all the otheroffensive things he's said throughout his career. That's not free speech; it's hate speech, and why should it exist on the radio if it doesn't have to? The guy was old, set in his ways, and assumed he could get away with being a jerk. Happens all the time. Just because he was singled out and got tons of press this week doesn't mean anyone overreacted here. An important question, then, is: Will Imus be the designated scapegoat for the verbal swamp that is the rest of talk radio, or will broadcasters, sponsors, and potential guests start paying more attention to the murkier regions that probably offend plenty of people every day?
What do you think? Would CBS and MSNBC have made such a drastic move if Imus in the Morning's advertisers hadn't pulled out? Will Imus pop up again elsewhere, or is his career over? And even if you think CBS overreacted, I really want to know: What would anyone gain from one more bigot staying on the air? It baffles me.
I don't know about you, PopWatchers, but when I woke up this morning there was only one thought on my mind: Might there be any way for the NHL to make its upcoming hockey playoffs even more exciting?
Well, bang your sticks on the ice because YES in FACT there IS!!! God bless 'em, the makers of America's favorite major sport — TV viewers number in the thousands! — have drafted a flotilla of celebrities to blog their way through the quest for the Stanley Cup. Here's your starting lineups:
For the Western Conference: Amy Grant! Willa Ford! Miss Minnesota 2006, Nicole Swanson! Brendan Fehr! And representing my* Anaheim "Still Mighty" Ducks, Brian Baumgartner from The Office!
For the Eastern Conference: David Boreanaz! William "Crazy Eyes" Fichtner! Tom Cavanagh! Lil' Jon (pictured)! Dave Annable! And, because it just makes sense, Christie Brinkley!
You may know that Tony Parker is the starting point guard for the San Antonio Spurs, or that he is engaged to Desperate Housewives' Eva Longoria, but did you know that he's also broken into the (French) music biz? Seriously — his first rap album, Tony Parker, dropped yesterday in France. With it, Tony P. joins the likes of KOBE, Shaq Fu, and even Allen Iverson in becoming a professional basketball player with a side gig in pretending to flow. Can't get enough of that fame, can they?
Not that there's anything theoretically wrong with an athlete trying to rap, it's just that, statistically, the efforts end up looking silly. Let's put the first single off of Tony P.'s album, "Balance-Toi," to the test, shall we? It's got a mashup of familiar "club banger" elements, with heavy bass beats, vaguely exotic horns, and even a little kid accessory ("Tony P, wassup!!"). The lyrics are mostly in French, but consist of juvenile, repetitive language: "Check mon hip-hop/Toujour au top... Rap est mon job, Stop!/Jump et jump et jump hop!" You really think that would sound any better in English?.
You may not recognize the name, but to exploitation-movie connoisseurs, the films of Andy Sidaris were as instantly recognizable as those of Hitchcock or Scorsese (or, more to the point, Roger Corman or Russ Meyer). Sidaris, who died Wednesday at age 76, was a pioneering, seven-time Emmy-winning director for ABC Sports (he claimed to be the first person ever to put a TV camera in a football field's end zone, and he choreographed the climactic pigskin match in Robert Altman's M*A*S*H), but he was better known for his side job: writing, producing, and directing about a dozen movies characterized by (as the Cramps song put it) bikini girls with machine guns. Sidaris' silicone-enhanced spy stories (including Savage Beach, Picasso Trigger, and Day of the Warrior) featured Penthouse Pets and Playboy Playmates (including Devin DeVasquez, pictured with Sidaris) cavorting in Hawaiian locations, dropping deadpan double-entendres, doffing their duds, and generally delivering good, clean, dirty fun. (For all the exposed flesh and gun-toting, Sidaris' films were light on gore and profanity, and all centered on strong, capable heroines.) Whether he was shooting the summer Olympics or swimsuit-clad secret agents, Sidaris certainly knew how to catch your eye.
Wow, you're still reading? I like you! Let's leave politics and, okay, the environment out of this discussion, and get straight to the reasons why you'll be highly entertained if you tune into Sunday's Daytona 500 (Fox, 2 p.m.), the start of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup season.
1. Kelly Clarkson will be there. Kelly (pictured) claims to be a serious race fan, and we hope she is since she's signed up to be the sport's unofficial spokeswoman this year. She'll perform a pre-race concert at Daytona, appear in commercials promoting May 18's charity-driven "NASCAR Day 2007," and try to liven up their year-end awards ceremony traditionally held at New York's Waldorf-Astoria every December. Clarkson, by the way, isn't the first celeb to take an interest in the sport. Folks like Adam Sandler, Matthew McConaughey, Ashton Kutcher, and of course, Will Ferrell, have been Grand Marshals at races to promote projects. And she won't be the last: Kevin Costner and his band are set to perform a pre-race concert Feb. 25 at California Speedway.
2. You won't just be watching cars going in circles. You'll actually be watching 43 men drive at about 200 mph — feet or inches apart from one another — for hours. If their concentration slips for a second, you'll also see "The Big One," which is what they call the huge, multi-car pile-up that often occurs at this superspeedway. And no, NASCAR fans don't just watch for the wrecks. We're waiting to see whose pit crew — the guys trying to change four tires, refuel the car, and make handling adjustments all under 14 seconds — will screw up and cost them the race. Whose crew chief will make a call that ends his driver's dream of winning the "Great American Race." And who's going to work with whom on the track— think back to Days of Thunder, when Tom Cruise used packets of Sweet 'n' Low on Nicole Kidman's leg to explain why two cars running bumper-to-nose go faster than one running by itself. A driver will have to make friends to get to the front of the pack, and then in the final laps, hang his buddy out to dry to take the checkered flag himself. How badly do they want to win this race? Just look at how many teams were caught cheating qualifying for it.
3. Finally, you never know what kind of promotional stunt this sport will pull. As I sit at my computer now, I'm staring at two pictures taped to the screen: one is of two drivers racing full-size Oscar Meyer Wienermobiles at a speedway in Concord, N.C.; the other is of Tony Danza crashing a go-kart while racing then-active NASCAR star Rusty Wallace on his talk show. I don't even need images of the following, because they're imprinted on my mind: in 2004, the Top 10 drivers suffered through a fashion show on Regis & Kelly; last year, driver Matt Kenseth set a new Guinness World Record by throwing a large number of pies in Kelly Ripa's face in under 60 seconds. (Then a few days later, Kelly broke his record by throwing a larger number of pies at Wilmer Valderrama's mug, but whatever.) I can't promise you anything as genius as that, but I can tell you that sponsors will be plugged. Wacky commercials will be aired. And Ricky Bobby will be proud.
5:53 p.m. So, it's finally here: Super Bowl XLI. Da Chicago Bears v. the Indianapolis Colts. I've been anxiously awaiting this game since... I found out I was going to write this blog. But seriously, it's going to be an exciting evening: coaches Lovie Smith and Tony Dungy are making history as the first black head coaches to take their teams to the Super Bowl. Prince is performing the Half Time show. And people seem pretty enthused about this Peyton Manning kid. Let's begin, shall we?
5:54 p.m. This is apparently Cirque du Soleil, but it looks like a Super Mario Bros. game. Also, I had pajamas just like that as a kid.
5:57 p.m. Of course, we all know tonight is really about the commercials. Bring 'em on! Mmm, Combos. This reminds me that I have failed to go pre-Super Bowl grocery shopping. And the fact that I live in Chinatown means I have no idea where I could go to buy a bag of Combos. I hereby deem moo shoo vegetable acceptable Super Bowl cuisine.
6:04 p.m. Announcers make awkward comment re: Smith and Dungy. Good thing we got that out of the way.
6:10 p.m. Friend and moral support Peter has arrived to explain footbal to me. He did not bring any Combos.
6:18 p.m. Billy Joel sings the national anthem. It's no "Irreplacable," but it's moving nonetheless.
6:20 p.m. I believe I will skip Norbit.
6:21 p.m. Jessica Simpson declares cheese-filled deliciousness from Pizza Hut to be her one true love. Which is funny, because the cheese-filled Nick Lachey was her last one true love.
Da Bears are playing in da Super Bowl dis weekend! Yay! In honor of the team's first trip to the big game in 21 years, it's time for us to revel in this classic from the SNL hall of fame. (Ah, Gad bless ya, Smigel.)
Yes, this is the first time the Monsters of the Midway have played for the NFL championship since the recurring "Bill Swerski's Superfans" sketch injected the phase "Da Bears" into the lexicon in 1991. Gotta love it. Wait—you do have to love it, right? I ask because I've noticed a solid dose of anti-Bears vitriol on this here blog, and that makes me wonder: Can you be a fan of wee Peyton Manning's Colts and still love this little nugget of beer-swigging brilliance? Are, say, Yankees fanatics automatically anti-Fever Pitch? Must Packers die-hards loathe the great Brian's Song? I hope not. Hell, I'm a Michigan Wolverines man, my blood is actually colored maize and blue, and I still dig Rudy and Notre Dame/Ohio State rooter Vince Vaughn. So where, friends, does the devotion end and the fun begin? What piece of entertainment do you admit to liking against every fiber of your sports-fan being?
As you may have heard by now, there's this big game on Sunday involving the Bears of Chicago and the Colts of Indianapolis. And, as you also may have heard by now, there'll be lots of commercials airing between all of Peyton Manning's interceptions. Whole thing rings a bell, right? Well, the latest Hollywood-related news on the Super Bowl XLI front is that, as of late last night, only two movies—the inner-city drama Pride and and the comedy Wild Hogs—have bought ad time on the CBS telecast. (This year's cost of a 30-second spot: a cool $2.6 meeeelion.)
This revelation leaves some in "the business" scratching their heads: Why pass up an opportunity to introduce a film to the year's biggest audience, they wonder, just as Talladega Nights did with great success in 2006? But, as Variety reports, others embrace caution, arguing that studios should be careful not to expose their upcoming movies to too much advance analysis and possible ridicule (see: The Hulk). I tend to agree. As much as I dread the withering of the beautiful football-and-film friendship that brought us last year's supercool V for Vendetta spot, maybe this is a good thing. After all, we complain so much about out-of-control movie-marketing budgets, perhaps we should commend Hollywood for tightening its purse strings a bit. And, besides, who wants to see movie trailers while watching the Super Bowl? We can see those any time. The Super Bowl is an occasion for landmark Apple ads (hello Hollywood director Ridley Scott!) or even the latest Budweiser extravaganza. Aren't those what we're really looking out for?
So, anyway, yeah, what are you getting excited to see during this year's show? (Anything with the words "Kevin" or "Federline" in it, by the way, doesn't count.)
Home
Up until yesterday, I probably would've answered that question with a big old 'no,' but yesterday, during my regular Sunday-afternoon veg-out watching horse racing on TVG, host Simon Bray cut to an interview with none other than Teri Hatcher. Apparently, every Mother's Day, the Desperate Housewives star takes her mom and her daughter to Hollywood Park for some live racing action; Bray noted that last year, Hatcher correctly predicted (on air) that 17-1 shot Ashley's Kitty would win the featured Railbird Stakes. This year, however, Hatcher wasn't feeling as decisive, telling Bray that since she'd already gambled away the money she won on the third-race trifecta, she'd decided to place a win bet on every horse in the 2008 Railbird field. Lucky for her, the $31.40 payout on longshot Million Dollar Run turned out to be greater than the $16 it would've cost to play all eight fillies in the field, once again making Hatcher a winner, not only at the windows, but also in my fickle, horse-addicted heart.
Buried deep in an 
Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon turns 55 today, and to celebrate, I am embedding the band's "Bull in the Heather" video after the jump because, well, it totally rocks.
I am not a huge sports person (shocker, I know), but I
do greatly enjoy arcane disputes between rappers — and just in time for
the NBA playoffs, those two worlds have collided. As one of my less hopelessly dorky friends informed me at a convivial seder recently, Washington
Wizards shooting guard DeShawn Stevenson 
With baseball season upon us, 
I'm not a fan of E!'s Keeping Up with the Kardashians (if only because I've never seen it), but I am a fan of Sports Illustrated's 
Because when you 
The 50th running of 
Will Ferrell, who knows a thing or two about 
I'm not saying that the Super Bowl was decided the moment the teams took the field yesterday. But 
I can understand why you'd want to skip Fox's pre-game Super Bowl coverage, which begins at 2 p.m. ET Sunday and features Ryan Seacrest interviewing celebs as they arrive to watch
As you probably know by now, it's the Super Bowl this Sunday, and even those of us who watch it just for the commercials (guilty!) and the excuse to pound a 40 on a school night, have a new reason to tune in, courtesy of our corporate siblings at Sports Illustrated. Check out their 
Call me obtuse, but I still can't get a handle on why I should be interested in the steroids scandal. Sure, I'm a bigger pop culture fanatic than sports nut, but it didn't clarify anything for me to learn that 
This just in: Brittany Spears was named the 
The results are in: American Gladiators 
So NBC and CBS will simulcast the Patriots-Giants game Saturday night at 8 p.m. ET, using the NFL Network's production team (that means Bryant Gumbel and Cris Collinsworth in the booth on all three networks). Apparently, this rare synergy (it's the first NFL game to air on more than one network since the first Super Bowl almost 41 years ago) is 
Was watching a little late-night TV over the weekend, and stumbled across There's Something About Mary, in which Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre shows up to do his doughy best as Mary's ex-boyfriend. Given that he is not only 
The 
This whole baseball steroids scandal baffles and bewilders me — how can a pop-culture geek like yours truly get a handle on it? Hat tip, then, to our corporate siblings over at Sports Illustrated's 
I was a little surprised last week by how quickly 
Aside from college fight songs and a handful of pro franchise crowd faves (like "Hail to the Redskins" and "Go New York Go New York Go"),
American sports lack great team songs and anthems. Most stadiums
and arenas pump out the same Top 40 hits night after night, and when teams
decide to make one song their go-to jam, it usually makes very little sense and
has nothing to do with the city. (For example, the Celtics always play
"Welcome to the Jungle" during the fourth quarter, though no one
actually calls the TD Banknorth Garden "the jungle" anymore.) Meanwhile, crowd
participation usually revolves around uninspired chants like
"DE-FENSE!" and "Kobe is an a--hole!" (I actually like the latter).
Not since Mighty Casey whiffed on a high hard one has baseball so sapped a hamlet's joy. For the last 18 years, a devout corps of "Ghost Players" has emerged from the outfield cornstalks to entertain the 60,000 people who annually visit the Field of Dreams baseball diamond in Dyersville, Iowa. The field and neighboring farmhouse were the setting for the 1989 Kevin Costner baseball film and have grown into one of the state's most popular landmarks. The field's not going anywhere, fortunately, but on Sept. 30, the ballplayers — representing the infamous Eight Men Out of the 1919 Chicago White Sox (including Shoeless Joe Jackson, played in the film by Ray Liotta, pictured) — 
Wimbledon is over, but fear not, tennis fans: the
''Cougars vs. Kittens'' Davis Cup of Love is in full swing, and the Poo's forehand
is looking strong. (Shout-out to Mandi for covering 
Perhaps it's only a war in my mind because I'm desperate to see more of Deadwood's Timothy Olyphant (pictured, right) at the moment. But play along: Will Olyphant (currently the baddie in 
If you read the music blogs, you've probably already seen 
Mike Tyson's 
I've never blogged before. I've been too scared to. The mere thought of setting up a Typepad account kept me awake at nights. But if there's anyone I would overcome my fear for, it's Katie Couric. Particularly when it involves the cause closest to her heart, the fight against colon cancer. So when I heard about her Strike Out Colon Cancer event, held last night at the newly-relaunched 
After initially serving him a two-week suspension, 
I don't know about you, PopWatchers, but when I woke up this morning there was only one thought on my mind: Might there be any way for the NHL to make its upcoming hockey playoffs even more exciting?
You may not recognize the name, but to exploitation-movie connoisseurs, the films of 
Wow, you're still reading? I like you! Let's leave politics and, okay, the environment out of this discussion, and get straight to the reasons why you'll be highly entertained if you tune into Sunday's Daytona 500 (Fox, 2 p.m.), the start of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup season.
5:53 p.m. So, it's finally here: Super Bowl XLI. Da Chicago Bears v. the Indianapolis Colts. I've been anxiously awaiting this game since... I found out I was going to write this blog. But seriously, it's going to be an exciting evening: coaches Lovie Smith and Tony Dungy are making history as the first black head coaches to take their teams to the Super Bowl. Prince is performing the Half Time show. And people seem pretty enthused about this Peyton Manning kid. Let's begin, shall we?
