And the Oscar goes to...

As I was coming back from lunch and I was almost attacked by a bird. It was a very Tippi Hedren moment. I was thinking, if you get hit by bird droppings, it’s supposed to be good luck, but if you get hit by a bird, is it even better luck?

NASCAR Update:
Auto Club 500 Recap
Blown engines and early accidents marred the Auto Club 500 at Fontana on Sunday. Both Dale Earnhardt, Inc. teammates, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Martin Truex, Jr. blew engines early. While Kasey Kahne, a pre-race favorite, Dave Blaney and Ken Schrader all had engine troubles before the day was over. But a late race accident involving David Reutimann that put the field under a 15 minute red flag could not stop Matt Kenseth. He cruised to an easy victory, capping off the weekend sweep.

Shout outs to Brian Vickers, who missed the Daytona 500 but was able to bring home Red Bull Racing’s first top ten.

Nextel Cup Standings after Fontana
Chase for the Championship
1. Mark Martin LEADER
2. Jeff Burton -5
3. Jeff Gordon -26
4. Kevin Harvick -28
5. David Ragan -65
6. Clint Bowyer -71
7. Joe Nemechek -76
8. J.J. Yeley -84
9. Kyle Busch -96
10. David Stremme -99
11. David Gilliland -100
12. Matt Kenseth -103
Outside looking in
13. Johnny Sauter -111
14. Robby Gordon -117
15. Jimmie Johnson -119
16. Elliott Sadler -119
17. Greg Biffle -124
18. Denny Hamlin -126
19. Kurt Busch -139
20. Juan Pablo Montoya -144
New Jersey’s Finest
38. Martin Truex, Jr.

NASCAR Notes: The #31, 34 and 49 cars all received $10,00 fines for rules infractions at Daytona…Fox, ESPN and Turner Broadcasting have agreed to share camera crews this season. (jayski.com)

Around Sports:
Basketball
In the cross river rivalry news…the New York Knicks were defeated by the New Jersey Nets, 101-92, thanks in part to Vince Carters 40 points.

College Basketball
Duke’s women’s basketball team defeated UNC again, this time at home, 76-62. The Blue Devils are a perfect 29-0!

Football
Sad news…Denver Broncos player, Damien Nash collapsed after returning home from a charity basketball game and died on Saturday. He was only 24 years old. (si.com)

A.J. Feely signed a three year extension with the Philadelphia Eagles putting Jeff Garcia’s short tenure with the Eagles in jeopardy. (AP)

Olympics
Olympic wrestling champ, Rulon Gardner survived a plane crash this weekend on the Utah-Arizona border. He and the two other passengers were rescued by a fisherman after swimming for one hour in 44 degree water. This isn’t the first time he has escaped death. Gardner lost a toe to frostbite and survived a serious motorcycle accident. I’m thinking he should stay home, because just like in “Final Destination,” Death always finds you! Just kidding. (AP)

Tennis
Roger Federer broke the record for consecutive weeks at number one. He’s at 161 and counting.

Around the World:
Clifton, NJ wants to introduce an ordinance that would limit the amount of time a dog could bark. I can just see future headlines, “Vets write increased subscriptions of valium for dogs.” (AP)

Sheila Laughridge got an extra bonus for babysitting, $1300. Laughridge purchased a 25 cent book at thrift shop while she was babysitting and her 15 month old client found a paper bag filled with money. Not bad for a few hours of work. (AP)

Popo in my crib News:
Singer Bobby Brown was arrested on Monday in Canton, MA for failing to appear at a child support hearing last October. Watch out Bobby, because the popo are on your tail! (AP)

Oscar Recap:
Best Picture: “The Departed”
Best Actor: Forest Whitaker for “The Last King of Scotland”
Best Actress: Helen Mirren for “The Queen”
Best Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin “Little Miss Sunshine”
Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson “Dreamgirls”
Best Director: Martin Scorsese for “The Departed”
Best Documentary: “An Inconvenient Truth”

For a complete list of winner head over to www.oscar.com

Random Quote: “Helen Mirren and an Oscar will be coming home with me."
– Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly and Jack Black, singing about netting a future Oscar and seducing Best Actress winner Helen Mirren (people.com)

Box office Recap:
Ghost Rider ($19.7 million)
Number 23 ($15.1 million)
Bridge to Terabithia ($13.6 million)
Reno 911: Miami ($10.4 million)
Norbit ($9.7 million)

Celebrity Tid Bits:
Happy birthday shout outs to Corrine Bailey Raye (28), Erykah Badu (35) and Michael Bolton (54).

It’s been fun blogging with you,
Kate

Flapjacks

In Theaters:
The Number 23
The Abandoned
The Astronaut Farmer
Reno 911: Miami
Amazing Grace (limited)

NASCAR Update:
California Preview
Nextel Cup Series
California is 2 mile cookie cutter track. It boasts high speeds and flat corners, but has matured to open the racing groove to more than one car. Look for drivers like Kasey Kahne and Greg Biffle to do well. Also, expect celebrity sightings galore, as this track is the only a hop skip and a jump from Los Angeles.

Autoclub 500: Sunday @ 3PM on Fox

Busch Series
There are only 41 cars scheduled to run the Busch Series race at California. That’s two cars under the 43 car limit.

Starter Bros 300: Saturday @ 7 PM on ESPN2

Craftsman Truck Series
Mark Martin paced Craftsman Truck Series Practice on Thursday.

San Bernardino County 200: Friday @ 8:30 PM on Speed

NASCAR Notes: Chip Ganassi wants to expand his cup to team to include four cars as early as 2008. In other Ganassi news, 2005 Indy 500 and IRL Champion, Dan Wheldon is not opposed to moving to NASCAR. (jayski.com)...Dale Earnhardt, Jr. says he has every intention to stay at DEI.

Around Sports:
Basketball
The trade deadline has come and gone and it seems Jason Kidd and Vince Carter will be staying with the New Jersey Nets…for now.

Sad news…former Celtics star Dennis Johnson collapsed and died on Wednesday. He was 52. (cbssportsline.com)

Football
Corey Dillon has asked to be released from his contract with the New England Patriots. (AP)

Hockey
A 12 player brawl during the second period of the Buffalo Sabres 6-5 win over the Ottawa Senators resulted in 100 penalty minutes. My kind of game! (foxsports.com)

Around the World:
“Jose”, the first beaver to be seen in New York City in 200 years, was spotted swimming in the Bronx River. (AP)

Lowe’s fourth quarter profits fell 11.5% and this happened before Jimmie Johnson crashed in the Daytona 500. (usatoday.com)

In over before it started news…Tom Vilsack will hold a press conference to announce he is stepping out of the race for the Democratic Presidential Nomination for 2008. (usatoday.com)

Popo in my crib news:
Police seized $81,020 from Tennessee Titans Pacman Jones which reportedly caused an incident leading to a triple shooting at strip club. Watch out Pacman, because the popo are on your tail! (AP)

Celebrity Tid Bits:
Congratulations to Amanda Peet and her husband David Benioff on the birth of their first child, Frances Pen. (page six)

Congratulations to Jordan Knight and his wife Evelyn on the birth of their son, Eric Jacob on Wednesday. He joins older brother Dante Jordan.

TV ALERT: Rain Wilson will be hosting “Saturday Night Live” this weekend.

The Producers will end its run on Broadway on April 22nd after 2502 performances. (AP)

TV ALERT: The wait is finally over, find out who wins big at the Academy Awards. Live broadcast begins at 8 PM on ABC.

Happy Birthday shout outs to Dakota Fanning (13), Emily Blunt (24), Kristin Davis (42), Patricia Richardson (56) and Peter Fonda (67).

It’s been fun blogging with you,
Kate

Rhythm of my Heart

Sorry I didn’t post yesterday, it was just a little crazy. I guess I’ll start from the beginning…I fell on a patch of ice on the sidewalk and cut my fingers, which I didn’t notice until I was well on my way to work…but that took a while because a train derailed right after my stop causing me to be about an hour late for work. Oops!

After work, my mom and I went to see Rod Stewart. I know totally dorky, but I’ll admit, I enjoy his music. We saw him at MSG, the same place I saw Justin Timberlake just two short weeks ago. Rod was a lot of fun. He danced around, made odd poses, and just seemed to be having a great time up there.

Just like, when I went to High School Musical the Concert and I could have sworn I was the oldest person not accompanying a child, I was probably one the youngest people there. Honestly, that didn’t matter. Everyone was singing along, and dancing up a storm. It was like the 50s set, JT. He sang all of his hits like “Forever Young” (which is apparently my mom’s new theme song), “Rhythm of my Heart,” and as an encore “Maggie Mae.” He also performed a couple songs from his new CD Still the Same. Those who were looking to hear some standards went home disappointed because he didn’t sing a single song off of the four volumes of the American Songbook, which was ok with me! (Pictures to come)

Braves Update:
Random Quote: “We'll try everything we can to keep him. He's a great talent, but he's got one of the toughest agents to deal with. (Boras) is not afraid to move his players from their home teams." – Bobby Cox on Andruw Jones (foxsports.com)

NASCAR Update:
Richard Petty, Darrell Waltrip and Greg Biffle are among the many supporters trying to lobby lawmakers to bring a NASCAR track to Washington State. (cbssportsline.com)

Around Sports:
Baseball
Manny Ramirez, who was granted permission from the Boston Red Sox to show up to camp late for family reasons, reportedly was actually going to be late because he was supposed to be at a car show in Atlantic City. Well, his family can only be seen in the hottest new cars. (AP)

Basketball
Dwayne Wade was injured during the Miami Heats’ loss to the Houston Rockets, 112-102 on Wednesday. It also marked the return of head coach, Pat Riley.

Tennis
Women will earn just as much money as their male counterparts for the first time at Wimbledon.

Around the World:
Whole Foods Market, Inc. is buying Wild Oats Market, Inc. for $565 million. (Reuters)

In raising the bar news…an unidentified individual has commissioned Airbus to make a $300 million tricked out A-380 plane. This jumbo jet can hold up to 800 passengers but in this configuration it will treat 82 people to the most luxurious flight ever. (abcnews.com)

A woman set the Karaoke record, singing for 59 straight hours. Now that’s a record I can beat! (abcnews.com)

Popo in my crib News:
A lawmaker in Arkansas wants repeat drunk driving offenders to have a pink license plate with letters that begin with DWI, so they can be easily spotted. How about just taking away their license altogether? Watch out drunkards, because the popo are on your tail! (nypost.com)

Celebrity Tid Bits:

Congratulations to Brad and Kimberly Williams-Paisley on the birth of their son on Thursday. A name has not been released. (people.com)

Congratulations to Marcia Cross and her husband Tom Mahoney on the birth of their twins Eden and Savannah on Wednesday. (people.com)

TV ALERT: Michael and Jan confess their relationship on tonight’s all new episode of “The Office” at 8:30 PM/est on NBC

TV ALERT: Say goodbye to the orange county on the series finale of “The OC” at 9 PM/est on FOX.

A “Grey’s Anatomy” spin off featuring Kate Walsh aka Addison Montgomery-Sheppard is in the works according to the Wall Street Journal. It has also been reported that Taye Diggs has signed on to the new series. (people.com)

iTunes ALERT: Missed an episode of "Friday Night Lights?" Don't worry, "FNL" is now available on iTunes for $1.99 an episode or season pass it for under $35!

According to page six, Usher and his girlfriend Tameka Foster have gotten engaged. Congratulations!

COUPLE ALERT: Nick Cannon and Selita Ebanks. Wasn’t he dating Kim whatsherface?

Happy birthday shout outs to Jeri Ryan (38), Thomas Jane (38) and Drew Barrymore (32).

It’s been fun blogging with you,
Kate

Mardi Gras

Over this long weekend, I became a car owner! I bought a CR-V. It’s black, it’s sporty, and its name is Smoltzie!
NASCAR Update:
Daytona 500 recap
It seems that Mark Martin will always be the bridesmaid, but never the bride after narrowly losing the Daytona 500 to Kevin Harvick on Sunday. The race got crazy on lap 153 when Tony Stewart got loose in the middle of the corner and was tapped by the #2 car driven by Kurt Busch, knocking them both out of the race. At the time of the accident, Stewart was leading and Busch was in second. On lap 185, a bizarre move by the #22 car driven by Dave Blaney as he tried to avoid an accident, he sped down pit lane and then drove back onto the track taking out Ken Schrader and Clint Bowyer in the process. Blaney claims he had a flat tire which made it impossible for him to control his car. Here’s a thought, how about slowing down on pit road. It might have helped you avoid this embarrassment altogether. Blaney was sent to the garage by NASCAR and finished 34th. The final shoot out was a product of a late race crash, triggered by Matt Kenseth and Jamie McMurray that collected Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Martin Truex, Jr. and Ricky Rudd, among others. This set up a green white checkered finish. On the final lap, Harvick got a big push, putting him position for a drag race between himself and Mark Martin. Martin lead Harvick as Kyle Busch got loose causing a pile-up that did not result in an immediate caution, thus allowing Harvick to pass Martin and take the checkered flag.

Shout outs to Jersey’s finest, Martin Truex, Jr., who was able to lead a few laps before getting caught up in a lap 197 crash. Also congratulations to David Ragan on being the top finishing Rookie.

Championship Standings
Chase for the Championship
1. Kevin Harvick LEADER
2. Mark Martin -15
3. Jeff Burton -25
4. Mike Wallace -30
5. David Ragan -35
6. David Gilliland -43
7. Joe Nemechek -52
8. Jeff Gordon -56
9. David Stremme -60
10. J.J. Yeley -63
11. Elliott Sadler -65
12. Reed Sorenson -66
Outside Looking in
13. Boris Said -69
14. Robby Gordon -72
15. Johnny Sauter -75
16. Sterling Marlin -78
17. Clint Bowyer -81
18. Juan Pablo Montoya -84
19. Casey Mears -87
20. Bobby Labonte -90
Jersey’s Finest
27. Martin Truex, Jr. -109

NASCAR Notes: Over 17.5 million people watched the Daytona 500, making it the fifth most watched 500 ever!

Around Sports:
Basketball
The New Jersey Nets are looking to deal Jason Kidd before Thursday’s deadline. Reports have the Los Angeles Lakers leading the charge of interested teams. First you are moving to Brooklyn and then you are getting rid of Jason Kidd! With your sky high ticket prices, it’s a wonder why anyone would come to a Nets game. (foxsports.com)

College Basketball
Congratulations to Coach K on his 700th win!

Football
Tom Brady is going the Matt Leinart route to fatherhood. Brady and ex Bridgett Moynahan are expecting their first child together despite breaking up in November of last year. Brady is currently dating supermodel Gisele. (people.com)

Norv Turner will take over the vacant head coaching job for the San Diego Chargers.

Around the World:
Sirius Satellite and XM Radio are joining forces. The new satellite radio provider hopes to finish off the deal by the end of 2007. (Reuters)

Jackie Alston, a prison guard in North Carolina, won the $74.5 million Powerball jackpot. Meanwhile, Raymond Shouffer, Jr. won a $25,000 lottery jackpot two days in a row. So, here’s the question, which one has the better luck? (AP)

Random Quote: ''Senator Obama is not the first African American to run for president, but he's the first African American to have a prayer. Which is ironic, since two of the others were reverends.'' –Stephen Colbert (via ew.com)

Popo in my crib News:
Indianapolis Colts running back Dominic Rhodes must have still been celebrating the Colts’ Super Bowl win when he was pulled over on Tuesday morning. Rhodes was stopped after being clocked going 81 in a 55. He was later arrested for drunken driving. Watch out Dominic, because the popo are on your tail! (AP)

Ray Liotta was arrested for DUI after hitting two parked cars. Maybe Liotta just saw the final cut of his new movie Wild Hogs? I think it would drive anyone to drink! Watch out Ray, because the popo are on your tail! (tvguide.com)

Box Office Recap:
Ghost Rider ($44.5 million)
Bridge to Terabithia ($22.1 million)
Norbit ($16.8 million)
Music and Lyrics ($14 million)
Daddy’s Little Girls ($12.1 million)

Celebrity Tid Bits:
Reports have Great Britain’s Prince Harry and his Blues and Royals regiment heading to Iraq. (people)

COUPLE ALERT: Kate Hudson and Owen Wilson are back on

BREAK UP ALERT: Terri Clark and her husband of 17 months Greg Kaczor have called it quits

Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, Carrie Underwood, Martina McBride, Sugarland and Dierks Bentley will perform at the 2007 CMT Music Awards. (cmt.com)

TV ALERT: All new “Gilmore Girls” at 8 PM/est on the CW

Happy birthday shout outs to Brian Littrell (32), Cindy Crawford (41), French Stewart (43), Charles Barkley (44), Sandy Duncan (61) and Sindey Poitier (80).

It’s been fun blogging with you,
Kate

Thank goodness

TGIF, especially since this is a long weekend! I love U.S. Presidents.

In Theaters:
Breach
Bridge to Terabithia
Daddy’s Little Girl
Ghost Rider
Music and Lyrics

Braves Update:
The Atlanta Braves training camp got off to a frosty start as temperatures in Orlando were in the mid-40s. The team has moved morning practice to 11 AM on Saturday, as morning temperatures will be in the 30s.

Rafael Soriano will be a tad “tardy” for spring training because of visa troubles. Soriano, who is currently in the Dominican Republic, should receive a new visa in six or seven days. (atlantabraves.com)

NASCAR Update:
Congratulations to Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon on winning their respective Gatorade Duels at Daytona, a qualifying race for the Daytona 500. Gordon will not be starting from the fourth spot on the grid; instead the 3-time winner will be relegated to 42nd position after his car failed inspection. He will be able to keep the win.

There were many notables on the list of drivers not in the Daytona 500. They include, DEI rookie, Paul Menard (ouch), Jeremy Mayfield, Ward Burton, Red Bull Racing (A.J. Allmendinger and Brian Vickers), Bill Elliott and Mike Skinner. Of the seven cars Toyota brought to qualify only Michael Waltrip, Dale Jarrett, David Reutimann and Dave Blaney made the field. For the complete 500 lineup head over to foxsports.com.

During the live airing of the Daytona 500, often referred to as the Super Bowl of NASCAR, fans will be treated to a host of new commercials featuring some of their favorite drivers like Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Kasey Kahne, Tony Stewart, Dale Jarrett and Greg Biffle. To get a complete synopsis of the ads being shown on Sunday, check out nascar.com.

TV ALERT: The 49th running of the Daytona 500 will air live on FOX beginning with a pre-show at 2 PM on Sunday!

Random Quote: "It was nice to get out there and just go racing. I've been glued to
the TV as much as anybody else over all this stuff. Between that and
Anna Nicole Smith, I couldn't pull away." - Jeff Gordon (thanks Howard)

Around Sports:
Baseball
Keith Foulke ended his Major League Baseball career after one day with the Cleveland Indians. Well think about it, how long would last? (si.com)

Basketball
Phil Jackson, Chris Mullin, Dick Vitale, Roy Williams, Bill Davidson and Bobby Hurley, Sr. highlight the 15 finalists for induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame. (AP)

College
The University of Illinois will retire their mascot, Chief Illiniwek after 81 years of service. First they make St. John’s change their name from the Redman to Red Storm (not as good may I say) and now this. Seriously, get over it. I pray this will not effect my tomahawk chop at Braves games! (AP)

Around the World:
Looks like its not just teams in NASCAR that cheat. 24 Air Force Academy cadets have confessed to cheating on a test. Another 12 are being investigated. Like the government needed another reason to send your asses to Iraq! (AP)

Abcnews.com has a list of ways to tell if your designer handbag is a fake. But here’s my list:
1. If you bought it off the street…it’s a fake!
2. If you bought it at your friends “handbag” party…it’s a fake!
3. If you bought it on eBay and the seller lives in China or Taiwan…it’s a fake!

A new report says that General Motors has been in talks to buy big three rival, Chrysler from the German, Daimler. (MSNBC)

Popo in my crib News:
George Steinbrenner’s son-in-law, Stephen Swindal, was arrested for DUI in Florida this week. Watch out Stephen, because the popo are on your tail! (ajc.com)

Foxy Brown spent a night in a Florida jail after throwing glue at a beauty shop employee. She is being charged with battery and resisting arrest. Watch out Foxy, because the popo are on your tail! (AP)

A search warrant is out for boy band guru Lou Pearlman. The FBI is seizing all financial records from the downtown offices of Trans Continental, Pearlman’s music company. The allegations against Pearlman include fraud. I think his former clients, ‘N Sync and the Backstreet Boys may know something about that! Watch out Lou, because the popo are on your tail! (wftv.com)

Celebrity Tid Bits:
Chris Cornell will leaving Audioslave. The announcement comes less than three months before his solo album is released on May 1st. (cnn.com)

BREAK-UP ALERT: Hugh Grant and Jemima Khan (people.com)

Happy birthday shout outs to Taylor Hawkins (35), Andy Taylor (46), Ice-T (49) and LaVar Burton (50).

It’s been fun blogging with you,
Kate

Duels Day

As some of you may know, I have been actively looking for a new car. Well, not a new car, but new to me! So tonight, I’m once again off to look at a Honda CR-V. Cross your fingers, because I’m really over dealing with car salesman.

NASCAR Update:
There has been more fall-out from the Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) #55 debacle. A report is claiming that a substance used in jet fuel was found in the manifold. Also MWR’s VP of Competition, Bobby Kennedy and the #55’s crew chief David Hyder have not only been escorted out of Daytona, but they have also been suspended indefinitely by NASCAR. Hyder has been fined $100,000 and rumors have Hyder being fired, but nothing has been officially announced. The #55 car will be allowed to race in today’s Gatorade Duel, a qualifying race for the Daytona 500, provided the back-up car passes inspection. However, the #55 has been docked 100 driver and owner points and was unable to practice on Wednesday. (foxsports.com and AP)

Random Quote: "In the past 12 months, Michael Waltrip Racing has hired more than 150 people and we currently employ more than 200. Although we have grown at an accelerated pace, it has been our mission to hire people with high moral value and character to properly represent our sponsors and our ownership. During preparations for the 2007 season and especially the 2007 Daytona 500, I specifically requested that our competition teams not disrespect NASCAR, our competitors or our sponsors by blatantly circumventing the rules. This is not the action of an organization, a manufacturer or a sponsor. This was an independent act done without consent or authorization from me or any of my executive management team. As an owner, I realize I am ultimately held responsible for the actions of my employees. Therefore, I accept the penalties issued tonight by NASCAR. I respect NASCAR's rules, its people and the sport's integrity, which is why I am so sad and embarrassed. I am dedicated to get to the bottom of this because I will not let the independent act of an individual or individuals tarnish the incredible accomplishment my organization has made to be where we are today. I want to apologize to the other owners, who know how hard I've worked to get here in such a short period of time, NASCAR, Toyota, NAPA, all my sponsors, the drivers and especially the fans." -Michael Waltrip's statement regarding the rules infraction. (jayski.com)

Mark Martin will drive for Hendrick Motorsports in the Busch Series. Martin drives for Ginn Racing in the Cup Series which leases engines from Hendrick Motorsports. (SPEED)

It is official, John Henry, principal owner of the Boston Red Sox, has purchased half of Roush Racing for an estimated $60 million. (Reuters)

Around Sports:
Baseball
The New York Yankees will honor teammate Corey Lidle, who died in a plane crash last October by wearing black arm bands. (espn.com)

The Chicago Cubs will sell ads on the ivy growing on the outfield wall in Wrigley Field. How do you spell desperate? C-U-B-S! (espn.com)

College Basketball
Duke finally broke their four game slide with a 78-70 win over #21 Boston College. A nice belated Birthday present for Coach K, I’m sure. Around the World:
The new one dollar coin featuring George Washington goes into circulation today. Take that Sacagawea! (cnnmoney.com)

Great Value is not always as good as it sounds. That’s what consumers of Great Value and Peter Pan peanut butter found out. Some 300 people have become ill after eating contaminated PB. ConAgra has requested consumers to return any PB with a product code beginning with “2111” or your PB & J will come with a side of salmonella. (AP)

Passengers of a Jet Blue plane at New York’s Kennedy Airport bound for Cancun were stranded on the tarmac for 11 hours before buses were sent to pick up them up. As a consolation, Jet Blue will reimburse passengers for this flight as well as give them a round trip ticket to anywhere Jet Blue flies. Do you think you could sell that on ebay? (AP)

Popo in my crib News:
Kansas City Chiefs Jared Allen will spend two days in jail after Allen pleaded no contest to DUI charges. Watch out Jared, because the popo are on your tail! (AP)

Celebrity Tid Bits:
Congratulations to Kerry Russel who married her fiancé Shane Deary on Wednesday. The couple is expecting their first child this spring. (people.com)

COUPLE ALERT: Cheryl Burke and Matthew “my favorite brother” Lawrence

Naomi Campbell says she’s ok with herself, but I still wouldn’t get too close. She has deadly aim with a cell phone! (people.com)

Keith Oberman has agreed to a four year extension with MSNBC. At least something good will be on TV. I totally heart Oberman! (AP)

TV ALERT: Is Jim really a vampire? I guess Dwight will have to figure it out, on an all new episode of “The Office” on NBC at 8:30 PM/est.

TV ALERT: The second to last episode of “The OC” airs tonight at 9 PM/est on FOX.

“American Idol” is down to their final 24 and it will not include Roby Troup, the winner of My Grammy Moment contest on Sunday. Troup preformed with Justin Timberlake and T.I. I guess you can say when one door closed, an even more kick-ass door opened blaring “SexyBack.” (people.com)

Happy Birthday shout outs to Brandon Boyd of Incubus (31), Sarah Wynter (34), Mikey Craig of Culture Club (47), Janice Dickinson (52) and Jane Seymour (56).

It’s been fun blogging with you,
Kate

Did I just get pelted by hail?

Hey, this is going to be short because I’m heading out early due to the crappy weather!

NASCAR Update:
NASCAR has escorted Michael Waltrip Racing's VP of competition, Bobby Kennedy out of Daytona International Speedway following an inspection of the #55 car. The Toyota was impounded by NASCAR after failing inspection. More developments are sure to follow. (foxsports.com)

International Speedway Corp is looking into two sites as the possible home to a new NASCAR track in Denver. (AP)

Giants Update:
The Giants continue to cut dead weight (excluding Luke Petitgout, I’m still getting over that one). This time it’s special team’s player Chad Morton.

In other Giants news, veteran Bob Whitfield has announced his retirement. (AP)

Random Quote: "The grind took its toll on me and really forced me to start thinking about what I wanted to do next. And that's not a bad thing. That's a good thing, for me at least. Maybe not for the Giants, because they lose one of their great players, but for me, it is," -Tiki Barber (espn.com)

Around Sports:
Basketball
The Atlanta Hawks Joe Jackson will replace injured NJ Nets star Jason Kidd on the NBA All-Star team. (AP)

College Basketball
Virginia Tech once again stunned #4 North Carolina, 81-80 in OT. Tech swept its season series with the Tar Heels! (AP)

IRL
Michael Andretti announced he will race in this year’s Indianapolis 500 for his 16th time. (AP)

Around the World:
Congratulations to James, an English Springer Spaniel on winning Best in Show at the Westminster Dog Show on Tuesday. (AP)

If Jesse Ventura could be Governor of Minnesota, then why can’t Al Frankin become Senator for that state? Well…(AP)

Popo in my crib News:
Clyde Raymond Pickler was arrested on February 7th for allegedly assaulting a woman with a steak knife. Picker’s daughter is country singer Kellie Pickler. Watch out Clyde, because the popo are on your tail! (people.com)

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s daughter Ann S. Banaszewski was arrested and charged with DUI. Watch out Ann, because the popo are on your tail! (abcnews.com)

Celebrity Tid Bits:
Heather Mills is reportedly in talks to participate in “Dancing with the Stars.”

According to officetally.com, “The Office” season finale will be one full hour!

TV ALERT: An all new “Friday Night Lights” airs tonight at 8 PM/est on NBC. Why are you still not watching?

Congratulations to Radio Personality Howard Stern and his long time girlfriend Beth Ostrosky on their engagement. (people.com)

Paula Abdul claims she has never been drunk. Then I guess it’s the massive amounts of pills that makes you act that way. (AP)

The accolades keep on coming for Stephen Colbert of the “Colbert Report.” Ben & Jerry’s has named their new ice cream flavor “Stephen Colbert’s Americone Dream.” Sounds yummy, I’ll have a scoop! (AP)

Happy Birthday shout outs to Rob Thomas (35), Jules Asner (39), James Eckhouse (52) and Florence Henderson (74).

A special thanks to my brother who got me tickets to see The POLICE in concert this summer!

It’s been fun blogging with you,
Kate

Time to start over...

Braves Update:
Time Warner, Inc. has finalized a deal with Liberty Media for the sale of the Atlanta Braves. The Atlanta Braves are valued at $450 million. The deal is pending approval of Major League Baseball. Braves officials have reassured fans that it will be a “transparent” transition. (AP)

NASCAR Update:
Robby Reiser signed a three year deal to stay on top of the pit box for the #17 Ford driven by Matt Kenseth. (jayski.com)

The Charlotte Observer is reporting that Kasey Kahne’s crew chief, Kenny Francis and Matt Kenseth’s crew chief, Robbie Reiser have been ejected from Daytona Speedweeks and have received a four race suspension stemming from qualifying infractions. Both teams have been docked 50 points. Meanwhile, Kahne's teammates, Scott Riggs and Elliott Sadler will lose their crew chiefs, Rodney Childers and Josh Brown for two weeks and have been docked 25 points. But don’t worry guys, because Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus went through a similar problem last year and Jimmie won the Daytona 500. Although that’s only possible for one of you guys… (foxsports.com)

Giants Update:
The Giants have cut LaVar Arrington, Carlos Emmons and Luke Petitgout.

Retired Giants running back, Tiki Barber will join NBC not ABC and ESPN as previously expected. He’ll appear on "Today" and "Sunday Night Football". (AP)

Around Sports:
Baseball
After losing Kris Benson to a torn rotator cuff, the Orioles have signed Steve Trachsel to a one year, $3.1 million contract. (foxsports.com)

Basketball
A shoulder injury will prevent Steve Nash from playing in the 2007 NBA All-Star game. (foxsports.com)

College Basketball
Two Illinois basketball players were injured in a car crash on Tuesday. Brian Carlwell is in critical condition while Jamar Smith was treated and released for a concussion. The car the two were in hit a tree. (AP)

Louisville stunned #7 Pitt at home 66-53 on Monday.

Football
The San Diego Chargers have fired Marty Shottenheimer due to a shaky relationship with GM A.J. Smith.

Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Ried has taken a month off to deal with his family issues.

Around the World:
Former Governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney has joined the race for President in 2008. (usatoday.com)

On average, the FBI loses 3-4 laptops a month despite a new tracking system. Oh, this makes me feel so much better! (usatoday.com)

According to Middlebury College’s history department, Wikipedia is not an acceptable source for papers. What, you expect your students to actually like research and learn things from credible sources now? What are you, Harvard? (AP)

Popo in my crib News:
The Hollywood Hills home of Faith Hill and Tim McGraw was broken into over the weekend. Luckily the couple and their three daughters were not home at the time. Watch out Jerks, because the popo are on your tail! (tmz.com)

Celebrity Tid Bits:
Keith Urban has added more tour dates to his Love, Pain & the whole Crazy thing Tour including stops in NJ (August 15th), Las Vegas (June 9th) and Dallas (July 6th). For a complete list of dates head over to keithurban.net. (cmt.com)

Robbie Williams has entered a rehab facility for an addiction to prescription medication. Why am I so surprised by this? (people.com)

TV ALERT: It’s time for Lorelei and Christopher had a talk on tonight’s all new episode of “Gilmore Girls” at 8 PM/est on the CW.

Kelly Slater says he and Cameron Diaz are just friends. What was that noise? It was me screaming with joy! (people.com)

Happy Birthday shout outs to Robbie Williams (33), Henry Rollins (46), Peter Gabriel (57), Jerry Springer (63), Stockard Channing (63) and Peter Tork of the Monkees (65).

It’s been fun blogging with you,
Kate

All Grammyed out

Last night we had a low key Grammy Party. But before the party started, Niki, Christa and I enjoyed a late lunch at Serendipity 3. That place is always worth the wait!

Atlanta Braves Update:
The Braves and pitcher Oscar Villareal agreed to a one year, $925,000 contract on Sunday.

Sad news…John Smoltz and his wife Dyan are splitting after 16 years together. The couple has four children.

NASCAR Update:
Congratulations to Tony Stewart on winning the 2007 Budweiser Shoot-Out on Saturday night.

It’s an all Robert Yates front row for this year’s Daytona 500 as David Gilliland captured the pole. This comes just one day after the “rookie” came in second in the Budweiser Shoot-Out. Gilliland will be joined on the front row by his teammate, Ricky Rudd.

In other qualifying news…Kasey Kahne and Matt Kenseth had their times disallowed due to “unapproved devices that enhanced speeds.” Meanwhile, Michael Waltrip had his car confiscated because of an unapproved manifold. (foxsports.)

Random Quote:
Q: Did you learn anything for (next week's Daytona) 500?
A: "Yeah. Don't do that again." -Dale Earnhardt, Jr. on his Shoot-Out crash (Foxsports.com)

Around Sports:
Baseball
The Minnesota Twins and Joe Mauer have agreed to a four year, $33 million contract, avoiding arbitration. (AP)

Reports claim that outfielder Bernie Williams has turned down an invitation to attend Spring Training with a minor League contract for the New York Yankees. (AP)

Kris Benson will have more time to spend his is skankalious wife, Anna after tearing his rotator cuff. Benson is expected to miss the entire 2007 season. (si.com)

College Basketball
Duke lost their fourth straight game, 72-60 to Maryland. I am officially not commenting on my Dukies until they win a game!

Football
The AFC beat the NFC 31-28 in a wild Pro Bowl this weekend. Cincinnati Bengals quarterback, Carson Palmer picked up the MVP trophy.

Popo in my crib News:
Minnesota Timberwolf Randy Foye was cited for disorderly conduct out of a gas station in Minneapolis after people reported a scuffle. Watch out Randy, because the popo are on your tail! (AP)

Box Office Returns:
Norbit ($33.7 million)
Hannibal Rising ($13.4 million)
Because I Said So ($9 million)
The Messengers ($7.2 million)
Night at the Museum ($5.2) million

Celebrity Tid Bits:
Congratulations to Forest Whitaker, Helen Mirren, Jennifer Hudson, Alan Arkin and the cast and crew of the Last King of Scotland on their BAFTA wins on Saturday. (people.com)

In other Award Show news, congratulations to the Dixie Chicks who won five Grammy Awards including Record, Album and Song of the Year! Also congrats to Carrie Underwood who won Best New Artist and Best Female Country Performance with Vocal, Bon Jovi and Jennifer Nettles for their best Country Collaboration with Vocals and Vince Gill for his Best Male Country Performance with Vocals. On a side note, how awesome was Justin Timberlake, Mary J. Blige, The Dixie Chicks and Christina Aguilera?

Happy Birthday shout outs to Christina Ricci (27), Josh Brolin (39), Chynna Phillips (39), Ed Lover (44), Arsenio Hall (53), Joanna Kerns (54) and Judy Blume (69).

It’s been fun blogging with you,
Kate

Pizza Day

Today is pizza day at work. It’s kind of like pretzel day but not quite as good. Although the cookies are yummy!

In Theaters:
Hannibal Rising
Norbit
The Lives of Others (Limited)
Burning Annie (Limited)
The Last Sin Eater (Limited)

NASCAR Update:
The lineup for the Budweiser Shoot-Out is set. Dale Jarrett will be on the pole. He’ll be joined on the front row by Scott Riggs. Boris Said, the top starting Ford will pull off from the third spot and Kyle Busch, the highest starting Chevy will begin from the sixth spot. For a complete list head over to foxsports.com.

NASCAR’s season unofficially begins with the Budweiser Shoot-Out. It will air live on FOX at 8 PM/est

Around Sports:
Basketball
Congratulations to Albert Pujols. The St. Louis Cardinals MVP got a perfect score on his U.S. citizenship test. Pujols is originally from the Dominican Repbulic.

College Basketball
What the men couldn’t get done on Wednesday night in Durham, the woman did on Thursday night in Chapel Hill, as the #1 Duke Woman’s BB team beat #2 UNC, 564-53 to improve to 25-0! (AP)

College Football
USC is looking into whether they violated NCAA policy when they recruited Joe McKnight. McKnight made reference to a conversation he had with former USC player Reggie Bush. Bush currently plays for the New Orleans Saints. Under NCAA rules, a former player cannot have contact with a prospective recruit or said recruit’s family. OK, so this is a case when honesty is no the best policy. (AP)

NHRA
Ashley Force finished sixth in her professional debut, the first round of Funny Car qualifying at the CARQUEST Winternationals. (AP)

Rugby
The Australian Rugby team, South Sydney Rabbitohs Club, whose part owner is Russell Crowe, will be cutting its cheerleading squad and will replace them with a team of percussionists. Crowe called the cheerleaders distracting and made people in the crowd uncomfortable. Anyone interested in joining the drumline should go to souths.com.au. But keep in mind try outs are on Monday in Australia! (si.com)

Around the World:
Sir Richard Branson is offering up $25 million to anyone who discovers a way to eliminate greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. (AP)

Oswego County in New York State has been hit by non-stop snow storms for the past five days dumping as much as 100 inches (6+ ft.) of snow. There seems to be no end in sight. Gov. Eliot Spitzer has declared a state on emergency in effected areas. (AP)

Popo in my crib News:
Bryant Jackson, the only member of the Pacers-Pistons brawl of 2004 to face criminal charges will spend six months in jail after he was found guilty of violating his probation by not attending anger management classes. Jackson threw a chair during the fight. Watch out Bryant, because the popo are on your tail! (AP)

Jadakiss entered a not guilty plea on his gun and drug related charges. Jada aka Jason Phillips was arrested on October 7th in Yonkers, NY. Watch out Jadakiss, because the popo are on your tail! (AP)

Celebrity Tid Bits:
Congratulations to Kevin Costner and his wife Christine. The couple is expecting their first child. Costner has three children from a previous marriage. (people.com)

BREAK UP-ALERT: Mischa Barton and Cisco Adler

Julia Roberts and Carrie-Ann Moss have signed on to star in the dram Fireflies in the Garden. Emily Watson and Ryan Reynolds are in negotiations. (hollywoodreporter.com)

Country came out to support “The Soul of Country.” The Soul is this year’s Grammy Foundation preservation project. Porter Wagner in his Los Angeles debut, Marty Stuart, LeAnn Rimes, Shooter Jennings, Joe Nichols and others performed a concert highlighting country music’s rich history. (AP)

TV ALERT: Keith Urban will perform on “Saturday Night Live” on Saturday (duh) @ 11:35 PM/est on NBC

R.Kelly was forced to cancel an appearance after he underwent emergency appendectomy surgery on Sunday. (AP)

Happy Birthday shout outs to David Gallagher (22), Mena Suvari (28), Amber Valleta (33), Travis Tritt (44), Judith Light (58), Mia Farrow (62), Joe Pesci (64) and Carole King (64).

It’s been fun blogging with you,
Kate

It's Just Justin

Yesterday I unfortunately missed “Friday Night Lights.” (Although, I did just watch it on nbc.com and I am so in love with Matt and Julie. When are they getting back together?) But I had a really good excuse; I went to see Justin Timberlake at Madison Square Garden. I brought along some of my close personal friends like Donald Trump, P.Diddy, Gwenyth Paltrow, Hilary Duff and Michelle Williams.

Justin began the show talking about how he hadn’t been to MSG in seven years and I turned to my friend and said, “Yeah, I was totally here the last time ‘N Sync played MSG.” Ah, such is my love for JT. I was always a J.C. kind of girl, but J.C. wasn’t playing and his creepy song “Some Girls Dance with Women,” has forced me to move on.

Pink opened. I’ll be honest, I don’t really remember it, although she did play some song directed to President Bush. All I could think was most people in this audience couldn’t name our Vice President (It is Dick Cheney if you don’t know). She was unimpressive and now I’m moving on to the good stuff…Justin!

Justin preformed for about 2 and a half hours. Who does that? Justin! He started off with “Future Sex/Love Sounds” and moved quickly onto some of his recent hits. He took a break while Timbaland did a 20 minute set. At first I was a little nervous, Tim's a producer, but his section was a blast, he had us singing along to the Fray and Nelly Furtado as well as remembering it’s been almost six years since Aaliyah died. (Can you believe it?) Then Justin hit the stage closing with “Sexyback.” I’m almost positive Justin played every song off his new album, Future Sex/Love Sounds and the three hits from Justified, "Senorita," "Like I love You" and "Cry Me a River." He also threw in a little ‘N Sync, doing the first part of “Gone.” Justin left the stage only to return to do his hilarious SNL song “D*ck in a Box.” Andy Sanberg joined. (A great picture is on people.com) I haven’t been this entertained at a concert since, High School Musical, The Concert! Just kidding. It totally took me back to my boy band days, and I think I like it!

NASCAR Update:
Kyle Petty will skip five races this season to be a TV analyst for TNT. Petty will even spend one race commentating from behind the wheel. Judging from Petty’s past performance he will probably be joining the guys in the booth by about lap 50. (foxsports.com)

Random Quote: "The main factor is the ownership part. It has nothing to do with money and nothing else, really. I really like my team. ... Everything is on the upswing. But my father has been gone for five, six years now, and I want majority ownership." -Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (foxsports.com)

Around Sports:
Baseball
New York Mets third baseman David Wright had dinner with George Bush. I can only imagine the depth of their conversation. (nypost.com)

The Cincinnati Reds and Bronson Arroyo agreed on a two year, $25 million contract extension that will keep the blonde haired beauty in Cincinnati through 2010. (AP)

College Basketball
Duke lost their third straight game on Wednesday, 79-73. Making it even worse it was to North Carolina…at home!

Football
The Dallas Cowboys will announce the hiring of San Diego Chargers Defensive Coordinator Wade Phillips as the Cowboys new head coach taking over for a retired Bill Parcells.

Scott Weise, a direhard Chicago Bears fan has a new name…Peyton Manning. This after Weise, I mean Manning, lost a bet when his Bears lost in the Super Bowl. (AP)

Around the World:
With only six soccer stadiums deemed safe for public viewing, Italian officials have ordered soccer matches played in unfit stadiums to ban public viewing. Instead the games will have to be televised to the public. This comes after a game in Sicily resulted in a riot killing one police officer last week. The six fit stadiums are in Genoa, Siena, Cagliari, Turin, and Palermo. Noticeably absent from the list are stadiums in Florence, Rome, Naples and Bologna. (AP)

A New York City taxi driver returned a suitcase filled with 31 diamond rings. Osman Chaowdhury relucantley accepted a $100 reward to cover the fares he lost while trying to track down the owner of the suitcase. $100, how cheap can you get? (AP)

Popo in my Crib:
William N. Barrett, III is being accused of riding a gondola at Stratton Mountain Resort naked. He is also being charged with possession of marijuana. Ah, what a surprise! Watch out William, because the popo are on your tail! (AP)

Separated at Birth:

TV ALERT: It’s Phyllis’ wedding to Bob Vance of Vance Refrigeration on tonight’s episode of “The Office” at 8:30 PM/est on NBC

Celebrity Tid Bits:
The Police will announce a 30th anniversary World Tour on Monday, one day after their performance on the Grammy’s. (Reuters)

*"The Office" Spoiler* Craig Berko and Rashida Jones (Karen) have been cast in a new Fox pilot “The Rules of Starting Over.” (givememyremote.com)

Marc Paul Gossler aka Zach Morris will play a public defender in an untitled pilot for CBS. (zap2it.com)

SoapNet has picked up syndication rights to “The OC” and “One Tree Hill.”

On the heels of its wildly successful “High School Musical” Disney announced plans for a feature film Haunted High School Musical. It’s expected to be released in 2008. (Reuters)

Happy Birthday Seth Green (33), Mary McCormick (38), Gary Coleman (39), Vince Neil (45), Nick Nolte (66) and Ted Koppel (67).

It’s been fun blogging with you,
Kate

February 7, 2007

Braves Update:
Sad news…Milwaukee Braves pitcher Lou Burdette died at the age of 80. Burdette was the MVP of the 1957 World Series, the Milwaukee Braves only World Series win. (AP)

NASCAR Update:
Jerry Nadeau, who was injured in a vicious practice crash at Richmond three years ago, longs to get one more try at NASCAR, although he acknowledges that may be a long shot. (AP)

NASCAR has no future plans of creating a pension fund for former drivers. For now it’s up to the drivers to save for the future or Tony Stewart to continue to dish out cash to former stars and up-and-comers. Stewart has quietly been helping out his fellow competitors including Red Farmer, a member of the Alabama Gang. (foxsports.com)

The Daytona 500 purse has increased almost $3 million since last year. The winner will get $1,443,250 and the runner up will collect at least $1,041,525. Even the last place finisher will pick up at least $226,295. Not bad for a days work. (usatoday.com)

Giants Update:
More than 500,000 tickets have been requested for the New York Giants game against the Miami Dolphins in London this year. Wembley is expecting to hold about 85,000-90,000 for the game. Looks like a success! (AP)

Around Sports:
Basketball
The Boston Celtics dropped their 15th straight after they lost to the Detroit Pistons 112-109 on Tuesday. Even worse news for the Celtics, star Paul Pierce is in a Boston area hospital with an infection in his elbow.

The Chicago Bulls fined Tyrus Thomas $10,000 after Thomas said the only reason he wanted to compete in the Slam Dunk Contest was for the money. Well, at least he was being honest. (AP)

College Basketball
This is a little old but, Duke retired J.J. Redick’s #4 on Sunday, the same day the Dukies lost to Florida State. A coincidence, I think not! What is Redick doing these days anyway? (espn.com)

TV ALERT: # 5 UNC at #16 Duke live on ESPN @ 9 PM/est. Let’s go Blue Devils!

Around the World:
It’s been very cold in the Northeast, Midwest, well almost everywhere. D.J. Brown must have not gotten the memo. Brown wanted to continue his family’s tradition of walking barefoot outside during halftime of the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, the minus 17 degree temperature in Buffalo, MN gave him quite a surprise. After being outside for only five minutes, the teen developed second degree frost bite. Next time, buck tradition and put on some shoes! (AP)

When I was in school I always tried to figure out ways to convince the powers that be to start school later than 7:50 AM, but I was never very successful at it. Well, a new study by researchers at Northwestern University discovered that children are more susceptible to becoming overweight when they do not get enough sleep. It seems children who are overly tired are more hungry and a decrease in hormones make it harder for them to become full. Now that I have finished school, I finally find the answer. Sucks how things work out, huh? (usatoday.com)

Popo in my crib News:
Three Indiana Pacers are being investigated for their involvement in a late night bar fight with the manager of the bar. Jamaal Tinsley, Marquis Daniels and Keith McCloud went to 8 Seconds Saloon following a loss to the Golden State Warriors. Watch out Jamaal, Marquis and Keith, because the popo are on your tail! (AP)

Former British rocker Gary Glitter had his three year sentence reduced by three months due to the Lunar New Year prison amnesty. Glitter is in a Vietnamese jail after being convicted of molesting two Vietnamese girls. He’ll now be released in August 2008. Watch out Gary, because the popo are on your tail! (AP)

A Japanese man was arrested after he stole a popo car because he was too tired to walk. Oh my goodness…isn’t that like what taxis are for? Watch out tired guy, because the popo are on your tail! (Reuters)

Celebrity Tid Bits:
TV ALERT: An all new “FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS” on NBC @ 8 PM/est

Kelly Clarkson and Reba McEntire will tape an all new “CMT Crossroads” in Nashville on February 22nd.

Toby Keith’s new album will be released on June 12th. It will include his single “High Maintenance Woman.”

BREAK-UP ALERT: “Married…with Children” star David Faustino and his wife of three years Andrea Elmer Faustino announced their divorce. (people.com)

Congratulations to Dave Matthews and his wife Ashley Harper. The couple is expecting their third child this year. They have five year old twin girls, Grace Anne and Stella Busina.

Happy Birthday Shout outs to Tina Majorino (22), Ashton Kutcher (29), Chris Rock (42), Garth Brooks (45), James Spader (47) and Miguel Ferrer (52).

It’s been fun blogging with you,
Kate

February 6, 2007

So this weekend I caught up on my movie watching and here are reviews:

Becuase I Said So: * 1/2
Lauren Graham is such an amazing actress, when will someone give her a great part in a great movie? I guess we'll have to wait for Evan Almighty.

The Queen: ***1/2
Just give Helen Mirren the Oscar. She is incredible in it. You barely realize it's not Queen Elizabeth II. Also a shout out to Michael Sheen who does an outstanding job as PM Tony Blair.

NASCAR Update:
Hendrick Motorsports announced only a few days before the start of Speedweeks that Casey Mears has a new crew chief. 2006 Daytona 500 winning crew chief, Darien Grubb will take over crew chief duties for the #25 team. Lance McGrew has moved into a leadership role within the company. I wonder what happened there.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and NASCAR have agreed on a five year contract extension. Goodyear will remain NASCAR’s exclusive provider of tires through 2012.

Kurt Busch is expecting a better season at Penske South. I say he’s more like praying for a better season. (foxsports.com)

Giants Update:
Jeremy Shockey will be a no show at this year’s Pro Bowl because of a nagging ankle injury. On the upside, Antonio Pierce will replace Chicago Bears Brian Urlacker at the Pro Bowl.

Around Sports:
Baseball
It’s never a good sign when an owner has to explain to his team’s fans why he has done something. Such is the case for San Francisco Giants owner Peter Magowan. Magowan wrote a letter to season ticket holders explaining why the Giants resigned Barry Bonds. He followed it up with a promise that he’ll misuse $15.8 million next year too! (foxsports.com)

The Pittsburgh Pirates and first baseman Adam LaRoche have avoided arbitration with a one year, $3.2 million contract. LaRoche made $420,000 with the Atlanta Braves last year. Way to go Rochie! (AP)

Around the World:
Hasbro is recalling 985,000 Easy Bake Ovens after discovering children’s fingers can get stuck in a small opening of the oven. There have been five reports of burns to children’s hands. Sometimes kids need to learn the hard way. (cnnmoney.com)

Only one week after announcing an affair with his campaign manager’s wife, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom said he was seeking counseling for alcohol abuse. (people.com)

A mistake Katherine Schaefer made while trying to develop a drug to treat Crohn’s Disease may have actually lead to a new drug that will treat different forms of Caner including colon, esophageal, liver and skin Cancer. (Reuters)

Nyree Thompson, 32 went into labor on a NJ casino floor. Her son, Qualeen was born at the Casino weighing just 5 pounds. Both mother and son are doing fine. Why didn’t she name him Roulette, Jackpot, Dice, Spade, or Chance. I think any of those would have been more appropriate. (AP)

Popo in my crib news:
Christian Steven Ponce, who is suspected of killing a prominent politician and two other men in his native Ecuador was arrested in upstate New York on a routine traffic stop. Ponce was stopped for not wearing a seat belt. After a check of his license, officers discovered Ponce was wanted for the death of three men in 1999. He is currently in a Catskill Town Jail awaiting extradition. Just another reason why you should always wear your seat belt. Watch out Christian, because the popo are on your tail! (abcnews.com)

A man in a Chewbacca outfit was arrested for head-butting a tour guide. The guide had asked Chewie to stop hassling two tourists when he was hit in the head. Chewie was arrested and charged with misdemeanor battery and released on $20,000 bail. Watch out Chewbacca, because the popo are on your tail! (Reuters).

Chung Mong-Koo, Hyundai Motor Company Chairman was convicted of embezzlement and sentenced to three years in jail. Watch out Chung, because the popo are on your tail! (AP)

Celebrity Tid Bits:
Jeff Zucker will replace Bob Wright as CEO of NBC Universal. (Reuters)

Brooke Shields has signed on to play a movie studio president in the series adaptation of Candace Bushnell’s “Lipstick Jungle.”

TV ALERT: All new “Gilmore Girls” tonight at 8 PM/est on the CW. Will Lorelei finally come to senses and choose Luke? One can only hope!

Congratulations to 90210 star Jason Priestley and his wife Naomi Lowde. The couple is expecting their first child this summer. (people.com)

Congratulations to Bam Magera who married childhood friend Missy Rothstein on Saturday.

Carrie Underwood will perform with Rascal Flatts at this year’s Grammy’s.

Tim McGraw and Faith Hill will go on tour this summer on their Soul II Soul tour. And guess who will be first online for tickets!

A two part series finale for “Reba” will air on February 18th on the CW. (countryweekly.com)

Keith Urban is suing Keith Urban…well, Keith D. Urban of Wayne, NJ, claiming that New Jersey Urban’s website violates federal trademark laws. To make it easier, if you’re looking for oil paintings check out Jersey Urban’s keithurban.com. If you’re looking for the amazing musical artist Keith Urban, check out keithurban.net.

Happy Birthday shout outs to Rick Astley (41), Axl Rose (45), Richie McDonald of Lonestar (45), Kathy Najimy (50), Fabian (64), Tom Brokaw (67), Rip Torn (76) and Zsa Zsa Gabor (90).

A belated Bday shout out to my favorite country singer Sara Evans who turned 36 yesterday!

It’s been fun blogging with you,
Kate

February 5, 2007

Sorry, I didn't post sooner, but I've been super busy. I'll try to update this post later. I wanted to get shout outs to

Indianapolis Colts
on winning the Super Bowl yesterday.

Random Quote: "It's awesome. It's a huge boost for the state of Indiana, obviously, but it's great to see somebody like Peyton Manning accomplish his dream. ... In fact, it's nice to see all the guys from Indianapolis get this win. They showed what a championship team is about. It's just a storybook ending for a great team." - Indiana native, Tony Stewart on Colts win

February 2, 2007

Um…how good was “The Office” last night? *SPOILERS* Bringing in Ben Franklin for Phyllis’ shower was absolutely brilliant. How about the Karen/Jim/Pam situation? Jim and Karen having many long phone conversations. Pam admitting she liked Jim and then taking it back. Every time I think, I want Pam and Jim together something happens and I change my mind. Last night, it was Roy saying that he thought Pam’s art was sexy. How cute. And according to Kristin Veitch, Roy will come back into the picture. Interesting. So I guess, I’ll have to wait another 6 days until Phyllis’ wedding to Bob Vance of Vance refrigeration!

In Theaters:
Because I Said So
The Messengers
Fired (limited)
In the Pit (limited)
An Unreasonable Man (limited)

NASCAR Update:
ESPN2 will debut “NASCAR Now” on Monday, February 5th at 6:30 PM/est.

The Daytona 500 is the fourth biggest sports brand event generating $91 million according to Forbes. The Super Bowl is the top event followed by the Summer Olympic Games and FIFA World Cup. (jayski.com)

NFL Playoffs:
If you haven’t heard, this weekend is the Super Bowl. While some watch it for the commercials, some for the halftime show, which this year will feature Prince (so excited) others watch it for the game! So for all of you football fanatics, let me present to you:

The Indianapolis Colts v. The Chicago Bears
6:25 PM/est on CBS

Around Sports:
Baseball
San Francisco Giants catcher Mike Matheny announced his retirement on Tuesday. Matheny had not received clearance from his doctors after a concussion knocked him out of the final four months of the 2006 season. (AP)

The Minnesota Twins and MVP Justin Morneau have agreed to a one year, $4.5 million deal. (foxsports.com)

Basketball
Today was not a good day for Carmelo Anthony. His name was visible absent on the NBA All-Star list and he was involved in a car accident. Melo and his Denver Nuggets teammate J.R. Smith got into a fender bender on their way to a team shootaround. Both were uninjured. (AP)

Champ Car World Series
Champ Car has announced it will have to skip the Denver Grand Prix for the next two years due to conflicts. Champ Car sets up a temporary course using streets in Denver. Champ Car President Steve Johnson said he hopes the series can come back to the city in the future. (AP)

College Basketball
#8 Duke narrowly lost to Virginia in overtime 68-66 on Thursday.

Football
Brett Farve told the Herald Sun in Biloxi, MS that he plans on returning for a 17th season. The Green Bay Packers were 8-8 last year. (AP)

Soccer
Tom Hicks owner of the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers and Montreal Canadiens owner George Gillett, Jr. put in a bid to buy England’s Liverpool soccer club. (AP)

Around the World:
It’s ground hog day and much to my dad’s chagrin, it seems Punxsutawney Phil has predicted an early spring. Yeah! The last time Phil didn't see his shadow was in 1999.

New York Fashion week kicked off on Thursday with the Miss Sixty show, but the look of Fashion week soon might change. A New York City Council member, Gail Brewer, wants to put an end to super skinny models on the runway. She’d like models to have a BMI (Body Mass Index) of 18.5, .5 higher than the standards put in place at Madrid’s Fashion Week last year. She’d also like designers to teach models about nutrition (yeah, that’s not their job) and ban models under 16 from waling the catwalk. (I’ll go with that request.) But my favorite part is that she’d like designers to make more robust outfits for models to wear. I think that’s at the Lane Bryant show. When will people learn, models are living, breathing clothes hangers? Ana Carolina Reston, the Brazilian model who died from complications of anorexia last year had a BMI of 13.4, which is gross. But under Brewer’s proposal supermodels like Kate Moss and Gisele would be too thin to participate. In the end, only so many people are meant to models just like only so many people fit the physical requirements to be a Radio City Rockette, or have the vocal talent to be an Opera singer. Let’s be honest, a models job is to be tall and thin! (cnn.com)

Residents in Central Florida are cleaning up after a tornado ripped through the area on Friday morning. There are reports of 14 fatalities due to the storm. The area was hit by a tornado Christmas day 2006. (cnn.com)

The Senate has voted to raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour. The $2.10 hike will happen over a two year period. (abcnews.com)

West Virginia has a new high tech way to keep the kids in shape…“Dance Dance Revolution.” The video game would be put in every public school in the state. Sadly, I don’t need no stinkin’ video game to get my dance on. All I need is a Britney CD and I’m ready to go!

Popo in my crib News:
Philadelphia Eagle’s coach, Andy Ried’s son Garrett admitted to having used heroin before getting into a car accident on Tuesday. Garrett, have you met Nicole Richie? Watch out Garrett, because the popo are on your tail!

Here’s another reason not to drink and drive, it may get you suspended without pay from your job. Sacramento Kings coach Eric Musselman was suspended without pay for two games by the NBA after pleading not guilty to DUI. Watch out Eric, because the popo and the NBA are on your tail! (AP)

Joya Williams, a former secretary at Coca-Cola was convicted of trying to sell company secrets. But what the jury didn’t know was that she was peddling the recipe to “new” coke. Williams faces up to 10 years in prison. Watch out Joya, because the popo are on your tail! (AP)

Celebrity Tid Bits:
Congratulations to Patrick Dempsey and his wife Jillian on the birth of twin boys Darby Galen and Sullivan Patrick. They join big sister Talula.

Congratulations to the Dixie Chicks on being named the top Duo or Group, Best Overall, Best Single for “Not Ready to Make Nice” and Best Album for Taking the Long Way by Nashville Scene’s annual music poll. (gactv.com)

Voting is underway at cmt.com for the 2007 CMT Music Awards. This year’s Awards will be hosted by Jeff Foxworthy and will air live from The Curb Event Center at Belmont University on April 16, 2007 on CMT.

Trent Tomlinson will replace Taylor Swift at the Country Radio Seminar’s New Faces Show on March 2nd. Tomlinson will be joined by Eric Church, Rodney Atkins, Jack Ingram and Miranda Lambert. Swift was forced to cancel because she will be opening for George Strait in Missouri. (cmt.com)

Keith Urban has tapped the Wreckers to be an opening act on his world tour. The Wrecker’s current single “My, Oh My” is currently climbing the charts. (countryweekly.com)

Amanda Bynes was involved in a mutli-vehicle accident on Thursday night. The “All That” star was said to have kept her composure throughout the ordeal. No injuries were reported. (tmz.com)

BREAK-UP ALERT: Cutie Ryan Reynolds and "You Oughta Know" singer Alanis Morrisette have officially called it quits after four years together.

BREAK-UP ALERT: Johnny Knoxville’s rep confirmed that Johnny and his wife Melanie are splitting up. I didn’t even know they were still together considering that Johnny has slept with half of Hollywood and Jessica Simpson during his marriage. (bricksandstones.blogspot.com)

Happy birthday shout outs to Christie Brinkley (53) and Farrah Fawcett (60).

It’s been fun blogging with you,
Kate

February 1, 2007

“Friday Night Lights” is one of those shows that I love. I know that I love it, but I forget how good it is until I watch an episode. It’s amazing how much chemistry Kyle Chandler (Coach Eric Taylor) and Connie Britton (Mrs. Tami Taylor) have. This show has only been on for 13 episodes and there are way more sparks/laughs/etc… between them than any other TV couple! Zach Gilford (Matt Sarecen) is amazing. You think “How can anyone be that naïve?”, but somehow Matt is. The way Gilford plays him is amazing. Matt is the starting quarterback, but for everything Jason Street (the original starting quarterback who was paralyzed in the pilot) was, the confidence he possessed on and off the field, the cheerleader girlfriend, Lyla Garrity and charisma that emanated from him, that’s the polar opposite of Matt. Matt stutters, he has to take care of his grandmother, he is dating Julie Taylor, and he always seems uncomfortable. As last night’s episode showed, no matter how different Matt is from Jason, he’s still the starting quarterback and he will be treated as such. The look on Matt’s face in the back of the car when he is being kidnapped by the football team is priceless. And Coach Taylor’s facial expressions when Matt asks him if Smash is going to play in the big game on Friday were great. There is a reason why Entertainment Weekly listed it as one of the five best shows you’re not watching this season! So next week, instead of watching "American Idol" (you know they’ll have horrible singers who are shocked when Simon tells them they are bad.) tune into “Friday Night Lights” at 8 PM/est on NBC. Trust me. And don’t worry I’ll remind you to watch next week.

NASCAR Update:
#6 Roush Racing hauler was involved in a mulitcar accident on interstate 10 in West Texas on its way to North Carolina from a test session in Las Vegas. Joe Millikan, the driver of the hauler was sent to Thomason Hospital in critical condition. Three other people involved in the accident were sent area hospitals with non-life threatening injuries. (jayski.com)

Giants Update:
The Miami Dolphins will host the New York Giants in London for a regular season game next season. (AP)

Around Sports:
Baseball
In a waste of time news…Sen. John Kerry wants the Federal Communications Commission to investigate a new deal between DirecTV and MLB that would make DirecTV the exclusive home to “Extra Innings” a service that allows customers to view out of market games. Currently, other TV providers offer such a package. I can’t believe this is what you worry about. I know you’re not running for president so you have some time on your hands, but I swear there are other things to worry about. Trillion dollar spending deficits, education, or that war, where is it again…oh yeah in Iraq! (AP)

Congratulations to Boston Red Sox GM, Theo Epstein who married his longtime girlfriend at the original Nathan’s Hot Dog Stand on Coney Island sometime this off-season. What he got married in New York? At Nathans? There are so many things wrong with that!

College Basketball
Indiana ended #2 Wisconsin’s 17 game winning streak on Wednesday with a 71-66 win.

Football
Steelers safety Troy Polamalu legally changed his name to Troy Polamalu? Actually, Troy’s birth name was Troy Benjamin Aumua but has gone by Polamalu for the past 15 years. Troy’s parents were divorced when he was baby and Polamalu is his mother’s maiden name. Troy’s legal name has been changed to Troy Aumua Polamalu.

IRL
Buddy Rice and Sarah Fisher are joining Dreyer & Reinbold Racing for the 2007 season beginning at Homestead. (AP)

Around the World:
A Commerce Department report showed that personal savings for 2006 was at -1%, meaning people were spending more money than they were making. I, of course do not fall into that category, but I also still live at home…there are trade offs, I guess. Savings are at a 74 year low. (AP)

Popo in my crib News:
Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Ried’s two sons were involved in separate incidents on Tuesday. Britt Ried, 21 allegedly was arguing with another driver about right of way before Britt pulled a gun on the driver. (That will never beat the minister who killed another driver with a crossbow. But maybe I’ll give you honorable mention, Britt.) Ried’s other son, Garrett, 24 was involved in a car accident on Tuesday. Upon search of his car, police found drug paraphernalia. Neither son has been charged. Watch out Britt and Garrett, because the popo are on your tail! (si.com)

Lane Garrison is in big trouble. The “Prison Break” star had cocaine in his system as well as a blood alcohol level two times the legal limit on December 2nd. Garrison was driving his Land Rover SUV when he hit a tree killing a 17 year old passenger in his car. Beverly Hills Police have recommended that Garrison be charged with felony vehicular manslaughter. Watch out Lane, because the popo are on your tail! (people.com)

Peter Berdovsky, 27 and Sean Stevens, 28 were expected to be released on bond after pleading not guilty to disorderly conduct. The two men placed 38 blinking electronic signs around Boston to promote a TV show on Cartoon Network. The prank brought parts of Boston to a standstill on Wednesday. Did no one learn from the MI:3 marketing debacle last year? Watch out Peter and Sean, because the popo are on your tail! (AP)

Celebrity Tid Bits:
TV ALERT: It’s Phyllis’ bachelorette party on “The Office” tonight at 8:30 PM/est on NBC

Congratulations to Ed Helms who has been promoted to series regular on “The Office.” Oh, no here comes terreble! (hollywoodreporter.com)

TV ALERT: We’re down to the final month of all new “OC” episodes. So why aren’t you watching? (9 PM/est on FOX)

The final Harry Potter book, Harry Porter: And His Death (ok so that’s my title) will be released on July 21, 2007.

Rascal Flatts will appear in a 30 second ad during the Super Bowl. The ad for the NFL Network will feature Ocho Cinco aka Cincinnati Bengal Chad Johnson. (cmt.com)

Hank Williams, Jr. and Lynyrd Skynyrd will go be going on a 20 city tour this spring beginning April 11th in Huntsville, Al. The tour, “What my Dreams are About” (of course that’s my working title) will be on Fridays and Saturdays and will feature .38 special on the first 10 dates! (cmt.com)

Keith Urban will appear on “Saturday Night Live” on February 10th. Finally a reason to watch! (gactv.com)

Happy Birthday shout outs to Big Boi from Outkast (32), Michael C. Hall (36), Lisa Marie Presley (39), Pauly Shore (39), Sherilyn Fenn from “Gilmore Girls” (42), Princess Stephanie of Monaco (42) and Sherman Helmsley (69).

Random Quote: ''Things are heating up between John Mayer and Jessica Simpson, with Simpson accompanying Mayer for part of his tour in Florida. Mayer is working on a new song called 'Your Body Is a Wonderland, and Your Brain Is a Wind Tunnel.'" - JOEL McHALE, ON THE SOUP (ew.com)

It’s been fun blogging with you,
Kate