Oprah Winfrey Finish the show

Oprah Winfrey, the first black woman to appear on Forbes' billionaire list, is the ultimate multimedia icon.

She and her eponymous television program won scores of Emmy awards. In 1986, Ms. Winfrey was nominated for an Oscar after her film debut in "The Color Purple" and two years later she founded Harpo Productions. In 2000, she launched "O," a top-selling magazine in which she appears on every cover. Her book club guarantees best-seller status for its selections.

Ms. Winfrey then made history by ending her blockbuster, one-hour talk fest, “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” and starting her own cable channel, OWN, short for the Oprah Winfrey Network, that will speak for her 24 hours a day. OWN went live to about 80 million households on Jan. 1, 2011, and its success hinges on fans being able to track down Ms. Winfrey on the upper reaches of the cable dial.

The last episode of her network show, televised on May 25, was described as the biggest moment in television since Johnny Carson quit “The Tonight Show” two decades ago. Yet Ms. Winfrey took her final bow by holding back. “There will be no makeovers, no surprises — really, no surprises,” she told her studio audience. “You will not be getting a car or a tree. This last hour is really about me saying ‘thank you.’ ”

Ms. Winfrey’s move from broadcast to cable has been a transformative moment for the television business, marking the first time a talk-show host has taken over an entire channel. The stakes couldn’t be higher for her and the coterie of television veterans that has assembled around her. For someone who has enjoyed outsize victories in almost every venture she has pursued, OWN will be the ultimate test of her power. Her goal is to build a bigger business, but the channel's early ratings so far have been disappointing.

The television critic of The New York Times, Alessandra Stanley, described OWN's debut weekend this way: "Oprah Winfrey said that she wanted to create a cable network without a trace of “mean-spirited” programming, and she has wrung every drop of it from the Oprah Winfrey Network. "OWN is a place where cynicism takes a holiday and mockery hasn’t yet been invented."

Gil Scott-Heron Dies

Gil Scott-Heron passed away at St. Luke’s Hospital in New York City on Friday. The pioneering poet, musician, and activist enjoyed a string of thought-provoking hits throughout the 1970s and was nicknamed the “Godfather of Hip-Hop” thanks to his powerful lyrics on tunes like “The Bottle,” “Angel Dust,” and the spoken word piece “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.”

Scott-Heron struggled publicly with substance abuse in the 2000s, and spent the early part of the decade in and out of jail on drug possession charges. He began performing again after his release in 2007, and in 2010 released a new album, I’m New Here. Scott-Heron was 62. The cause of his death has not been disclosed.

UFC 130 fight card: Brian Stann vs Jorge Santiago battle for honor and respect on Memorial Day weekend

You think it was a mistake that U.S. Marine Brian Stann is taking part in the Memorial Day weekend festivities tonight (May 28, 2011) at UFC 130: "Rampage vs. Hamill" on pay-per-view?

You really think so?

Well, it wasn't. As coy as Dana White may become when asked that question, it was a strategic move to place "All American" on the fight card at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

But Stann is not just here because he served our country for nearly a decade; he's here because he just knocked out the iron-chinned Chris Leben a few months ago and he's knocking on the door that leads to the middleweight elite.

Standing in his way is a Japanese import who will be making his return to the UFC for his first fight inside the Octagon since dropping consecutive bouts back in 2006, to the previously mentioned Leben and the "Talented" Alan Belcher.

Sure, he's amassed an astounding 11-1 record since his release, winning a 2007 Strikeforce middleweight tournament and the Sengoku middleweight championship (that he never actually lost). But he didn't accomplish that within the confines of the eight-sided playground.

That's where it's as real as it gets ... at least, in the court of public opinion. 

That's where he'll try to pick up where he left off, only this time, with much much better results.

Joplin mo Hits Missouri City, Killing Many

Joplin, which the reports said was in the direct path of the tornado, was left isolated and in the dark after the destruction, with telephone connections largely cut off and many homes without electricity after the twister touched down around 6 p.m.

Reuters quoted the Newton County coroner, Mark Bridges, as saying about 30 people had been killed, and 11 bodies had been recovered from just one location.

A major hospital in town, St. John’s Regional Medical Center, had to be abandoned, witnesses said, and the triage unit set up on its grounds to care for the patients had to be temporarily moved across the street when the hospital caught fire.

The tornado was just the latest in a string of deadly twisters that have killed hundreds of people in recent months, with Tuscaloosa, Ala., still recovering from one that also tore through the center of the city in late April.

Initial reports from Joplin said that schools, apartment buildings, megastores and fire stations were ravaged by the tornado.

“There was panic — firefighters were pulling themselves out of the debris and then helping others,” said Mike Bettes, a meteorologist for the Weather Channel who arrived in Joplin 10 minutes after the tornado touched down, as part of the show “The Great Tornado Hunt.”

Hours later, he said, the scene was “very serene — dark, relatively quiet.” He and his Weather Channel crew had set up to report from the hospital grounds, he said in a telephone interview, and “we are on a hill and the only lights we see are on the fire trucks or ambulances.”

Joplin’s was by far the worst damage on a day of brutal storms in the Midwest, including a tornado in Minneapolis that city officials said left one person dead and dozens injured in an area that covered several blocks. By Sunday night, Missouri’s governor, Jay Nixon, had already activated the National Guard and declared a state of emergency. 

President Obama said the Federal Emergency Management Agency was being sent.

“FEMA is working with the affected area’s state and local officials to support response and recovery efforts, and the federal government stands ready to help our fellow Americans as needed,” Mr. Obama said.

Weather experts were still trying to assess exactly what had produced such damage. “The power lines have gone down — we can’t reach anyone there,” Bill Davis, a meteorologist at the Springfield, Mo., office of the National Weather Service, said in a telephone interview. He said any assessment of exactly how strong the tornado was would have to wait until tomorrow, when experts would drive to Joplin. However, he said, on a scale from 1 to 10, the tornado looked to be “on the 8-9 level.”

He compared it to a tornado that struck in May 2008 and left a dozen dead in the same part of Missouri. “It very much looked like that supercell,” he said, though that storm managed to spare Joplin a direct hit.

Joplin, a city of about 49,000 people, sits at the edge of the Ozark Mountain region.

Mr. Bettes, the meteorologist, said that the storm that hit Joplin had been hard to read — which was why his crew was willing to travel so close to it. “It was a rain-wrapped tornado,” he said. “When it is obscured by rain, you can’t tell what the danger is.”

One Joplin resident, Donald Davis, described to The Springfield News-Leader driving through the city, saying that Joplin High School’s windows were broken out and part of its roof was missing. A church across the street was demolished, he said. He also described damage to a grocery store and a large apartment building.

“They’re flattened,” Mr. Davis said. “You just can’t believe it. There must have been 150 units. One lady had a bathrobe around her. Others just had blankets around them.”

The scene at St. John’s hospital was equally overwhelming. “I spoke to a couple of nurses who were on the sixth floor,” said Mike Jenkins, a senior producer at Weather Channel who was with Mr. Bettes at the hospital. “They told me they received a warning, that a tornado or possible tornado was 20 minutes away. They took their precaution, ran through their steps, and five minutes later the windows were blown out, people were blown across the hall.”

Roland Garros keeps French Open

The French Open will continue to be played at Roland Garros in Paris after officials rejected proposals to move the Grand Slam event to another venue.

 

Three other projects, from the suburbs of the French capital, were bidding to host the clay-court event from 2016.

However, all three were more costly as they needed building from scratch.

An official statement said: "We back the project to create a new Roland Garros venue, extending and modernising the historic venue at Porte d'Auteuil."

The Federation Francaise de Tennis (FFT) rejected Gonesse in the first round of voting, while a proposed site near the Palace of Versailles was dismissed in round two.

The Roland Garros venue, which is situated in western Paris, then polled two-thirds of the vote in the final round to beat off competition from the eastern suburb Marne-la-Vallee, which also hosts Disneyland Paris.

"It's a historic choice, probably the most important for our federation since its creation. Our aim was to offer an ambitious project," said FFT president Jean Gachassin.

"This decision has been made against the fashion for having things on giant scales but it's a project which is resolutely focused on the future. This hasn't been a default choice. The Paris project was the most beautiful of the four."

Roland Garros, which has been home to the French Open since it began 86 years ago, spans 8.5 hectares, less than half the size of the 18.5 hectares at Wimbledon's All-England Club.

It is the smallest of the four Grand Slam venues that also includes the Australian Open at Melbourne and the US Open at Flushing Meadows in New York, however, the new site is expected to be expanded to 13.5 hectares.

But France's retired former world number one Amelie Mauresmo led criticism of the FFF's decision, believing the plan to be flawed.

"I think that in Paris we don't have the possibility to have the necessary space to develop Roland Garros," said the 31-year-old two-time grand slam winner.

"We are the smallest of the four grand slams and I think it is important to have the chance to grow, and for the public to have more room."

Among the renovation options are building a retractable roof over centre court (Philippe Chatrier) and a constructing a new court with a capacity of 8,000 spectators.

The costs to renovate Roland Garros were estimated at £210m while the other three projects ranged from £400m-675m.

ABC's new summer reality show Wipeout

  ABC has started production on their new summer reality series Wipeout. The show features 24 thrill-seeking contestants who will race in the world's largest extreme obstacle course. According to the press release, the course was designed to create the "most spills, face plants and wipeouts ever seen on television." I can't help but wonder if anyone at ABC has seen MTV's Jackass. Just a thought.

The obstacles and contestants change every week. Some of the obstacles are "Dizzy Dummy," "Dirty Balls," (there's a bad joke in there somewhere), and the "Dreadmill" which gets contestants to jump hurdles on a 40-foot long treadmill moving at "warpspeed" (ABC's words, not mine).

Here's something of interest: John Henson (Talk Soup) will be co-hosting with John Anderson of SportsCenter. Henson is reason enough for me to give this show at least one go-round. What about you? Will you tune in to Wipeout?

Week's Events Show WNBA's Relevancy To Life

WASHINGTON – As much as the WNBA was developed as a way to showcase the nation’s top women’s basketball players, as time has gone on the league has shown a relevancy to reflect life in all aspects both on the court and more importantly away from the sidelines as well.

The week is not over and besides featuring the preseason competition such as the one here in the Verizon Center Thursday in which the Washington Mystics completed a back-to-back morning sweep of games by beating the Chicago Sky 66-55 the league has been in the news by either leading or being in association with several other events.

On Tuesday, former CBS news anchor Katie Couric received the top honor in New York City at the WNBA’s annual Inspiring Women awards luncheon.

On Wednesday, the same day Washington helped New York open its new summer venue for the next three seasons at the Prudential Center across the Hudson River in Newark, N.J., with a morning win over the Liberty, one of the host team’s rookie hopefuls – Jessica Breland out of North Carolina – was named this year’s Honda Inspiration Award winner for battling Hodgkin’s lymphoma – a similar honor that went to former Drexel star Nicole Hester several years ago for likewise battling the disease.

Overseas the WNBA runner up Atlanta Dream is engaging in international diplomacy in England prior to Sunday’s exhibition in Manchester against the Great Britain contingent.

Sadly, as much as the focus has been on joy, triumph and survival, on Friday another one of those unfortunate moments struck with the news that former 7-foot-2 center Margo Dydek, the overall No. 1 pick of the 1998 draft for the WNBA’s second season, died in Brisbane, Australia, at age 37 from complications of a heart attack suffered a week ago.

Nicknamed “Large Marge,” while few stateside had heard of the native of Poland who was then selected by the former Utah Starzz, which later became the San Antonio Silver Stars, she proved her worth by being a shot-blocking demon.

Dydek, who was coaching in Australia and was pregnant with her third child, which also passed away, when she was put into an induced coma, later played for the Connecticut Sun and then the Los Angeles Sparks before retiring.

Though many print publications will probably only have a paragraph or two on Dydek’s death, though the Associated Press has a sizeable obituary, a photo display at the WNBA.com website offers a glimpse as to her skill and personality.

Actually, it may be safe to actually refer to Dydek as the first overall No. 1 draft pick in league history because prior to the WNBA’s launch the previous season several star players were delivered to teams based on local appeal, such as former Southern Cal All-American Lisa Leslie to Los Angeles, former Texas Tech sensation Sheryl Swoopes to the former Houston Comets, which won the first four titles, and former UConn star Rebecca Lobo to New York.

Tina Thompson, the last of the original roster players from the WNBA’s first season and who is now with Los Angeles, was a first-round pick by Houston after deciding to play in the WNBA at the last minute over the former American Basketball League.

The wonders of today’s technology through facebook, google, and twitter, allows those with interest to find a pretty accurate portrayal of Dydek’s contributions as a player and as a mom.

Though Dydek had been retired several seasons, the league has also suffered tragic losses of others who have performed, most notably Kim Perrot, a walk-on to the Houston team who became a key star in the backcourt and then had her life cut short several years later by breast cancer.

The league’s annual Sportsmanship Award is named in Perrot’s memory.

Fortunately, the WNBA’s moments have been more joyous as was the case here in which a school-age dominated crowd of 9,502 fans saw Washington perhaps in its best-ever shape going into a season, especially being fueled by the 2010 run to the Eastern Division co-championship with New York and acquiring the No. 1 seed in the conference for the playoffs.

Alana Beard, who is back on the court after missing last season because of an injury, agreed and disagreed with the premise based on the former Duke star’s eight years in the nation’s capital in the league.

“Just being here for eight seasons, I think we’ve made a lot of progress in the little time that we’ve had,” said Beard, who was scoreless in her near-24 minutes of playing time but still provided leadership for the Mystics.

“Credit a lot of that to the coaches and their coaching style,” Beard said of Trudi Lacey, who has taken over following a promotion from assistant to former coach Julie Plank.

“It’s huge advantage of her already knowing the players and personalities and how to handle each and every player,” Beard said. “She brought in players such as Kelly (Miller) and she’s familiar with her and knows how to coach her.”
Miller, a former Georgia star and whose twin sister Coco previously played for Washington, scored 12 points. Former Maryland star Crystal Langhorne picked up where she left off as one of the top developing stars. The native of Willingboro, N.J., near Philadelphia, had 15 points and nine rebounds.

Former Rutgers stsr Epiphanny Prince had 12 points for the Sky, while Chicago’s Sylvia Fowles scored 10 points.

Rookie point guard sensation Courtney Vandersloot from Gonzaga, the third overall pick in April’s draft, had seven points but also committed seven turnovers for Chicago.

Beard wants to quash the idea of last year’s success immediately translating to forward progress this season.

“Last year was last year,” she said. “Trudi is different. We still have a lot of new players and that’s a challenge but I think she’s done an unbelievable job helping everyone jell together and helping each other’s games.

“Yeah, we won two games, but we have a long, long way to go. But the sky is the limit for this team and I’m really excited to be a part of it.”

Langhorne also likes the chemistry that’s developing quickly.

“We’re still a little rusty but I think our young kids like (former Duke stars) Jazz (Jasmine Thomas) and Karima (Christmas) are going to keep getting better as time goes on and get used to the system, but I think we’re looking pretty good.