Tuesday, September 19, 2006

COLTS RB JOSEPH ADDAI, SAINTS WR MARQUES COLSTON, 49ERS LB MANNY LAWSON, PATRIOTS RB LAURENCE MARONEY, & PANTHERS RB DE ANGELO WILLIAMS For ROW



From NFL Media.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COLTS RB JOSEPH ADDAI, SAINTS WR MARQUES COLSTON,
49ERS LB MANNY LAWSON, PATRIOTS RB LAURENCE MARONEY
& PANTHERS RB DE ANGELO WILLIAMS

CANDIDATES FOR DIET PEPSI NFL ROOKIE OF WEEK HONORS

Fans To Vote For Winner On NFL.com and Via Sprint Wireless Service

Running back JOSEPH ADDAI of the Indianapolis Colts, wide receiver MARQUES COLSTON of the New Orleans
Saints, linebacker MANNY LAWSON of the San Francisco 49ers, running back LAURENCE MARONEY of the New
England Patriots and running back DE ANGELO WILLIAMS of the Carolina Panthers are the finalists for DIET PEPSI
NFL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK honors for games played on September 17-18, the NFL announced today.

Fans can vote for one of these five players on NFL.com beginning Tuesday at 9am EST and ending on Thursday at 5pm
EST to determine the DIET PEPSI NFL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK. The DIET PEPSI NFL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK will be
announced Thursday evening on NFL.com.

In addition, for the second year, NFL fans may cast their votes for the DIET PEPSI NFL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK using
phones with Sprint wireless service - an opportunity available only to Sprint customers. This fast, convenient voting
method involves texting the word PEPSI to short code 7777. Sprint customers will then receive an interactive text
message that links fans to the ballot with the five finalists each week. Data and text messaging rates may apply.
After the regular season, five players will be nominated for Diet Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year honors. Fans can vote for
the winner on NFL.com and via Sprint wireless service throughout the month of January. The winner will be announced
at a press conference at Super Bowl XLI in South Florida.

A closer look at the finalists:

- Indianapolis' Joseph Addai carried 16 times for 82 yards in the Colts’ 43-24 victory over the AFC South-rival
Houston Texans. Addai added two receptions for 22 yards, including a 21-yard touchdown catch-and-run to put
the Colts up 14-0 in the first quarter. It was Addai’s first career NFL touchdown.

- New Orleans' Marques Colston caught four passes for 58 yards, including a 35-yard touchdown reception in the
fourth quarter of the Saints’ 34-27 victory over the Green Bay Packers. Colston has now caught a touchdown
pass in each of his first two NFL games.

- San Francisco's Manny Lawson recorded three tackles, two sacks and two quarterback pressures in the 49ers’
20-13 win over the St. Louis Rams. Lawson was a key factor in San Francisco’s defense holding the Rams to 185
passing yards on the day. He recorded sacks on the Rams’ opening drives of both the first and third quarters.

- New England's Laurence Maroney ran for 65 yards and one touchdown on 16 carries in the Patriots’ 24-17
victory over the New York Jets. Maroney recorded his first career NFL touchdown on a one-yard run in the third
quarter to put the Patriots in front 24-0.

- Carolina' s DeAngelo Williams carried 13 times for 74 yards and one touchdown in the Panthers’ 16-13 overtime
loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Williams scored his first career NFL touchdown on a three-yard run in the second
quarter. He also added five catches for 24 yards and returned four kickoffs for 86 yards in the game.

This is Pepsi’s fifth year as the official soft drink sponsor of the NFL and the second year that Diet Pepsi will present the
NFL Rookie of the Week and NFL Rookie of the Year awards.

Selma Blair Caught In Argument With Ex-Hubby - Enquirer



Man, I didn't know Selma Blair was even married until now! Where have I been? I've got to admit she's got the simple combination West Cost / Midwest girl-next-door look down to a fine science. I guess her now-ex-hubby Ahmet Zappa (think son of the late and lengendary rocker Frank Zappa) thought so too, because he married her in 2004.

I only became aware of Selma via the movie "Cruel Intentions" -- one of my favorites. In the movie, which also features now coupled Ryan Philippe and Reese Witherspoon, Blair became very well-known for this kiss:



Well she's not going to be kissing on Zappa anytime soon because they had a nasty argument in a parking lot, which ended with her screeching off in her car after he walked off.

She's on the market and free to give a kiss like the one above to some deserving guy -- this time!

Suri Cruise Rumored Not To Be Tom Cruise's Baby - Enquirer



The Enquirer reports that the much celebrated baby of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes is not the product of whatever sexual intercourse the couple had. This news was covered in several other online media publications like Gawker and Perezhilton.com and led to speculation regarding who the father may be.

Some pointed to old Holmes flame Chris Klein as the father because of the similarity in the shape of their eyes. But regardless of who the real father may be, it's certainly clear that Suri is the child of Tom and Katie now.

Monday, September 18, 2006

Amanda Congdon - "Amanda Across America" Is Her New Project

Former Rocketboom host Amanda Congdon has announced the launch of "AmandaAcrossAmerica.com" her new vlog which takes her on a tour of our country starting in New York. The new show launches on Tuesday.


Amanda Condgon on Saturday September 16th at the Blip.TV office in NYC talking about some of her new projects and AmandaAcrossAmerica.com. "I'm really excited to be doing this with Blip and I want to thank Paltalk.com for supporting this wonderfiul party thank you all for coming. I have a lot of exciting... I've got TV projects and a bunch video blog projects to do when I get to LA and I'm really excited to go out in such a creative and innovative and really I guess the first person to go across the country and document it in a hybrid vehicle. So awesome thank you for coming and being part of this really creative and innovative event. Thank you. Party on!"

Louisiana Superdome Video Tour 9-11-2006



This amazing amateur video was taken as part of a tour to record the progress of the renovation of the Louisiana Superdome for this Monday September 21st game pitting the visiting Atlanta Falcons with the New Orleans Saints.

As the video shows, the "new" Superdome really is, all the way down to the new seats and redone luxury boxes and cleaned up and painted cooridors. The video shows it all and also gives one an idea of just how massive the Superdome complex really is.

Although beset with lawsuits over the roof, the path toward the reopening is ahead of schedule and the new facility will be a showcase of the rebirth of New Orleans.

Here's the video:

"Greatness Of The Raiders" May Cease This Season: Oakland Raiders Would Fall To Miami Dolphins As Team With Most Wins In NFL History



After this last and most disasterous loss to the Baltimore Ravens -- and the continued problems with the offense -- I decided to review the last Oakland Raiders press release and found this bit of information:

THE GREATNESS OF THE RAIDERS

The Raiders, who began play in the American Football League in 1960, enter their 47th year of professional
football competition in 2006, and 36th year as a member of the National Football League. For over five
decades -- the 1960s, '70s, '80s, ‘90s and the 2000s -- the Raiders have been the most dominant team in
professional football since Al Davis first pledged in 1963 to build the finest organization in pro sports.
Since 1963, when Al Davis first took over the failing Oakland franchise that had struggled to win only nine of 42
league games in the initial three seasons of the new American Football League, the Raiders have totally
dominated professional football in terms of consistent victory. During those decades of dominance in Oakland
and Los Angeles, the Raiders have won 385 league games and continue to stand atop the NFL for this period
with their winning percentage of .602.

TOP PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL RECORDS
(1963-2005)
TEAM WINNING %
1. OAKLAND RAIDERS .602
2. Miami Dolphins (since 1966) .599
3. Dallas Cowboys .592


So I did some calculations and determined that if the Raiders won 385 games and that was .602 of the total, then the full number of games in their history was 639.534 (Where there's half a game, I don't know. Maybe the "Heidi Game").

I then determined that if the Raiders lost just six (6) games, they would be at .596 and fall behind the Miami Dolphins for claim of best record in pro football. At of now, the Raiders have lost two of those six games. Still, if this happened, the Raiders total record would be 10 wins and 6 losses, certainly at or near what it takes to win the AFC West. But many in the media are picking the Silver and Black to not win one game, and there's nothing in their current statistical performance to show a reason to expect a rebound.

If the Raiders lose 10 total games -- 6 and 10 -- then they would not only fall below the Miami Dolphins for best overall record in NFL history, but be in a statiscal tie with the Dallas Cowboys at .592; one more game lost and they fall below the Cowboys.

I hate to say this, but this year -- unless the team and organization shows a remarkable turn around -- the "Greatness of The Raiders" will be over and a thing of the past. The PR department will have to eliminate this statistic from their record books they use to claim bragging rights over the NFL.

Moreover, the Raiders organization could not claim the "2000s" as a decade where they were a dominant organization because they lump their overall record into that claim. Since the overall record's in danger of dropping below that of the Dolphins, the claim to being the dominant organization of the opening decade of the 21st Century would be false by the end of this season if the team loses over five games.

But beyond that, this statistic sheds a light on how far the Oakland Raiders organization has fallen over the past three years alone. If legacy is important to the Raiders, then this should give cause for alarm bells to sound.

NFL CELEBRATES HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH

WWW.NFLMedia.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NFLH- 1 9/18/06

NFL CELEBRATES HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH
TWO SPOTS TO AIR LIVE IN NFL STADIUMS AND ON SELECT TV STATIONS

Each year NFL teams celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with festivities across the country at their games.
This year 15 clubs have designated home games to commemorate the month with in-stadium entertainment
and activities to highlight the Latino culture and the contributions by Hispanics to the league.

Nationally, the NFL is launching a Spanish TV campaign with spots airing on Telemundo and ESPN Deportes,
as well as in NFL stadiums on jumbotrons during Hispanic Heritage Month. Additionally, the campaign will run
in print in USA Today and ESPN Deportes Magazine, as well as on radio.

The NFL’s new Spanish commercial titled, “Futbol /Football,” captures the excitement of NFL football creating
a contagious passion that will encourage Latinos to make the excitement of the game their very own.
The voiceover says: “The colors of your team. The passion for the game. The will to win,” while images of
fans cheering and current Latino NFL players in action are shown. The spot ends with “Celebrating Hispanic
Heritage Month.”

For the second year in a row, the NFL has teamed up with Pedro Resto to conceive and execute a spot
directed at the Latino community. “The overall commitment by the NFL and everyone involved to introduce
Latinos to the game of football is absolutely beautiful and a sign of great things to come for the Latino
community,” says Resto.

The NFL Creative Group collaborated with Resto previously for the NFL’s first-ever Spanish youth football
public service announcement. The PSA featured Hall of Famer Anthony Muñoz and Chiefs TE Tony
Gonzalez. In a first for an NFL PSA, Spanish was spoken and viewers saw English subtitles. This spot will
continue to air this season on ESPN Deportes as well as on CBS, FOX, NBC, ESPN, and NFL Network with
English subtitles.

Through his newly formed production company, ProudFilms, Resto engaged the Yellow Butterfly Project to do
the creative work, Animal Sound for the original music and sound, and Moving Images for its post production
services.

Log on to www.NFLatino.com for real-time NFL and team news, fantasy football, schedules, scores, standings,
expert analysis and more in Spanish.
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Sunday, September 17, 2006

Indy Colts Blast Houston Texans 43-24; Joe Addai With 82 Yards

Joseph Addai's slowly becoming a force in the Colts' offense.

Aerial attack lifts Colts over Texans 43-24

NFL.com wire reports

INDIANAPOLIS (Sept. 17, 2006) -- The NFL's biggest perfectionist found little to quibble with. Sure, Peyton Manning would have preferred scoring a few more touchdowns and less mistakes.

But what more could the two-time MVP really ask of his teammates?

Manning threw three touchdown passes, broke John Unitas' franchise record for completions and led the Colts to scores on six of their first seven possessions in a 43-24 rout over Houston that wasn't that close.

"The main thing our veterans are having to battle is enjoying regular-season victories," he said. "All everybody wants to talk about is what are you going to do when you get to the playoffs? You hang 43 on a team, you ought to be happy about it."

Again, Indy's offense dominated the Texans, who have lost all nine games in the series.

Indy (2-0) produced 515 yards, converted on eight of its first 10 third-down chances and didn't punt until early in the fourth quarter as the record-setting combination of Manning and Marvin Harrison had another milestone day.

Manning's second TD pass, a 21-yarder to rookie Joseph Addai in the first quarter, gave him 2,797 completions -- one more than Unitas had in his Colts career. He finished 26 of 38 for 400 yards, his seventh-highest yardage total as a pro, and with 2,820 career completions.

"I always feel uncomfortable, a little awkward when you're talking about records of Johnny Unitas," Manning said. "That's a real special mention any time you can be in the same sentence as him."

Harrison and Reggie Wayne also were busy.


Marvin Harrison caught nine passes for 127 of Peyton Manning's 400 yards through the air.
Wayne caught six passes for 135 yards, while Harrison had seven catches for 127 yards and passed Art Monk for fifth on the career receptions list. Harrison now has 943 career receptions.

"I did meet him quite a few times, he's a terrific person and a great player and just to be in the same company as those guys means a lot to me," Harrison said.

Houston (0-2), meanwhile, looked its old self -- misfiring from the start.

On the game's first offensive play, David Carr was sacked by Robert Mathis before he could even set up to throw. Carr fumbled the snap on the next play and Raheem Brock recovered for the Colts at the Texans 16. Three plays later, Manning and Brandon Stokley hooked up for a 10-yard TD pass.

Less than 12 minutes into the game, Carr had already been sacked twice, the Texans had three fumbles and they trailed 14-0.

"You can't have things happen to you like we let happen early. That's nervous stuff," Gary Kubiak said. "That's no excuse, we can't use it as an excuse."

The Texans defense allowed a stagnant Colts ground game to rush for 125 yards, including 82 from Addai, and their beleaguered offensive line took some big hits, too.

Left tackle Charles Spencer fractured his lower left leg midway through the third quarter and could be lost for the season, Kubiak said. Center Mike Flanagan hobbled off in the fourth quarter with a left foot injury and did not return.

It was that kind of day.

"Down 14-0 at this place, I don't think it's helpless but it's tough," Carr said. "It's tough to beat these guys 0-0. When you're down 14-0, it's incredibly difficult."

But the Colts' proficient offense caused the most grief for Houston.

The only time the Colts didn't score in the first three quarters was when Addai was stood up at the goal line and guard Dylan Gandy ran into him, jarring the ball loose. Houston recovered in the end zone.

Otherwise, Indy was unstoppable.

Adam Vinatieri connected on three field goals from 39, 43 and 38 yards.

The Texans got a 39-yarder from Kris Brown with 1:54 left in the half, and Carr threw three touchdown passes in the last 12 minutes. Carr was 22 of 26 for 219 yards and was sacked four times.

"We controlled the momentum, we controlled the game and I thought, did some awfully good things," Dungy said. "We just have to clean up our mistakes a little bit."

Pamela Sue Anderson and Courtney Love Roasted

This a totally funny video of both Pamela Sue Anderson and Courtney Love being roasted on the Comedy Central program.

Friday, September 15, 2006

FIRST TIME ALL NFL TV BLACKOUTS LIFTED FOR FIRST TWO WEEKS OF SEASON



NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
WWW.NFLMedia.com


Joe Browne, Executive Vice President-Communications
Greg Aiello, Vice President-Public Relations

FOR USE AS DESIRED

NFL-66 9/15/06
ALL WEEK 2 GAMES SOLD OUT;
FIRST TIME ALL TV BLACKOUTS LIFTED
FOR FIRST TWO WEEKS OF SEASON

For the second consecutive week, all 16 games of the NFL schedule have sold out in
advance of the local TV blackout deadline, enabling every game to be televised in the hometeam
market, the NFL announced today.

This is the first time since the NFL blackout policy took effect in 1973 that all blackouts were
lifted for the season's first two weeks. All blackouts were lifted on NFL Kickoff 2006
Weekend (September 7, 10-11).

It will be the 15th time in NFL history that blackouts have been lifted for all games on a single
weekend. The previous 14 times have been on Kickoff Weekend in 1998; three times in
2000; once in 2001; four times in 2002 and 2005; and on Kickoff 2006 Weekend.

The NFL blackout policy states that games sold out 72 hours prior to kickoff can be televised
in the home city.
# # #

San Diego Chargers' Steve Foley To Be Tested For Steriod Use

You can read more about this story by clicking on the link to this post's title, but I think this is absolutely silly.

Did someone check the sobriety of the off-duty cop who was following Foley? I'll bet even money the guy was drunk. I'll also wager the cop was coming from a bar during, what, 3 AM?

Come on!

John Williams "Sunday Night Football" Theme Music Press Release By NBC



I found this press release on John Williams Sunday Night Football Theme Music on NBC, and thought I'd post it. I also found the theme music as well.

"NBC Sunday Night Football" Theme Music to Debut Sept. 7 on Inaugural NBC Regular Season Broadcast


NEW YORK – August 30, 2006 – Academy Award-winning composer and music director John Williams, the Academy's most nominated living person with 45 nominations, and an 18-time Grammy Award-winner, has composed the new theme music for "NBC Sunday Night Football," and NBC's "Football Night in America" studio show, it was announced today by Dick Ebersol, Chairman, NBC Sports & Olympics and Executive Producer, "NBC Sunday Night Football." Williams previously worked with NBC Sports on the network's theme music for the Olympic Games, and has composed the themes to films including Star Wars, Jaws, Superman and ET. The "NBC Sunday Night Football" and "Football Night in America" themes will be used as the show opens, and throughout the broadcasts.

"I'm not only excited but also privileged to have one of America's greatest musical talents make his first foray into our country's premier sport of football on television's premier night," said Ebersol. "We at NBC have enjoyed a special relationship with John for two decades through the Olympics and News division. It's a relationship I hope will last forever."

"It has been great fun and a rare privilege to have been asked to contribute music for NBC's broadcast of one of our country's greatest traditions – football!" said Williams. "The outstanding athletes that play this game are similar to our great musicians in that they all require complete dedication and rigorous daily practice to stay sharp. I can also say that the members of our orchestra are all avid football fans and they were very excited when, on the day we recorded this music, we were visited by Al Michaels.

"Short of being at the games or meeting Al Michaels in person, the next best thing will be to turn on NBC and enjoy one of these great events. Personally, I'm extremely proud to be a small part of it."

Williams has composed the music and served as a music director for more than one hundred films, including, War of the Worlds, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Terminal, Catch Me If You Can, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Minority Report, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, The Patriot, Angela's Ashes, Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, Stepmom, Saving Private Ryan, Amistad, Seven Years in Tibet, The Lost World, Rosewood, Sleepers, Nixon, Sabrina, Schindler's List, Jurassic Park, Home Alone, Home Alone 2, Far and Away, JFK, Hook, Presumed Innocent, Born on the Fourth of July, the Indiana Jones trilogy, The Accidental Tourist, Empire of the Sun, The Witches of Eastwick, E.T. (the Extra-Terrestrial), Superman, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the Star Wars trilogy, Jaws, and Goodbye, Mr. Chips. He has received forty-five Academy Award nominations, most recently for his scores from Memoirs of a Geisha and Munich, making him the Academy's most nominated living person. He has been awarded five Oscars, seven British Academy Awards (BAFTA), eighteen Grammys, four Golden Globes, four Emmys and numerous gold and platinum records. In addition, Mr. Williams has composed the well-known NBC News theme "The Mission," "Liberty Fanfare" composed for the rededication of the Statue of Liberty, "We're Lookin Good!," composed for the Special Olympics in celebration of the 1987 International Summer Games, and themes for the 1984, 1988, and 1996 Summer Olympic games and the 2002 Winter Olympic Games.

Many of Williams' film scores have been released as recordings; the soundtrack album Star Wars has sold more than four million copies, making it one of the most successful non-pop albums in recording history. Mr. Williams' highly acclaimed series of albums with the Boston Pops Orchestra began in 1980 on the Philips label, for which he recorded Pops In Space, Pops On The March, Aisle Seat, Pops Out Of This World, With A Song In My Heart (a collaboration with soprano Jessye Norman), America, The Dream Goes On (a collection of favorite Americana), Swing, Swing, Swing, Pops In Love, By Request…(featuring music composed by John Williams), Holst's The Planets, Salute To Hollywood, and an all-Gershwin album entitled Pops By George. In 1990, John Williams and the Boston Pops started making recordings exclusively for the Sony Classical label. To date, these have included Music Of The Night (an album of contemporary and classical show tunes), I Love A Parade (a collection of favorite marches), The Spielberg / Williams Collaboration (featuring John Williams' music for Steven Spielberg's films), The Green Album (which includes "This Land Is Your Land," "Simple Gifts," and "Theme For Earth Day"), a Christmas album entitled Joy To The World, an album of music by George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, and Jerome Kern entitled Unforgettable, a tribute to Frank Sinatra entitled Night And Day, an album featuring music by John Williams and Aaron Copland entitled Music For Stage And Screen, It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing, with vocalist Nancy Wilson, and Williams on Williams: The Classic Spielberg Scores. Mr. Williams' most recent recording with the Boston Pops Orchestra is entitled Summon The Heroes, the title track of which was the official theme for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

Williams has led the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra on United States Tours in 1985, 1989, and 1992 and on a tour of Japan in 1987. He led the Boston Pops Orchestra on tours of Japan in 1990 and 1993. In addition to leading the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Symphony Hall and at Tanglewood, Williams has appeared as guest conductor with a number of major orchestras, including the London Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Dallas Symphony, the San Francisco Symphony, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, with which he has appeared many times at the Hollywood Bowl. Williams holds honorary degrees from twenty-one American universities, including The Juilliard School, Berklee College of Music in Boston, Boston College, Northeastern University, Tufts University, Boston University, the New England Conservatory of Music, the University of Massachusetts at Boston, The Eastman School of Music, the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and the University of Southern California. Williams recently served as the Grand Marshal of the 2004 Rose Parade in Pasadena, and was the recipient of a Kennedy Center Honor in December of 2004.

John Williams was born in New York and moved to Los Angeles with his family in 1948. There he attended UCLA, Los Angeles City College, and studied composition privately with Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. After service in the Air Force, Williams returned to New York to attend Juilliard University, where he studied piano with Madame Rosina Lhevinne. While in New York, he also worked as a jazz pianist, both in clubs and on recordings. He then returned to Los Angeles, where he began his career in the film industry, working with such composers as Bernard Herrmann, Alfred Newman, and Franz Waxman. He went on to write music for many television programs in the 1960s, winning four Emmy Awards for his work.

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