Football Experts join forces to produce an NFL Draft Guide like no other

“Football Experts Join Forces to produce a Draft Guide like no other”

Football Reporters Online and Consensus Draft Services, with assistance from the Black Athlete Sports Network, have combined forces (while retaining their distinct identities) to produce what we feel with be the best value and most informative NFL draft publication: The GRIDIRON GUIDE TO THE NFL DRAFT.

“Taking this major step to produce the 2010 edition of the GRIDIRON DRAFT GUIDE with our co-operators will get consumers of football media to realize that they don’t need to spend the cost of a game ticket to get accurate and informative coverage of the draft” commented Dr. Bill Chachkes, Football Reporters Online’s Managing Partner and the Gridiron Guide’s Executive Editor. “You should be able to pay an affordable price for an electronic book as opposed to an exorbitant price for the right to waste paper” Chachkes continued. Consensus Draft Services founder Stephen Martin and his staff wanted to reach out to another organization to expand their scouting network, and to obtain additional perspective on potential draftees. "This draft report combines the insiders perspectives and article-based formats of BASN and FRO with the scouting pedantry that characterizes CDS, and gives you a draft guide that is not only complete and accurate but also that is rich with varied content, and at a price that is a fraction of what others charge."


For the Black Athlete Sports Network (BASN) It was a different approach entirely that caught their attention. FRO’s Michael-Louis Ingram was already a contributor to BASN as well. The combined efforts just made sense. "Working together with Dr. Football (Chachkes) and his staff at last year's NFL Draft not only helped give us a broader football audience, but for all sports as well," said Tony McClean, Black Athlete’s Editor in Chief. All three groups produce Internet radio shows. The links for each can be found below:

The CDS Shows Air Saturday Mornings on Talkshoe or can be accessed at:
http://cdsdraft.com/radio.php

On Blog Talk Radio BASN can be found at:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/la-batchelor

Football Reporters Online also On Blog Talk Radio at:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/football-reporters

Roger Ebert picks The Hurt Locker for Oscar Best Picture amid email issue

Related searches: ebert oscar pics, oprah winfrey, roger ebert talks, ebert voice synthesizer, anti-Avatar emails, ampas, oscar best picture

The news that The Hurt Locker's Oscar Best Picture chances may be harmed by producer Nicolas Chartier's alleged "anti-Avatar" email campaign may be overstated. Observers say the Academy's action against Chartier in banning him from the Oscars has had no impact on The Hurt Locker's chances for "Best Picture" at The Oscars.

Roger Ebert, introducing his new, synthesized voice on Oprah today, Tuesday, picked The Hurt Locker, the Katheryn Bigelow-directed war movie for Hollywood's coveted prize.

The discovery of anti-Avatar emails sent by one of the The Hurt Locker's producers Nicolas Chartier (who was banned from attending the Oscars by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) is having no apparent impact on the film's chances to win Oscar Best Picture. Roger Ebert (who did not discuss the email controversy), picked the movie as well as Jeff Bridges and Sandra Bullock for Best Actor and Best Actress respectively.

Here's Roger Ebert using his new voice system with his wife, Chaz:



On Twitter, the news does not damper the enthusiasm for The Hurt Locker as Best Picture at The Oscars, but the other issue is one of timing. Final Oscar voting ballots were due today, Tuesday, so the whole email flap may have come just too late to harm The Hurt Locker.

Meanwhile, it's great to see Roger Ebert talking again.

Academy boots The Hurt Locker's Nicolas Chartier from Sunday's Oscars

Related searches: LA Times Peter Hammond Hurt Locker, anti-Avatar email, Avatar and Hurt Locker, Oscar buzz hurt locker, Nicolas Chartier email, Nicolas Chartier hurt locker

In the end game to an email Nicolas Chartier (pictured with Stephanie Swedlove of Brightlight Pictures) wish he'd not written, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) just announced that they are denying him from attending the Oscars on Sunday. Here's the AMPAS press release:

Academy Penalizes Aggressive Campaigner

Beverly Hills, CA — The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today that, should “The Hurt Locker” be announced as the recipient of the Best Picture award at Sunday’s ceremonies, only three of the picture’s producers will be present for the celebration. The fourth of the film’s credited producers, Nicolas Chartier, has been denied attendance at the 82nd Academy Awards® as a penalty for violating Academy campaigning standards.

Chartier had recently disseminated an email to certain Academy voters and other film industry figures in which he solicited votes for his own picture and disparaged one of the other contending films. Academy rules prohibit “casting a negative or derogatory light on a competing film.” The executive committee of the Academy’s Producers Branch, at a special session late Monday, ruled that the ethical lapse merited the revocation of Chartier’s invitation to the Awards.

The group stopped short of recommending that the Academy governors rescind Chartier’s nomination. If “The Hurt Locker” were to be selected as Best Picture, Chartier would receive his Oscar® statuette at some point subsequent to the March 7 ceremonies.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2009 will be presented on Sunday, March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 5 p.m. PT/ 8 p.m. ET. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

More on reactions from around the web soon.

Admiral Ackbar "backlash" a joke: evidence of anti-Ackbar effort scant

Related searches: Star Wars, George Lucas, Lucasfilm Admiral Ackbar, The Return of The Jedi, science fiction, ole miss mascot

On February 24th, this space reported that Admiral Ackbar, The Supreme Commander of the Rebel Alliance and designer of the B-Wing Star Fighter in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi was the front-runner in the race for a new mascot for the Ole Miss Rebels.

The reason for the desire for a new mascot is simple: Colonel Reb reminds many of the Old South. The Empire. Slavery. And many other unpleasant things.

The idea of Admiral Ackbar as mascot is more than just a nod to popular culture, it's a subversive attempt to actually place a real rebel symbol as representing the university.

Admiral Ackbar by his very face and name is unconventional and his election as mascot for Ole Miss would speak volumes for how far "The South" has really come. Indeed, Admiral Ackbar's possible rise to mascot power has upset some, even those in the media it seems. A story's flying around the there's a "backlash" against the Admiral Ackbar mascot campaign.

The source is supposed to be the Atlanta Journal Constitution. But as of this writing, the AJC article points to TMZ for its information; the TMZ blog reads the heads of the Admiral Ackbar campaign reported angry calls but provide no quote or name of anyone connected with the effort . And both TMZ and AJC report no other credible information to prove the claim that a "backlash" exists. They just say it does.

But the reality is a real, credible "backlash" has bite and followers and that's not here. There's no Internet footprint of any size that's challenging the Admiral Ackbar Mascot Movement.

 And this blogger hopes it succeeds right smack in the face of Ole Miss alumns who need to be shaken out of their cultural comfort zone. It's said all too often that some people in The South are still "living the Civil War"; Admiral Ackbar - and only Admiral Ackbar - can bring them into the 21st Century.

Stay tuned.

John Mayer back in the Twitter media swing after N-word issue

After literally checking out for a while, singer John Mayer, known for many multiple tweets in a single day, is back in the Twitter swing after the N-word issue.

 As you may recall, John Mayer knocked back scotch during a Playboy Interview and let loose with a blast that included use of the N-word as well as how John Meyer wasn't attracted to black women, and in graphic terms how he felt about sex with Jessica Simpson.

The resulting negative public reaction was so hard for John Mayer to take he issued an apology on Twitter, then stopped tweeting. He sent exactly two tweets in eight days between February 14th and February 21st. But by February 27th, John Mayer started tweeting many times a day again. Here are some of his most recent tweets:

Grand Rapids, MI and Throbbing Springs, PA are the two cities in the US that sound the most like water parks.
about 21 hours ago via Twittelator
Two Krispy Kreme doughnuts, good. Three Krispy Kreme doughnuts, bad.
about 21 hours ago via Twittelator
If you want to look real smart on a plane, take out the day's crossword puzzle and fill it in as fast as you can with gibberish...
about 22 hours ago via Twittelator
How can you watch Jersey Shore for 9 hours and then act like you only listen to Beethoven's fifth? Okay. Point made. Night.
9:52 PM Feb 27th via Twittelator
Stop telling your friends you detest the ke$ha song and then dancing to it at home. How about some accountability, people?
8:56 PM Feb 27th via Twittelator
Though I must add I tried brushing with a bottle of Jack and I chipped a tooth on the glass. Where might I remit an invoice?
8:48 PM Feb 27th via Twittelator
Dear Ke$ha, you have won me over with your tricks and charms and I must tell you I really like your song.
8:46 PM Feb 27th via Twittelator

Who's Ke$ha? Ke$ha's a newcoming female singer - not African American, alas - behind the hit album Animal, that's apparently got the attention of John Mayer and perhaps his animal side. He tried brushing his teeth with "a bottle of Jack" - one wonders what he said after that episode?

Yep. John Mayer's back. This after he said he was going to basically stay out of the media just weeks ago. Remember that? Remember how sorry Mayer was and how he didn't mean to hurt anyone? I believe him, but man, that whole bottle of Jack thing makes me wonder.

Maybe he was kidding or just referring to a line in one of her songs. Or maybe he wasn't kidding, and referring to a line in one of Ke$ha's songs?

Stay tuned.

Oscar Buzz - 20th Annual Night of 100 Stars Gala Oscar Party

If you've wondered where the rest of Hollywood goes to watch the Oscars it's Norby Walters' annual formal viewing party called at The Night of 100 Stars Gala. It's held Sunday, March 7th at 4 PM at the legendary Beverly Hills Hotel Crystal Ballroom. And yes, this blogger will be in attendance providing coverage. You can follow along at Zennie62.com and at SFGate.com as photo video, and blog updates will be posted.

Here's a video from the 2009 party:



The Night of 100 Stars Gala Oscar Party started 20 years ago as an out growth of Norby Walters's private poker parties and grew from there. Now, Sunday's big event attracts celebrities and media like ABC's Good Morning America and The Jimmy Kimmel Show, which has taped segments there. Kimmel called it "...a wild party with mostly celebrities and they are everywhere you look".

This is one of David Carradine's last interviews:



Oh, and who's Norby Walters?

Norby Waters with Lanie Kazan and Dennis Haysbert

Norby Walters is a former Hollywood music agent and now event host who describes himself as "old school" and " one of the most dapper, snappiest characters in a town grown unfortunately and increasingly gray and corporate". Walters says he had all the jazz greats and signed Miles Davis to his first solo gig.

The Night of 100 Stars Gala has a huge list of celebrities who are set to attend. The press release reports the following confirmed list:

Sean Astin, Krista Allen, Ed Asner, Jason Alexander, Powers Boothe, Daniel Baldwin, Timothy Busfield, Joe Bologna, Susan Blakely, John Corbet, Tia Carrere, Keith Carradine, James Cromwell, Stephen Collins, Michael Chiklis, David Carradine, Joanna Cassidy, Richard Dreyfuss, Kevin Dillon, Lolita Davidovich, Robert Davi, Bruce Davison, Lou & Carla Ferrigno, Frances Fisher, Dave Foley, Peter Fonda, Jon Favreau, Joley Fisher, Robert Forster, Jeff Garlin, James Darren, Carla Cugino, Dominick Dunne, Lou Gossett Jr., Dennis Haysbert, Dennis Hopper, Dule Hill, Cheryl Hines, Monty Hall, Harry Hamlin, Marilu Henner, Ken Howard, Jack Klugman, Richard Karn, Martin Landau, Ron Livingston, Hal Linden, Richard Lewis, Sharon Lawrence, Michael Lerner, Matthew Modine, Chris McDonald, Camryn Manheim, Dylan McDermott, Jesse Metcalf, Ming Na, Judd Nelson, Kevin Nealon, Danielle Panabaker, Kevin Pollak, Stephanie Powers, Michelle Phillips, Lou Diamond Phillips, Freddie Rodriguez, Jason Ritter, Brande Roderick, Adam Rodriguez, Pat Richardson, George Segal, Fred Savage, John Schneider, Tony Shaloub, Kevin Sorbo, Rob Schneider, Amber Tamblyn, Jennifer Tilly, the GEICO Caveman, Bo Derek and over 100 more reportedly expected...

And in the past, many Academy Award Winners and Nominees have attended:

Jamie Foxx, Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Danny Aiello, Jennifer Tilly, Linda Blair, Michael Lerner, Sally Kirkland, Gary Busey, Bruce Davison, , Richard Dreyfuss, Cathy Moriarty, Kathleen Quinlan, Eric Roberts, Lynn Redgrave, Robert Forster, Diane Ladd, Caroll Baker, Rip Torn, Charles Durning, Dean Stockwell, Robert Stack, Theodore Bikel, Don Murray, Cliff Robertson, William H. Macy, Samantha Eggar, Kevin McCarthy, Glynis Johns, Terry Moore, Burt Young, Karen Black, Eddie Albert, George Chakiris, James Cromwell, Red Buttons, Ernest Borgnine, Anthony Franciosa, Shirley Jones, Elliott Gould, Tony Curtis, Martin Landau, David Paymer, Robert Loggia, Renee Taylor, Joe Bologna, Rod Steiger, Brenda Vaccaro, Shirley Knight, James Whitmore, Shelley Winters, Pat Morita, Patricia Neal, Stuart Whitman, Carrie Snodgrass, Seymour Cassel, Lesley Ann Warren, Russ Tamblyn, Maximillian Schell, Sally Kellerman and Mickey Rooney.

The bottom line is, it's going to be a fun time, wild Oscar party, and a great event.

Stay tuned.

The View's Sherri Shepherd with Jess Cagle on Oscar Red Carpet

More Oscar Buzz just six days from The Academy Awards. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has annouced that The View's Sherri Shepherd (pictured) will join Jess Cagle and the legendary Kathy Ireland on Oscar's Red Carpet Sunday, March 7th.

According to AMPAS, it's Sherri Shepherd's first time as a Red Carpet hostess, while Jeff Cagle, the managing editor of Entertainment Weekly will turn in his second consecutive year as a Red Carpet host. Cagle's interviewed some of Hollywood's biggest stars.

Meanwhile Kathy Ireland is indeed, legendary. The model-turned-businesswoman has built kathy ireland Worldwide, based on a line of clothing Kmart gave her. Now, the home and fashion design firm has annual sales of $1.4 billion.

The Oscar Red Carpet program will start at 8 PM EST, 5 PM PST.

Tyler Perry a presenter at Oscars; needs to use Twitter!

Last week, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) secured Tyler Perry, a man much admired by this blogger and who went from homelessness to creating his own film organization and brand, to be a presenter at the Oscars, the 82nd Annual Academy Awards.

So we were waiting for Tyler Perry to tweet the news to his over 98,000 followers. And waiting. And waiting. And still waiting. Tyler Perry hasn't used Twitter to tweet anything since February 11th.

And on that day, he tweeted this:

This Sunday night, I’m going to be on Extreme Makeover Home Edition on ABC! This is a two-hour special episode! Check it out!
11:11 AM Feb 11th via web

So Tyler Perry can tell the World he's on Extreme Makeover Home Edition on ABC, but not on the 82nd Annual Academy Awards...on ABC?

With all of the awards and praise Precious, a movie Tyler Perry executive produced, has received, you'd think he would work Twitter to tell the World? Nope. AMPAS gives him the biggest stage in the entertainment world, so we get a tweet. None. But we get Extreme Makeover Home Edition on ABC.

Horrible. Tyler Perry, we want to know how you feel about AMPAS selecting you as a presenter at Sunday's Academy Awards! Just tweet it!

A Nightmare on Elm Street remake movie trailer 2010 - the next Megan Fox?

Related searches: robert englund, rooney mara, horror movies, Nightmare on Elm Street, michael bay, megan fox, transformers, Nightmare on Elm Street review, Jackie Earle Haley Human Target

A Nightmare on Elm Street has been remade by Michael Bay. The remake of this horror classic and one of this blogger's college favorites is to be released not far after IRS Tax Day April 15th, specifically April 30th 2010.

This A Nightmare on Elm Street remake movie trailer gives a look at the new movie. The reported idea is this is a "reboot" much as J.J. Abrams 2009 Star Trek was a successful reboot of the classic television show and movie franchise.

But two questions. First, does this new Freddy Krueger out do the original, played by Robert Englund. And is Rooney Mara the next Megan Fox?

First, many agree that Robert Englund gave Freddy Krueger a timelessly hateful character that was also very funny. Englund played Freddy Krueger with such maniacal energy that no one could see another actor playing the steel-handed dream-state psychotic. Enter Jackie Earle Haley from Fox's TV series Human Target.

Jackie Earle Haley has Englund's blessing: "I'm real happy with Jackie", said Englund in a recent interview at FearNet. "I'm a fan". But are you happy with Jackie Earle Haley? Is he scary enough? Look at the trailer and then take the poll below this blog post.

Second, is Rooney Mara, who plays the role of Nancy Thompson in the new A Nightmare on Elm Street, the next Megan Fox? It was Michael Bay who gave Megan Fox the platform that made her a star when he cast her for the Transformers series. Does Rooney Mara have the same star quality?

It's hard to tell how much of Rooney Mara we will see in A Nightmare on Elm Street, so it's best to hold off a final verdict here. (Moreover, as Rooney Mara overseas the nonprofit Faces of Kibera, an organization that provides resources for orphans in Kibera, a slum in Nairobi, Kenya, any comparison with Megan Fox, who has no such organization as of this writing, would stop there.)

But we do see a lot of Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy Krueger. Let us know what you think; first impressions are everything. Does Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy Krueger live up to Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger? This poll will run through the year and beyond!

Vote!

More celebrity quizzes on pollsb.com

Recent large earthquakes in first two months of 2010 indicate trend

Related searches: Chile earthquake, Haiti earthquake, Argentina earthquake, Venezuela earthquake, Japan earthquake, Bay Area earthquake.

Recent large earthquakes in the first two months of 2010 and in Haiti, Argentina, Venezuela, Eureka, California, north of Chicago, Japan, and Chile, would seem to indicate a trend, and not a good one.

First, the rate comes to about one major earthquake every two weeks. Second, the US Geological Survey reports that earthquakes of over 7 on the Richter Scale are still constant in number, not increasing or decreasing.

The USGS also claims that we should expect to learn of 17 major quakes in one year and one great earthquake in any one year.

Chile was the great earthquake at 8.8 on the Richter Scale,

But while the USGS claims the earthquake frequency is not off the norm compared with years 2000 through 2009, no one has made a comparison of time frames.

In other words, was there a moment in World history where we had so many large earthquakes within such a short period of time? As of this writing, there's no documentation of such a frequency of quakes as the one the World has seen this year, with so many large quakes in a two month period.

Stay tuned for more updates on this topic.

Hockey Overtime Rules aside, USA v. Canada a classic hockey game

Related searches: olympic hockey overtime rules, hockey icing explained, hockey offsides, hockey overtime, hockey penalties, winter olympics, canada hockey, team usa

For some reason undoubtedly connected to (our) America's loss to Canada "Hockey Overtime Rules" are being searched for often this Sunday evening. But aside from that and whatever rules questions their may be, USA v. Canada was a classic hockey game.

USA v. Canada ended tragically; Canada won 3 to 2 in overtime and with Sidney Crosby, or "Sid the Kid" as he's called, delivering the puck shot heard 'round the sports World. He somehow got a shot pass Team USA goalie Ryan Miller and into the USA goal for a win that stunned Team USA as much as it sent the Canadian home crowd into a frenzy. This meant a lot to Canada.



Rebecca Bollwitt, who's done a great job covering the Winter Olympics and its impact on Vancouver's culture at her blog Miss604.com, wrote

This was arguably the biggest game in our nation’s history. It wasn’t the Summit Series, but it was the Olympic gold medal game on our home turf, against our continental brothers. The USA played hard, Miller stood on his head to stop us, and they even made us sweat… a lot. You couldn’t have imagined this match up and you couldn’t have fathomed that this game would go into overtime with Crosby scoring the winning goal.

Indeed, it was hard to fathom as for the first half it looked as if Canada was going to run away with the Gold Medal contest with at one point a 2-0 lead. But then Canada lost the lead as Team USA tied the game with 24.4 seconds remaining, according to ESPN.

What happened in overtime is still a nightmare for anyone rooting for the USA. Why Ryan Miller pushed the puck to the right, rather than fired it as far away from the goal as he could is a question still fresh in the mind of this blogger. Because of that, Canada played a good portion of the overtime in USA territory before the score that ended the game.

It would have been nice to see Canada lose to America. Someone has to say it. Cue up Blame Canada and all their "hockey hullabaloo". They were so wanting this Winter Olympics win because, by God, they invented Hockey!

The Hockey Overtime Rules where each team loses a player would not be an issue if Team USA beat Canada. The bottom line is America had its chance and almost pulled out a Herculean win.

It was not to be.

Well, Canada, you've got it. But only for four years.

Congratulations.

President Barack Obama offers his condolences to Chile

From the AP -

President Barack Obama offered his condolences to Chile and says the U.S. stands ready to assist. He also urges residents in California and Hawaii to heed all tsunami warnings. (Feb. 27)