Paramount's Pres Gail Berman The Target of Hollywood's Backstabbers -- And She Just Got There. Is Hollywood Too Sexist?

Paramount Pictures new President Gail Berman is described as tough, directive, well-spoken, and assertive -- and Hollywood apparently can't stand women like that. The person who brought many of our most-watched shows is being skewered for nothing having to do with the bottom line. It's a sign of how far we still have to go in America, but it's also a tale of a successful woman in a place that seems to elevate good business women, as much as it despises them.

Here's part of the story. For the rest, click on the title of this post.

Rough transition to film for TV veteran Berman

By Anne Thompson
In Hollywood, a rumor is like a hurricane: It starts from a small nugget of truth and can build into a disruptive force. Even when the person at the eye of the storm knows it's all bollocks, it's no fun.

Ever since Paramount Pictures president Gail Berman, the former Fox Broadcasting entertainment president, arrived on the Melrose Avenue studio lot, gossips have been predicting an end to her tenure even though it has barely begun.

That's because there is always an awkward period for a studio in transition, when the town still hasn't figured out the new rules of engagement. Which producers and directors are in or out? What kinds of movies does this new production chief like? A career TV executive like Berman -- while she brought TV watchers everything from "Arrested Development" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" to "American Idol" -- is coming into the movie business with neither a track record of produced movies nor established relationships with filmmakers and stars. Hollywood is notoriously tough on outsiders. And women. Berman is both.

Gonzaga Students Asked To Stop Yelling 'Brokeback Mountain'

Well, I suppose it was only a matter of time...

SPOKANE, Wash. -- Fans of No. 5 Gonzaga have been asked to stop yelling "Brokeback Mountain" at opposing players.
The reference to the recent movie about homosexual cowboys was chanted by some fans during Monday's game against Saint Mary's, and is apparently intended to suggest an opposing player is gay.
The chants were the subject of several classroom discussions over the past week, and the faculty advisers for the Kennel Club booster group urged students this week to avoid "inappropriate chants" during the Bulldogs' Saturday game against Stanford, which was nationally televised on ESPN.

ESPN"s Michael Smith Is a Cool Guy...We Met at Super Bowl XL

One of the pleasures of attending Super Bowls are the people you meet who are essentially comprise the nerve center of the sports industry. One of those people is a man I criticized not long ago - ESPN's columnist Michael Smith.

I met Smith as he was exiting the NFL Media Center's main entry way, and talked to him abou the inflamous column on minority hiring.

Smith explains that he believed the idea of just pointing out racism was not working anymore. It was time for a new message. Thus, his column.

Smith's not naive at all, but very well reasoned. But what's more is that we were able to quickly establish common ground. Both of us want to see an end to the problem of the lack of minority head coaches.

But the best gift of all was to be able to talk about our points of view.

Oakland Raiders Re-Hire Art Shell as Head Coach!

Finally! After nine candidates and seemingly forever, the Oakland Raiders will introduce their "new" head coach, Art Shell. It marks the first time in NFL history that a team with the same ownership has rehired a coach it let go years ago. (The Washington Redskins hired Joe Gibbs, but under a new ownership structure.)

The Raiders will introduce Shell at a Saturday press conference.

For the rest click on the title post link above.

Super Bowl XL - Steelers 21, Seahawks 10, Detroit A

I'm going to write and post a lot more on my trip, but I want to get my videos and picts done before I do. But I will take time to report that Super Bowl XL, my fourth Super Bowl, was certainly fun.

I missed going with my friend Beth Schnitzer and her two brothers, as they opted not to come for the first time in my history of attending this spectacle. Also, I invited my friend and co-writer Anja Crotts to come, but she too was captured by obligations back home.

That written, I had a lot of fun. I will report in much more detail, but the bottom line is...

1) Detroit is a great city that gets less credit than it deserves, especially as a Super Bowl Host City. It was a great Super Bowl City. My only complaint was the large number of downtowners who didn't seem to know where anything was located. This was a terrible problem which sent some up in arms!

2) Ford Field is simply -- until Arizona's new stadium is able to be evaluated -- the best place to play the Super Bowl.

More later..

Young Woman Beats The Boys at Wrestling - Michaela Hutchison is Alaska's Champion!

This is a true breakthrough in the liberation of Women around the World, and makes the guys who like athletic, strong, confident women happy to. Michaela Hutchison of Skyview High in Anchorage won the 103 pound Alaska state wrestling title Saturday.

Skyview girl's win makes U.S. history
WRESTLING: Hutchison's state title against the boys at 103 pounds is unprecedented.
By VAN WILLIAMS
Anchorage Daily News

Published: February 5, 2006
Last Modified: February 5, 2006 at 05:56 AM

Armed with cameras and video camcorders, nearly 2,000 people packed Chugiak High on Saturday night to watch Skyview's Michaela Hutchison make history.
Flash bulbs popped when Hutchison took the mat in the 103-pound final of Alaska's big school wrestling championships. When the wrestlers were introduced, Hutchison received a roaring applause.
But the best was yet to come.
Led by chants of "C'mon Michaela" and "Girl Power," Hutchison blew the roof off the place when she earned a thrilling 1-0 victory over Colony's Aaron Boss to become the first girl wrestler in the nation to win a state title against boys.
Hutchison, a sophomore who entered the state tournament ranked No. 1 in her weight class, completed her historic run by scoring an escape with 16 seconds left in the match to beat Boss for the second time in as many weeks.
As time wound down and Hutchison and Boss locked together in the middle, the crowd started counting down "3 ... 2 ... 1" before letting out a deafening roar. Hutchison didn't show much reaction -- she was more concerned with stopping her nose from bleeding.
Family and friends mobbed Hutchison after she walked off the mat while the crowd honored her accomplishment with a standing ovation.
"They were helping me," Hutchison said of the crowd's support. "It was awesome."
Hutchison was a crowd favorite before she even took the mat, in large part because she was trying to do what no girl had ever done -- beat the boys.
Skyview coach Neldon Gardner said Hutchison's victory was one of the highlights of his coaching career. He has coached countless state champions, but this one stood out.
"After 23 years of coaching you remember a lot of things. I'll never forget this one," he said. "I can't think of anybody more deserving than Michaela. She works as hard as any boy I've ever had."
Lathrop's Leah Bachert, a girl wrestler at 112 pounds, called Hutchison a role model.
"I look up to her because she's proving everybody wrong," Bachert said. "She's showing everybody that girls can be just as tough as guys."
Beating the boys has been something Hutchison has dreamed about since she started working out with the Skyview High as a seventh grader. She was close last year, losing in the 103-pound final.
Across the nation, other girls have been close too.
Last year, 17 girls nationwide qualified for high school state championships that included boys. One of them, Deanna Rix of Maine, finished second at 130 pounds. Michaela's sister, Melina, placed third at state six years ago.
Now Hutchison is in a class by herself.
"I don't care about (the significance) right now," she said. "I was excited to get done with the season. I'm been waiting for this for a while."
Hutchison's victory rivals other historic wins by women in male-dominated sports. Remember Libby Riddles? In 1985, she became the first female musher to win the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Riddles, along with four-time winner Susan Butcher, changed the rules of the game forever.
And Hutchison might do the same -- at least in Alaska.
Kent Bailo, director of the U.S. Girls Wresting Association, believes Hutchison's victory will help girls wrestling become a varsity sport. He estimates 4,000 to 5,000 girls wrestle in high schools nationwide. Yet, only Hawaii and Texas currently offer it as a girls sport. But Alaska might be next.
"I think coaches would want girls to have their own varsity sport," Bailo said. "Their boys would be so embarrassed if a girl won state. The coaches don't want girls taking away their medals."
Boss shouldn't feel embarrassed about losing to Hutchison. She's been No. 1-ranked at 103 all season. Hutchison finished the season with a 45-4 record that included 33 pins, one shy of the state single-season record.
Other boys who have wrestled against Hutchison said it was no big deal to lose to a girl, especially one as talented and tough as Hutchison. Kodiak's Tucker VanMatre was pinned by her in 47 seconds at the region championships two weeks ago.
"It was quick," VanMatre said. "She got me in an arm bar and turned me (over)."
Did she catch you by surprise?
"No," VanMatre added. "I expected it. She's good."
Hutchison was born to wrestle. She's one of 10 children and the third in her family to win a state title, joining brothers Zeb and Eli.
"They love the sport more than any other family I know," Gardner said. "This is a result of that dedication."

Off to Super Bowl XL!

On Thursday, I'm off to Super Bowl XL (that's 40 for you who don't know Roman Numerals) -- my fourth Super Bowl. Look for this blog space for updates and copies of interviews with key participants in what should be a terrific Super Bowl. My predicition is Seattle 27, Pittsburgh 14.

Why?

I guess deep down, as well as the Steelers have done over the last part of the season, and of course the NFL Playoffs, it's hard for me to absorb the idea that they're that good. I think it's that they play with such an "in your face" emotion that a part of me hopes they meet their match. That just came out of my head, through my fingers, onto the typewriter, and into this blog.

The other part is that I like the way the Seahawks approach the game. It's more clinical.

So this is not an approach I would use in Las Vegas. Don't pay any attention to me from the emotional perspective.

Now, the intellectual perspective says this: take Seattle and the points. Pittsburgh's advantage -- the constant ability to say "the whole World's against us" -- has been removed. They can't use that as a claim, and Seattle can in a modified way.

I also believe Seattle presents a test they've not faced this year: a version of the true Walsh Offense. Now, before you say "Denver," my response will be that many of the classic signature approaches that are common to that offense are not used by the Broncos. The style of drop that the quarterback takes, the use of three - step -drop passes, the timing of the passing system. It looks like a version of the Walsh offense that was learned by someone with their own idea that they installed. As a result, the "signature" of that offense is totally different -- and less able to attack the kind of 3-4 that the Steelers play.

A Bunch of Parties

The game aside, I plan to go to only a few select parties and pace myself. I can't see spending a lot of money to attend a party. Let's face it, it's all the same: music , drinks, and people. Folks milling around looking at other folks, then going on to another party after they're board with that one.

No thanks. I'd rather hang out at the NFL Headquarters Hotel...I can do all of the same and see a gaggle of celebrities without spending any money at all.

That's the plan.