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Source CNN:
Move over, "M*A*S*H" finale. You've finally been surpassed.
According to Nielsen ratings estimates published in Hollywood trade publications, Sunday's Super Bowl XLIV - in which the New Orleans Saints beat the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 - now holds the record for viewership. The event was watched by 106.5 million viewers, slightly more than the famed 1983 "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" conclusion to "M*A*S*H," which was watched by 105.97 million.
Yes, the usual caveats apply. The United States is a more populous nation than it was 27 years ago, and thus there are more TV viewers. But there are also more TV outlets - the fabled 500-plus channels - which means the Super Bowl crushed a lot more competitors than "M*A*S*H" (or the "Dallas" "Who Shot J.R." episode or the end of "Roots") did.
Even more startling were the ratings from individual cities. According to Nielsen, 82 percent of TV-watching households in New Orleans were watching the game; the figure was 80 percent in Indianapolis. Washington, Nashville and Columbus, Ohio, all topped 70 percent.
(Speaking as a person who grew up in New Orleans, and who received regular updates on how Saints-crazy the city had gone, I have to wonder - what were the other 18 percent watching in the Crescent City?)
CBS has to be happy. Not only did the big game do tremendously well, but apparently 38.6 million watched "Undercover Boss" after the contest. Not a bad night for the Eye.
'Sweat lodge' guru charged in death
(CNN) -- Self-help guru James Ray was arrested Wednesday after a grand jury indictment charging him with three counts of manslaughter in the deaths of three participants at an Arizona sweat lodge ceremony he organized last year.
Yavapai County Sheriff Steve Waugh said Ray was arrested at his attorney's office in Prescott, Arizona, Wednesday afternoon.
He will eventually be housed at the Camp Verde Detention Center, the sheriff's office said, and his bond has been set at $5 million.
Ray is charged with the deaths of Kirby Brown, James Shore and Liz Neuman.
Ray's attorney, Luis Li, said that the charges were unjust and that Ray would be exonerated in court.
"This was a terrible accident -- but it was an accident, not a criminal act," Li said. "James Ray cooperated at every step of the way, providing information and witnesses to the authorities showing that no one could have foreseen this accident."
As many as 65 visitors, ranging in age from 30 to 60, attended Ray's "Spiritual Warrior" program at the Angel Valley Retreat Center near Sedona in October.
They spent as long as two hours inside a dome-like structure called a sweat lodge, which was covered with tarps and blankets and had hot rocks and water inside to create steam.
Three people died after spending time in the sweat lodge October 8 and nearly 20 others were sickened. Brown and Shore were pronounced dead shortly after they arrived at a local hospital, and Neuman died October 17 after being hospitalized since the incident.
Native Americans used sweat lodges in spiritual and physical purification ceremonies.
Ray is widely known for programs that claim to teach people how to create wealth from all aspects of their lives -- financially, mentally, physically and spiritually.
He has appeared on various national programs in the United States, including CNN's "Larry King Live."
Powell in favor of repealing 'don't ask, don't tell'
Colin Powell says he supports a new policy presented by the secretary of defense and the current Joint Chiefs chairman.
Washington (CNN) -- Colin Powell, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and former secretary of state, has come out in favor of eventually repealing the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gay and lesbian service members.
"In the almost seventeen years since the 'don't ask, don't tell' legislation was passed, attitudes and circumstances have changed," Powell said in a statement released by his office Wednesday.
Powell added that he believes the ultimate decision about the policy should be made by President Obama, the nation's commander in chief; the military's top brass; and Congress.
"I fully support the new approach presented to the Senate Armed Services Committee this week by Secretary of Defense Gates and Admiral Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. I will be closely following future hearings, the views of the Service Chiefs and the implementation work being done by the Department of Defense," Powell said.
Appearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, Gates and Mullen said the military is preparing for a repeal of the policy.
Mullen told senators it is his "personal belief" that "allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly [in the military] would be the right thing to do."
"The question before us is not whether the military prepares to make this change, but how we best prepare for it," Gates told senators Tuesday. "We have received our orders from the commander in chief, and we are moving out accordingly."
The ultimate decision about repealing the policy rests with Capitol Hill. Last week, during his first State of the Union address, Obama called on Congress to repeal "don't ask, don't tell."
The Human Rights Campaign, a civil rights group working to achieve equality for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people, hailed Powell's stance.
"General Powell has made clear that his position is about effectiveness in the military," Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solomonese said.
"His powerful voice for ending 'don't ask, don't tell' is a tipping point in favor of the brave men and women who are serving our nation in silence. The support of respected present and former military leaders brings us closer to repeal, signaling that we're moving forward and will get there soon."
Solomonese asked opponents of the repeal what they know that Powell, Gates and Mullen don't know.
"The truth is that there are no more excuses, the death knell for 'don't ask, don't tell' has been rung and now is the moment to send this law into the history books where it belongs."
Manslaughter charge 'imminent' against Michael Jackson's doctor
Source: World News
Prosecutors are ready to charge Michael Jackson's doctor with causing the star's death, it was reported last night.
Dr Conrad Murray could be facing prosecution for involuntary manslaughter as soon as today.
The physician has already admitted injecting Jackson with the powerful sedative propofol in the hours before his death and investigators allegedly believe his gross negligence was to blame for the tragedy.
Dr Conrad Murray could be charged with the involuntary manslaughter of Michael Jackson within days
Jackson died of heart attack caused by 'acute propofol intoxication', according to the Los Angeles coroner, who ruled the death was a homicide.
Website TMZ, which first reported Jackson's death last June, last night claimed Los Angeles County district attorney Steve Cooley is ready to go ahead with criminal action against Murray.
Jackson died after allegedly requesting an array of sedatives from Murray in Los Angeles after returning home following rehearsals for his shows at The O2 in London.
The doctor is thought to be the last person to see the star alive and has been almost the sole focus of police inquiries.
Officers who searched the star's home the day after he died found an array of drugs including valium and propofol, which is normally administered in hospital.
Beyonce Wins 6 Grammys, Sets Record
It's a tribute to the Grammys' success at becoming more a musical spectacle than an awards show that on the night she made history, Beyonce was just another face in the crowd.
Pop's reigning diva earned six Grammys on Sunday, more than any woman on a single night of the 52-year-old awards show. Her anthem "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)" was song of the year. But she didn't come onstage to accept that — her collaborators said she was prepping for a performance — and four of her other awards came during the non-televised pre-show.
The Grammys' four biggest awards were split four ways: 20-year-old country chanteuse Taylor Swift won album of the year; family rockers Kings of Leon won record of the year for "Use Somebody"; and the Zac Brown Band was named best new artist.
The Grammys in recent years have tried to emphasize the music more than the awards, particularly by pairing younger performers with veterans. This year, producers nailed it, with a double album's worth of memorable performances.
Among the best were the Black Eyed Peas, who sang "I Gotta Feeling" with a stage filled with what looked like dancing tomatoes and robots. Lady Gaga was predictably over the top, singing "Poker Face" and getting tossed into a bucket of fire before emerging singed and combining forces with an equally dirtied and bemused Elton John.
Green Day turned its "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" into a soaring beauty by joining the cast of a new musical based on its "American Idiot" album. Opera singer Andrea Bocelli held his own with a powerful, and heart-breaking rendition of "Bridge Over Troubled Water," done for the benefit of Haitian earthquake victims.
An acrobatic Pink turned her "Glitter in the Air" into a Cirque de Soleil-like performance, hanging suspended over the audience as she sang. "That was amazing," an impressed Keith Urban said after she was done.
Memorable pairings included the white-haired, white-bearded and white-hatted Leon Russell joining the Zac Brown Band; Maxwell and Robert Flack singing a silky-smooth "Where is the Love"; and Stevie Nicks, looking like a protective mom, joining Swift on her "You Belong With Me" and Fleetwood Mac's "Rhiannon."
An arresting performance of "Forever" and "Drop the World" with rappers Lil' Wayne, Drake and Eminem was rendered virtually incomprehensible by craters of silence inserted by CBS censors. And the 3-D tribute to Michael Jackson proved overrated, with Celine Dion, Jennifer Hudson, Usher, Smokey Robinson and Carrie Underwood looking like they'd joined a production number from "American Idol."
Swift, who won four Grammys, was the night's most visible winner. She beamed during her duet with Nicks, and seemed thrilled in her two acceptance speeches — while staying poised enough to thank her record company for letting her write her own songs, and express pride at bringing the album of the year prize to Nashville.
"This is for my dad," she said. "Thank you for all the times you said I could do whatever I wanted to do."
Beyonce was low-key during her one time onstage to accept her sixth trophy of he night, for best female pop vocal on the ballad "Halo." She offered thanks to her fans for their support.
Stagecraft was smooth; Lady Antebellum singer Hillary Scott, hit in the head by a falling curtain, calmly brushed it aside without missing a note.
Host Stephen Colbert followed the new model of awards show hosts: coming out in the beginning for a handful of jokes then disappearing — except to accept a Grammy of his own, for his surrealistic Christmas musical.
He bemoaned the absence of Susan Boyle from Grammy night.
"You may be the coolest people in the world," Colbert said, a barely amused
Jay-Z
looking on, "but this year your industry was saved by a 48-year-old Scottish cat lady in sensible shoes
2009-10 TSU Basketball Home Schedules
Women's Schedule Men's Schedule
Nov.9 Bluefield College (Exh) 7PM Nov. 3 Trevecca Nazarene (Exh) 7PM
Nov. 25 Cumberland 7PM Nov. 13 Sienna 7PM
Nov. 28 Lipscomb 7PM Dec. 3 Eastern Illinois 7:30PM
Dec. 3 Eastern Illinois 5:30PM Dec. 5 Southeast Missouri St 7:30PM
Dec. 5 Southeast Missouri St 5:30PM Dec. 15 Alabama A&M 7PM
Dec. 13 Alabama A&M 3PM Jan. 7 Murray State 7:30PM
Dec. 30 Belmont 7PM Jan. 9 UT Martin 7:30PM
Jan. 7 Murray State 5:30PM Jan. 28 Morehead State 7:30PM
Jan. 9 UT Martin 5:30PM Jan. 30 Eastern Kentucky 7:30PM
Jan. 28 Morehead State 5:30PM Feb. 2 Jacksonville State 7PM
Jan. 30 Eastern Kentucky 5:30PM Feb. 13 Austin Peay State 7:30PM
Feb. 13 Austin Peay State 5:30PM Feb. 15 Tennessee Tech 7:30PM
Feb. 15 Tennessee Tech 5:30PM
Feb. 20 Jacksonville State 3:00PM DATES/TIMES SUBJECT TO CHANGE
ALL GAMES CENTRAL |
