The News Of …

Randy Moss (the former and perhaps soon-to-be-again NFL receiver) made a couple of entertaining appearances on the live video site Ustream Monday, announcing his plans to return to football and on least one occasion comparing himself to Calvin Johnson.
“Am I better deep threat than Calvin Johnson? I don’t know” – Moss said in a Monday night video, according to MassLive.com. “That’s going to be interesting to see this year.”
Moss retired from the NFL after a rocky 2010 season when he played for three teams (the Patriots, Vikings and Titans), caught 28 passes and was both traded (by New England) and released (by Minnesota).
Johnson led the NFL in receiving yards and scored 16 touchdowns last year, seven shy of Moss’ record total for a receiver in 2007.
Lions offensive coordinator Scott Linehan, who spent three seasons with Moss in Minnesota, was asked about the parallels between Johnson and Moss last October.
“Where the comparison is, is that they were both just very physically gifted players that have imposing size and they also have the ability to attack every part of the field” – Linehan said. “And you can use those guys in certain situations as a go-to weapon, and we certainly did in Minnesota and we’re doing our best to do it here. It’s fun to watch him grow and develop.”
Moss goes by the name “Otismoss” on Ustream, though his most recent chats don’t appear to be archived.

Randy Moss.

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The Whitney Houston cause of death still remains unknown a day after the superstar’s death in a Beverly Hills hotel room. The Whitney Houston autopsy results have been completed, but the report has been put under a security hold due to the ongoing investigation into her death. Toxicology tests from the singer’s death could take from six to eight weeks.
Little is known so far about the last moments before Whitney Houston died on Saturday. According to various reports – Houston was allegedly found unresponsive in the bathtub of her hotel room around 3:30 p.m. on Saturday by one of her bodyguards, who immediately began attempting CPR. A frantic call was put into Beverly Hills 911, but emergency respondents were unable to revive Houston. The singer was not taken to the hospital and her body was not removed from the scene until Sunday morning, implying that she was already beyond all hopes of resuscitation when emergency personnel arrived at her hotel room.
The Whitney Houston autopsy was completed on Sunday, but no official results have been released by the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office. According to Deputy Coroner Ed Winter – no foul play is suspected and the autopsy results were inconclusive. The autopsy report has been placed on a “security hold” at the request of the Beverly Hills Police Department. This means no further information regarding the Whitney Houston cause of death or condition of her body when she died will be released until the investigation into her death is completed.
Because of Houston’s past history of substance abuse and recent reports of erratic behavior in the days before her death, there has been a storm of speculation that she may have suffered a drug overdose. Because she was allegedly found in the bathtub of her hotel room, there have also been questions about the possibility she may have accidentally drowned. The L. A. County Coroner’s office had refused to comment on any possible cause of death. Various sources have reported, however, that police found a handful of medication bottles of various types in the singer’s hotel rooms. Family members have allegedly said Houston was taking Xanax, which can cause sleepiness in combination with alcohol.

Whitney Houston.

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Whitney Houston died this afternoon … a rep for the singer announced. She was 48.
Our sources tell us a member of Whitney’s entourage found her in her 4th-floor room at the Beverly Hilton hotel … and called hotel security – who then dialed 911. When paramedics arrived Houston was found unresponsive.
We’re told police arrived to the scene within minutes and fire was already there on an unrelated call. According to our sources, paramedics performed CPR but it did not work and she was pronounced dead at 3:55 PM.
Our sources say there were no obvious signs of foul play, but BH PD detectives have begun a full investigation. We’re told she was ID’ed by family and friends.
The singer famously battled drug addiction for years (see related links below).
Houston was seen out in Hollywood Thursday night for a Grammy party … and she did not look well (below). She even briefly took the mic and performed a song while she was there – what would become her last performance.
Houston won two Emmy Awards, six Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards during her record-breaking career. Her album “Whitney” was the first female album to ever debut at #1 on the Billboard Charts. She has sold 200 million albums worldwide.
Houston had one child (Bobbi Kristina) with husband Bobby Brown. Houston and Brown were married from 1992-2007.

Whitney Houston.

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Talk about a big-name merger.
Boston Red Sox third baseman Kevin Youkilis is engaged to marry one of the sisters of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, according to a Red Sox team source.
Youkilis first met Julie Brady (who is one of three Brady sisters) at a Patriots party after the team was knocked out of the 2010 playoffs – according to the Boston Herald, which first reported the story.
She is a schoolteacher with a 5-year-old daughter and has never been married, according to the newspaper. In 2008, Youkilis had a marriage ceremony with Enza Sambataro, who had dated Ben Affleck, but the pair reportedly never filed the necessary paperwork to make the union legal. They split up two years later.
Sources tell the Herald that Youkilis was at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis to watch the Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI.
“He’s really lucky” – an unnamed friend of Youkilis told the Herald. “She’s a really nice person, but all the Bradys are nice people.”

Kevin Youkilis.

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Roland Martin (a political contributor to CNN) was suspended after tweets he sent during the Super Bowl sparked complaints from GLAAD and other groups that claimed the tweets promoted anti-LGBTQ violence. As Lisa de Moraes reported -
After three days of “careful consideration” and increasing pressure, CNN suspended political contributor Roland Martin for a series of Super Bowl tweets that GLAAD and other groups condemned as homophobic and said promoted anti-LGBT violence.
“Roland Martin’s tweets were regrettable and offensive” – CNN said in a statement Wednesday afternoon in announcing Martin’s suspension. “Language that demeans is inconsistent with the values and culture of our organization, and is not tolerated. We have been giving careful consideration to this matter, and Roland will not be appearing on our air for the time being.”
The Time Warner-owned cable news network did not say for how long Martin had been suspended or provide any other details. His last appearance was Tuesday night on CNN’s special election coverage.
“CNN today took a strong stand against anti-LGBT violence and language that demeans any community” – the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation said Wednesday. The National Black Justice Coalition — the nation’s largest black LGBT civil-rights organization — said it was “encouraged by CNN’s stance against language that incites anti-gay violence.”
Martin posted his tweets during Sunday’s Super Bowl. That same day, GLAAD posted an online petition calling for his dismissal from CNN. At press time Wednesday, the petition had more than 7,500 signatures.
CNN had been feeling the heat over Martin since the game, when he tweeted that he thought a New England Patriot seen on the screen dressed all in pink needed “a visit from #teamwhipdat[expletive].”

Roland Martin.‎

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On Super Bowl Sunday, Roland Martin of CNN issued some homophobic tweets that got him in trouble with gay organizations and this blog. CNN stayed silent on the matter, until just moments ago, when it issued this statement -
“Roland Martin’s tweets were regrettable and offensive. Language that demeans is inconsistent with the values and culture of our organization, and is not tolerated. We have been giving careful consideration to this matter, and Roland will not be appearing on our air for the time being.”
CNN took its time, but it clearly reached a strong decision here. What Martin had tweeted (advocating beatings for men who’d enjoyed the David Beckham underwear ad shown during the Super Bowl plus the same for a New England Patriot clad in a pink suit) was the equivalent of cheerleading for violence against gays.

Roland Martin.

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Country singer Randy Travis has apologized after being arrested on a charge of public intoxication outside a North Texas church.
Denton County sheriff’s spokesman Tom Reedy says police in the town of Sanger arrested Travis early Monday after spotting a vehicle parked in front of a church and finding an open bottle of wine and Travis smelling of alcohol.
Reedy says Travis (whose hits include “Forever and Ever, Amen”) was brought to the Denton County jail about 1:30 a.m. and released six hours later.
The singer (who lives in the small town of Tioga near Sanger) apologized in a statement to The Associated Press “for what resulted following an evening of celebrating the Super Bowl.”
Travis (who launches a concert tour Friday) says he’s “committed to being responsible and accountable.”

Randy Travis.

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There are scores of people talking about not wanting to watch this year’s Super Bowl, for one reason or another. On one hand, most of the people I hear from are bitter fans of the San Francisco 49ers who just want nothing to do with football until they can see the red and gold in action again. On the other hand, the rematch between the New England Patriots and New York Giants simply isn’t compelling.
But if there was one reason that you absolutely should pay attention to this year’s Super Bowl … if there was one thing that should draw your attention like a shining beacon of watchability, it should be … Madonna. Yes, the Queen of Pop in all her splendor is about to take the stage and wow her audience by pushing the boundaries with hard-hitting lyrics, being a polarizing religious figure and, of course, her diverse musical arsenal.
Also – it’s apparently 1984.
Much like it was the early 70′s in 2010, the mid-seventies in 2009, the early 80′s in 2008, the late 80′s in 2007 and the late 70′s in 2006. And because 2011 actually featured a somewhat recent band, we’ll just pretend that Usher and Slash were still relevant, and that the Black Eyed Peas weren’t the most terrible hip-hop group of the last ten years. And that’s saying something.

Super Bowl.

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Mitt Romney confirmed his status as the prohibitive front-runner in the GOP presidential race Saturday with a win in the Nevada caucuses.
But Romney’s apparently large margin of victory may say more about his opponents than his own candidacy.
While Romney’s first-place finish was never really in doubt, the lack of traction from the two men vying to be the top non-Romney candidate in the race was perhaps the biggest development.
Newt Gingrich, whose campaign was riding high after its win in the South Carolina primary just two weeks ago, has fallen quickly since then.
Almost instantly after the South Carolina contest January 21, Romney’s campaign regained its position atop the polls and delivered a double-digit win in Florida.
Four days later in Nevada, he obliterated Gingrich.
Now, the fact that Gingrich finished so far behind Romney might seem forgivable. This is a state, after all, where eventual 2008 nominee John McCain finished a distant third to Romney, behind even Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), with 13 percent.
Gingrich still may finish behind Paul himself. But while McCain didn’t seriously compete in the Silver State four years ago, Gingrich has been in Nevada since Wednesday, and his performance has been pretty disastrous. Basically every day this week, there has been something to suggest a campaign that’s not really ready for prime time: be it scheduling snafus, incorrectly leaking that Donald Trump would endorse his campaign, or the candidate apparently being unaware of a pretty significant jobs report on Friday.
And in fact, this is the second state where that’s happened.

Mitt Romney.

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Actor Ben Gazzara (known for his brooding tough-guy presence in dozens of films, television shows and stage productions over his long career) died of pancreatic cancer on Friday at a Manhattan hospital – his lawyer said. He was 81.
A three-time Tony nominee for his stage work, Gazzara made his big break into films with his role as an accused killer in Otto Preminger’s 1959 courtroom drama “Anatomy of a Murder.”
He went on to work with numerous high-profile Hollywood directors, including John Cassavetes, with whom he collaborated on several films (including the 1976 gangster drama “The Killing of a Chinese Bookie”).

Ben Gazzara.

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