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Daniel Wang (a 13-year-old from Gurnee who is battling a brain tumor) wrote a letter to televangelist Joel Osteen last month after hearing an inspiring sermon on his weekly broadcast.
Osteen told the story of a painted vase that went through fire and trials but came out more beautiful than before. The message touched the teenager, who was dealing with trials of his own, as he went through treatment.
On Saturday evening, Wang sat in front of the White Sox dugout at Cellular One Field, a Bible in his hand and a smile on his face, as Osteen hugged him briefly before striding to the center of the field for “A Night of Hope,” an event filled with messages from Osteen and his wife, Victoria, brimming with positive energy.
“God can breathe new life, God is a resurrection God” – Osteen told the crowd estimated at 37,000.
“You wouldn’t be alive unless God had another victory in store for you. You need to get ready, because jubilee is on the way” – he told them.
It’s a message that rang true for many in the crowd — which erupted in applause and cheers throughout the event — as well as for Wang.
“Every time I go [to treatment], I say no more, but he makes it easier” – Wang said. “I’m glad I had to go through this, because it was God’s plan for me to meet Joel.”
Osteen’s message has inspired millions around the country and in Houston, where his multimillion-dollar ministry has its headquarters.
“He’s got such a warm, positive message. It’s infectious” – said Mike Jasinski, 29, of Ingleside. “You can’t help smiling when he starts talking.”

Joel Osteen.

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Lucille Ball was born a century ago today, long before the medium that made her a household name. Ball was born August 6, 1911 in Jamestown, New York. She died at the age of 77 on April 26, 1989.
And in between, what a life she led. Her mother allowed Ball to pursue show business only as a distraction from a boyfriend who was a known gangster’s son. She was hired and fired by many of the big names on Broadway, including Earl Carroll and Florenz Ziegfeld. In Hollywood, Ball was known as “Queen of the B’s,” for her many small roles in ‘B’ pictures. Still, she persevered.
She eloped with Cuban musician Desi Arnaz after a first marriage ended in divorce, thus setting the stage for “I Love Lucy” and the production company Desilu.
Zany Lucy Ricardo became for many Americans a representation of Lucille Ball. And while Ball certainly had that side to her, she was more brainy than zany. She and Arnaz wisely retained ownership of “I Love Lucy”, and the show has been aired on television – to this day – without ever going off the air. Even after their marriage dissolved, and I Love Lucy ended, the company was responsible for shows such as “Our Miss Brooks”, “The Untouchables”, “Star Trek”, and “Mission: Impossible”. A number of other hits, including “My Three Sons”, “Make Room for Daddy”, “The Dick Van Dyke Show”, “The Andy Griffith Show”, and “I Spy”, were filmed at Desilu Studios.
Ball received numerous honors during her lifetime and after her death, in 1989, after heart surgery.

Lucille Ball.

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Annette Charles, best known for her role as the sexy dancer from ‘Grease’ that woos John Travolta from away from Olivia Newton John, died in her home from cancer.
According to TMZ: “Annette had recently started having difficulty breathing … and when she went to the doctor she learned that she had a cancerous tumor in one of her lungs.”
Mary Cardona, who spoke with Access Hollywood, confirmed that her daughter died in her home in Los Angeles after being hospitalized for one month. This is the second ‘Grease’ star this year that that has died – following Jeff Conway’s death in May (who was known for his role as Kenickie).
After her dance career and role on the big screen, Charles went on to teach speech at California State University.
Annette’s role as the villain Cha Cha is well-known in the film Grease as well as her spectacular dance moves with John Travolta during the hand-jive scene.

Annette Charles.

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A few thoughts about Bubba Smith, who died yesterday at 66. He may be best remembered today as an actor and television pitchman. But he made his name on the football field, first at Michigan State, then as a Baltimore Colt. Andy Barall writes about pro football history for The Fifth Down.
In the late 1960′s and early 1970′s, there wasn’t a more imposing sight in football than Charles Aaron Smith, better known as Bubba. Before a terrible knee injury in 1972, Smith was one of the N.F.L.’s best all-around 4-3 defensive ends. When he wanted to, he could dominate.
Smith was a two-time all-American for the powerhouse Michigan State teams of the mid-60′s. The Baltimore Colts, with a pick acquired in a trade with the expansion New Orleans Saints, made him the first overall selection of the 1967 draft. Three of his college teammates: Clint Jones, George Webster and Gene Washington, were also among the first eight picks that year.
Smith was officially listed at 6-7 and 265 pounds, but he probably played at much closer to 300, especially early in his career. He was an unusual combination of size, speed, power and quickness. Having such long arms didn’t hurt either, particularly when the quarterback tried to throw to his right.
Because offenses usually lined up with the tight end on his side, Smith, at left defensive end, had to play the run first. On passing downs, he wasn’t just a bull rusher. He was fast enough to beat the offensive tackle wide to the outside and had good enough lateral movement to beat him with a quick move to the inside. Once that tackle was slightly off-balance, it was usually all over. The offense frequently had to keep its fullback in to give the tackle help. That allowed the linebackers to get greater depth in pass coverage.

Bubba Smith.

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While Danica Patrick is reportedly in the final stages of finalizing a deal to move full time to NASCAR in 2012, many questions still remain about her racing future if she was to complete the transition to stock cars from the IZOD IndyCar Series.
Currently, Patrick is running a limited schedule for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s JR Motorsports team in the Nationwide Series. When asked prior to the Brickyard 400 about Patrick making the full-time move, Earnhardt said that he had a good feeling about the contract negotiations.
“I feel confident that she’s content where she is and happy with what we’re doing” – Earnhardt said. “I think things are looking positive for us to put something together.”
But Earnhardt Jr. doesn’t field a Sprint Cup Series team.
So what are her Sprint Cup Series options?
JR Motorsports is affiliated with Hendrick Motorsports, but Junior has shown no interest – at least not yet – in fielding a Cup team. Hendrick is at the four-car limit — Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Earnhardt and Kasey Kahne (starting in 2012) — so it can’t field another car. That leaves Stewart-Haas Racing which, according to The Associated Press report, could field a car for Patrick on a limited basis in 2012.
That possibility is in contrast to what Stewart said back in May.
“To the best of my knowledge, I haven’t heard that she’s doing anything in the Cup Series yet” – Stewart said. “She’s learning in the Nationwide deal.”
He also said “anybody that’s got a Cup team that would have the availability would jump at the chance to do something with her. Obviously she is a great talent. … I hope we [hear from her]. You would be crazy not to entertain an offer like that and an opportunity for her to drive a race car for you.”

Danica Patrick.

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The total number of votes on the historic debt-limit bill was 430. One vote was more memorable than any of the others.
Seven months after she was shot in the head, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords returned to the House on Monday to cast her vote. Thunderous applause and emotional hugs from her Republican and Democratic colleagues greeted her.
Giffords’ entrance, with just minutes remaining in the vote, surprised lawmakers and added even more drama to a high-stakes day. The Arizona Democrat responded to the attention with a smile, and she mouthed ‘thank you’ several times.
“We were just hugging. Girl hugs” – said Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi. Other colleagues, surprised and joyful, made their way to greet her as she was enveloped in a cluster of Democratic lawmakers.
Giffords used one hand to greet some, the other by her side. Her hair was dark and closely cropped, and she wore glasses. Her image was quite different from the one Americans saw seven months ago when she was sworn in for a third term by House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.
“It was one of the most thrilling moments for all of us to see this real heroine return to the House” – Pelosi said, “and to do so at such a dramatic time.”
Giffords cast her vote for the bill, which passed 269-161.
“She is a model for the attitude that we should all have because she is tenacious and she is relentless in her love for America. … You were missed and we’re glad to have you back” – said Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas.
Giffords exited the House chamber by the east door, leaning heavily on an aide as she walked with obvious difficulty. Her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, accompanied her. Police had cleared a path through a mob of reporters, and Giffords did not respond to questions and greetings.

Gabrielle Giffordss.

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Massachusetts state police say a New Hampshire man has drowned on Cape Cod.
Police say they responded early Sunday morning to Cliff Pond in Nickerson State Park in Brewster on a report of a drowning. State police and Brewster police and firefighters pulled the 58-year-old Manchester – N.H. – man from the water.
Police say he entered the water from an inflatable boat.
Authorities did not identify him until his family is notified.
He was declared dead at Cape Cod Hospital.
A 58-year-old Manchester – N.H. – man died Sunday while boating at Nickerson State Park, according to the Massachusetts State Police.
Police did not release the name of the man, who apparently suffered a medical emergency about 7:35 a.m. Sunday and fell out of an inflatable boat into Cliff Pond at the park.
He was taken to the shore by another person before emergency responders arrived, a state police press release said.
He was pronounced dead at Cape Cod Hospital, the release said.

Cape Cod.

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After dating for five years, star celebs Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo got married on a private island. They kept helicopters and planes away by pulling a fireworks permit, surprising the paparazzi who hoped to fly in with telephoto lens cameras to spy on the celebrity couple on their special day.
The footage of the celebs private wedding ceremony aired on Saturday, July 30th to the delight of pop music fans familiar with the former teen idol. Lachey used to be married to actress and singer Jessica Simpson and the two were wed for a short time. They actually allowed cameras to film their first year of marriage for a reality television series called ‘Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica.’ The publicity stunt proved to be a romance killer and they divorced back in 2006 shortly after the show ended.
Vanessa Minnillo was a former Miss Teen USA who was also a music business insider. As a host on MTV, the pretty and smart brunette stood in sharp contrast to the ditzy blonde bombshell Jessica Simpson. She and Nick Lachey dated as a live-in celebrity couple for years, and the former boy band star from ’98 Degrees’ seems to be exceptionally happy with his new bride.
Was Jessica happy to hear Nick was marrying Vanessa Minnillo? Suffice it to say she countered with an engagement announcement of her own that came out shortly after Nick made his announcement.
To keep their wedding private, they had to go to extremes. There was Hollywood fanfare of the modest type as the two got married on a private island owned by billionaire Richard Branson with TLC cameras rolling for the exclusive. At the time, only 35 guests were present. Their wedding planner also handled the exclusive wedding of Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez as well as A-List reality TV star Khloe Kardashian – who wed NBA player Lamar Odom.

Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo.

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UFC President Dana White slipped backed into old habits when talking about Saturday’s Strikeforce main event between Fedor Emelianenko and Dan Henderson. Clearly forgetting that he was now ultimately responsible for promoting the fight between two legends of the sport, he explained what he thought was the problem with Emelianenko’s third fight in the Strikeforce cage -
“So I actually think this fight, as far as Fedor is concerned, it’s a lose-lose for him. If he knocks out Dan Henderson, he knocks out a 185-pounder. If he gets knocked out, he just got knocked out by a 185-pounder.”
White is hardly alone in holding such an opinion, with many people seeing this is as an entertaining fight with little on the line for either fighter except bragging rights. However this reading of the fight is wrong for Fedor Emelianenko and Dan Henderson are in fact fighting for their future at the top table of MMA. With Emelianenko having only one fight left on his contract with Strikeforce while Henderson’s deal with Strikeforce is up after this fight they need to impress if they’re to secure the best possible deal from Zuffa.
Emelianenko is coming into the fight on the back off two defeats and a third defeat may just force Strikeforce to cut their ties with “The Last Emperor”. While he’s by far the biggest star in the promotion his contract is prohibitively expensive if the organization cannot feature him in the main event of its shows. While excuses were made for his losses to Fabricio Werdum and Antonio Silva, a defeat at the hands of a man he outweighs by almost twenty pounds would seemingly confirm that Emelianenko was yesterday’s man and much like a Mirko Cro Cop, Wanderlei Silva or Antonio Rodrigo Nogueria no longer capable of going toe-to-toe with the best in the world. A victory on the other hand would set up marquee matches with either the winner of the Grand Prix or even his former nemesis Werdum. Indeed if M-1 Global were willing to compromise with the UFC we may finally get the chance to see Emelianenko inside the Octagon.

Fedor Emelianenko.

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For original MTV VJ Mark Goodman, the news that music network is celebrating its 30th anniversary this weekend is hard to fathom. “It’s freaking weird” – he tells Rolling Stone. “I’ve lived like three lifetimes since then. It’s just so long ago, and yet it also seems like yesterday. It’s a weird number – and it’s hard to believe that we’re still talking about this 30 years down the road.”
MTV launched on August 1st, 1981 at 12:01 a.m. The first images broadcast were the launch of the Apollo 11, followed by a video for the Buggles song ‘Video Killed The Radio Star.’ The network has gone through countless permutations since then, but this weekend VH1 Classic will commemorate MTV’s founding with a three-day marathon of footage from the 1980′s, including a re-broadcast of the network’s first hour, starting Saturday at 6 a.m.
Mark Goodman was a 28-year-old disc jockey when he auditioned for the new network in 1981. “During one of the auditions I had to interview Robert Morton – who went on to produce David Letterman’s show – as he pretended to be Billy Joel” – says Goodman. “He was just being a total fucking asshole on purpose to make it the worst possible interview. In another round, I had to talk to the audience about the Eagles, whose photos were pasted up on a poster board on an easel.”
In the earliest days, MTV was only available in a limited number of cities. When they launched, the VJs had to travel to New Jersey to watch it because even New York cable companies didn’t offer it. “Part of the job was to hang out with cable operators and convince them to pick up MTV” – Goodman says. “Within six months we started getting these stories back from small towns in the Midwest and in the South where people were going into record stores and asking for the Buggles, who had been off the shelves for about three years by 1981. I also remember doing an appearance in Cheyenne, Wyoming at a record store where thousands of people showed up. I said: ‘What’s going on?’ They said: ‘You.’ I was completely blown away, and I said: ‘Okay, it’s working.’”

MTV logo.

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