Watch the Fighter
A look at the early years of boxer "Irish" Micky Ward and his brother who helped train him before going pro in the mid 1980s.
Part 2
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-- President Barack Obama sketched out his vision and goals in an era of divided government as he spoke to the nation in his State of the Union address Tuesday night. Here are the highlights:
ECONOMY
Obama hailed the signs of economic recovery - a booming stock market and a jump in corporate profits. "Now that the worst of the recession is over, we have to confront the fact that our government spends more than it takes in. That is not sustainable," he said. Obama proposed a five-year freeze on nondefense spending that would reduce the deficit by more than $400 billion over the next decade. He agreed to work with lawmakers on deeper cuts in the budget, vowed to veto bills with lawmakers' pet projects and called for simplifying the tax code. He also asked Congress to eliminate the billions in subsidies to oil companies and tax breaks for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans.
INNOVATION
Obama called for investing in biomedical research, information technology and clean energy technology. Among his goals: 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2015 and 80 percent of U.S. electricity from clean energy sources, including nuclear and clean coal as well as solar and wind. "We are the nation that put cars in driveways and computers in offices, the nation of Edison and the Wright brothers, of Google and Facebook. In America, innovation doesn't just change our lives. It's how we make a living," Obama said.
HEALTH CARE
Obama strongly defended his health care overhaul law, now under siege from Republicans. He expressed a willingness to improve the law, including eliminating an onerous bookkeeping requirement for small businesses. He also indicated he was open to GOP ideas on medical malpractice reform to bring down costs. "So instead of refighting the battles of the last two years, let's fix what needs fixing and move forward," he said.
FOREIGN POLICY
In a speech largely devoted to domestic issues, Obama touched on foreign policy, saying the U.S. commitment to Iraq has been kept and the war is coming to an end. In Afghanistan, the drawdown of U.S. forces will begin in July as the American troops have captured Taliban strongholds and trained more Afghan security forces. "Our purpose is clear - by preventing the Taliban from re-establishing a stranglehold over the Afghan people, we will deny al-Qaida the safe haven that served as a launching pad for 9/11," Obama said. He said the U.S. stands with the people of Tunisia and all people striving for democracy.
MILITARY
Obama marked the end of the ban on gays serving openly in the military. "Starting this year, no American will be forbidden from serving the country they love because of who they love," the president said. Citing the change, he called on colleges to open their doors to military recruiters and ROTC.
GOVERNMENT REORGANIZATION
Obama scoffed at a government in which the Interior Department oversees salmon in fresh water and Commerce handles salmon in saltwater. "And I hear it gets even more complicated once they're smoked," he joked. Obama promised to merge, consolidate and reorganize the federal government, a proposal that he would submit to Congress for a vote.
POLITICS
Obama acknowledged the lingering divisions from a fierce election and pleaded with Republicans and Democrats to work together, especially as they gathered just weeks after the shooting rampage in Tucson that seriously wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Many lawmakers ignored party lines and sat together for Obama's address. "What comes of this moment will be determined not by whether we can sit together tonight, but whether we can work together tomorrow," Obama said.
Singer Allegedly Married Shannon Brown In Nov.
6:00AM ET January 19th, 2011
Contributor : Monica Coleman
A Rocky Williform Company
Apparently, R&B singer Monica and Los Angeles Lakers guard Shannon Brown have been married since at least November. Monica moved to Los Angeles to be with Brown this past fall, but there are rumors swirling that they had already been married in front of the their parents.
According to SandraRose, Monica went into the Clayton County office in suburban Atlanta two weeks ago to change her last name to 'Brown.'
According to reports, the couple were secretly married on November 22, 2010. There will reportedly be another 'official' wedding for family and friends (again) in Los Angeles in June.
We want to congratulate the happy couple, but--what's up with all the secrecy?
After nearly two years off the air and in limbo "The Game" has returned to TV, giving BET a big ratings boost and fans another chance to share the highs and lows of a football wife and her athlete husband.
The show premiered its fourth season Tuesday night on BET after a three season run on the CW that was canceled in 2009. "The Game" set a ratings record for BET, which said 7.7 million viewers tuned in, making it the No. 1 original telecast on the network, and No. 2 of all-time, behind the 2009 BET Awards, which had 10.2 million viewers and took place three days after the death of Michael Jackson.
"We're coming out hitting hard," said executive producer Salim Akil. "We really hope it opens BET up to more voices, to more people being able to come in and pitch shows and have a variety of different scripted shows on the network."
"BET has been absolutely top-notch in the way that they've been handling this, from allowing us to be creatively free ... to the advertising to now having the cast at TCA," continued Akil, referring to the recent Television Critics Association gathering in Pasadena, Calif. "All of the things that we didn't get over there at CW, we're getting at BET."
While BET hasn't announced a fifth season, "The Game" is helping the network change its image. The show is the first scripted series for BET, which also premiered its own original show, "Let's Stay Together," right after "The Game" Tuesday night; 4.4 million viewers tuned in to watch "Together," which airs at 10:30 p.m./9:30 p.m. Eastern.
Coby Bell, who stars as football star-turned-sports broadcaster Jason Pitts on "The Game," says BET is taking on a new and positive direction.
"This is the beginning of a change," he said. "We're going to be the first (step)."
Along with the Queen Latifah-produced "Let's Stay Together" and "The Game," BET is also putting together a show called "Reed Between the Lines," starring Tracee Ellis Ross ("Girlfriends").
When the CW canceled "The Game" in 2009, no other network showed interest in picking up the show. Akil said it was even tough booking meetings to pitch the series.
"When there wasn't maybe a couple of calls (returned) at least for a meeting, I was sort of surprised," he said.
His wife, Mara Brock Akil, is the show's creator and co-executive producer (along with Kelsey Grammer); she also executive produced "Girlfriends" with Grammer and is a consulting producer on ABC's "Cougartown." After "The Game" was canceled, she returned to the CW to present an hourlong version of "The Game" and once it was clear that the network was still uninterested, the Akils — as well as the show's cast — thought the game was over.
"I'm usually extremely optimistic," said Tia Mowry, who stars as Melanie Barnett-Davis, a medical school graduate and wife of football star Derwin Davis (Pooch Hall). "I had to let it go. I was like, 'Melanie has died.'"
The new season of "The Game" picks up two years after it ended. The relationship for newlyweds Melanie and Derwin is still rocky since Derwin recently had a child with another woman. Malik Wright (Hosea Chanchez) is second string to Derwin, who is now the San Diego Sabers franchise player. Tasha Mack (Wendy Raquel Robinson), Malik's mother and former manager, is guiding Derwin's career. And Kelly (Brittany Daniel) is still separated from Pitts and has her own reality series called "Ex-Baller's Wife."
"We offer the fans real-life stories that they can relate to," Hall said.
The show's resurrection is mainly due to those fans, who long waited for the show's return, watching reruns on BET and petitioning online.
"It's so crazy how these fans are so embedded and ... attached to these story lines," Mowry said. "They actually think Melanie and Derwin are real."
The show moved its location from Los Angeles to Atlanta, shooting the new season's 13 episodes in a "guerrilla" style.
"No rehearsals, no run-throughs," Chanchez explained. "You had to really trust your director, writers and fellow actors."
But trusting one another was easy for the cast members. During the show's hiatus, they all kept in touch: The women had spa days and Chanchez even spent Christmas and New Year holidays at Robinson's home.
"We kept in touch and I think that's an important factor to why the show came back," Mowry said. "We all would go out, hang out, eat and just chill."
Though the cast is celebrating now, Mowry said they still remember the show's more challenging times when cancellation loomed like a storm cloud over the CW set.
"People always came to me, they were asking me questions ... 'Tia, what do you think?'" Mowry said, recalling the cancellation whispers. "I'm like, 'Dude, we're wearing the same clothes on every episode and they've cut our production costs.' I just knew it (was over)."
But the show's producers and the cast say the return is more than just another paycheck. They say it's to show the world that there needs to be a greater minority presence on television.
"As a person and a viewer in any art form, you want to see yourself represented," Akil said.
From No. 1-12, here are the quarterbacks in the playoffs.
1. Tom Brady(notes), New England Patriots – He is the lord of the rings in this group with three. If not for a miracle catch against the New York Giants, he’d likely have a fourth … and a perfect season. Brady is an amazing combination of toughness (no one hangs in the pocket against a tough rush better than him right now) and accuracy. While he didn’t come close to matching the record 50 touchdown passes he threw in the 2007 season, this might have been his best season when you consider all the changes around him, from the two tight ends to cutting Randy Moss(notes) (and replacing him with Deion Branch(notes)) to dealing with the loss of RB Kevin Faulk(notes).
[Photos: New England’s Tom Brady]
2. Ben Roethlisberger(notes), Pittsburgh Steelers – OK, before all you Peyton Manning(notes) fans get seriously angry and start sending vile messages – oh yeah, you Colts fans, you’re way too polite to do that. That’s why I love you guys. Anyway, if this is based purely on the postseason, Roethlisberger and Manning are basically carbon copies in terms of stats. Roethlisberger has an 87.2 rating in the playoffs. Manning is at 87.6. Roethlisberger has thrown 12 TD passes and seven interceptions in his past eight postseason games while Manning is 12-6 during his past seven. One big difference: there’s that matter of one title more for Roethlisberger. Additionally, Roethlisberger can take a hit, extend plays with his combination of toughness and mobility and get the ball down field. He’s also a better player in the elements. When the weather is bad and the wind starts howling, Roethlisberger is pretty much the same guy. Manning is not. That said, I’m splitting a pretty fine hair in this situation.
[Photos: Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger]
3. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts – Lots of New York fans this week have been debating whether it’s better for the Jets to face a healthy Chiefs team or a beat-up Indianapolis. The Chiefs are a nice team and present their fair share of problems, particularly with running back Jamaal Charles(notes). But seriously, can you really say you’d rather face Manning? Maybe some people could convince themselves of that, but I’m not one of them. Manning is too good to want to mess with, even under the most favorable conditions. Sure, some people have said Manning is a choker in the postseason. Most of those people also think 18K gold is unacceptable.
[Photos: Indianapolis’ Peyton Manning]
4. Drew Brees(notes), New Orleans Saints – The reigning champion played one of the most brilliant games in Super Bowl history last season when he outdueled Manning for the title in Miami. Brees completed 32 of 39 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns. It was part of a postseason in which Brees posted a three-game rating of 117.0, threw eight touchdowns and had zero interceptions. Stunning stuff. He also has a career playoff rating of more than 100 in six games. That said, Brees is coming off a questionable season where he had a career-high 22 interceptions. That included one ugly one on a forced play at Atlanta in the second-to-last game. Brees is still one of the best out there, so this is a bit of nit-picking. But when rating guys of this caliber, one must pick nits.
[Photos: New Orleans’ Drew Brees]
5. Michael Vick(notes), Philadelphia Eagles – Vick is the most talked about, compelling player of the NFL from both a performance standpoint and a social perspective. When he plays, it is impossible to take your eyes off of him. While that was true earlier in his career, there is an important difference. Back then, Vick was alternating between spectacular and spectacularly awful depending on the moment. From 2001-07, Vick’s quarterback rating never topped the pedestrian 81.6, yet he made the Pro Bowl three times based on his highlight-reel talent. Now, Vick is coming off a season when he posted a 100.2 rating and was a legit MVP candidate after harnessing all of his talents. Combined with DeSean Jackson(notes), Jeremy Maclin(notes) and LeSean McCoy(notes), Vick and the Eagles have the most explosive offense in the playoffs. Beyond football, Vick is a focal point of all sorts of discussions ranging from redemption for convicted felons to race to what is fair punishment for a crime.
[Photos: Philadelphia’s Michael Vick]
6. Matt Ryan(notes), Atlanta Falcons – Right behind Vick is the man who replaced him in Atlanta. In his third season, Ryan has established himself as one of the best quarterbacks in the league at end-game decisions and performance. He is one of the key reasons that the Falcons are 14-6 in games decided by less than a touchdown over the past three years, including 6-2 this season. Ryan is a classic pocket passer with great accuracy. More than that, he’s a great decision-maker, as evidenced by his 28-9 TD-interception margin this season. If there is a problem with his game, it’s his over-reliance on the dink-and-dunk passing game. He averaged a career-low 6.5 yards per attempt this season. Some of that is the lack of a great No. 2 wide receiver. Some if it is the lack of Ryan taking more shots downfield. Either way, it’s dangerously short of effective for playoff success.
[Photos: Atlanta’s Matt Ryan]
7. Aaron Rodgers(notes), Green Bay Packers – Rodgers posted his second straight season with a rating of better than 100 as he continues to make people forget about Brett Favre(notes). In fact, Rodgers has better ratings than Favre ever did with the Packers. That said, Rodgers better deliver in the postseason. He has a great chance in the playoff opener at Philadelphia. Then again, the Packers need to do a better job of protection, specifically by getting him a better running game. That’s not going to happen right now, but it better be high on the offseason priority list. Otherwise, those two concussions Rodgers suffered this season are going to multiply in a hurry.
[Photos: Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers]
8. Jay Cutler(notes), Chicago Bears – Going into the season finale, Cutler had posted the best rating of his career, but then threw a couple of interceptions. He still played very well this season as he meshed well with brilliant offensive coordinator Mike Martz. In fact, his ratio included a 16-5 TD-INT margin during Chicago’s seven wins following the bye week. Hopefully these are signs of Cutler maturing into the quarterback everyone expected him to be coming out of Vanderbilt in 2006. That said, Cutler is still an enigma, a guy who plays with little outward joy for the game (his almost perpetual scowl is really odd), isn’t much of a leader and seems just as likely to throw a terrible interception as a big touchdown pass. In short, Cutler is the kind of quarterback who might make a couple of big throws, but not exactly the kind of player who can put a team on his back for any length of time.
[Photos: Chicago’s Jay Cutler]
9. Joe Flacco(notes), Baltimore Ravens – Like Ryan and Cutler, Flacco is an ascending player. He and Ryan’s numbers are practically carbon copies, including career bests in rating (93.6) and ratio (25-10). The key difference is that the Ravens are 10-12 in Flacco’s career in games decided by less than a touchdown, including 5-4 this season.
Flacco is a big reason why they haven’t done very well. For instance, in three of the losses this season, Flacco had some critical turnovers (or multiple turnovers), including a fumble against Pittsburgh and an interception against Atlanta.
[Photos: Baltimore’s Joe Flacco]
10. Matt Cassel(notes), Kansas City Chiefs – In many respects, Cassel has had a fantastic season, starting with his phenomenal 27-7 TD-interception margin. Cassel’s ratio was 22-2 over a 10-game stretch after going 4-3 in the first four games of the season. However, before we get too enamored with the numbers, remember that Kansas City hasn’t had the toughest schedule and Cassel clearly benefitted. He had a 20-0 ratio in eight games against the following seven teams: Denver (twice), Seattle, Arizona, Houston, Buffalo, Tennessee and Jacksonville. Those teams are awful, even if Seattle and Jacksonville had chances to go to the playoffs going into the final week of the season. We’ll see how Cassel fairs in games against tougher competition, particularly given that he hasn’t played in a playoff game.
[Photos: Kansas City’s Matt Cassel]
11. Mark Sanchez(notes), New York Jets – Sanchez made nice strides in his second year as the Jets’ starting quarterback and still has plenty of promise. But he also has a lot in common with his fellow New York quarterback, Eli Manning(notes), in that both of them are prone to frequent interceptions.
Worse, Sanchez still has a tendency to go into protracted funks that last not just for a few series, but often for a few games. If he hits a good stretch, the Jets have a chance to do some damage in the playoffs. If not, they have the serious look of a one-and-done team.
[Photos: New York’s Mark Sanchez]
12. Charlie Whitehurst(notes)/Matt Hasselbeck, Seattle Seahawks – Give Whitehurst some credit for getting Seattle through the season finale against St. Louis. He wasn’t great, but he didn’t have to be because the Rams couldn’t get into the end zone. Whitehurst hasn’t been what the Seahawks had hoped when they traded for him in the offseason, but he came through when they needed him.
The big question this week as Seattle prepares to play a very active New Orleans defense is whether Hasselbeck can play. If so, Seattle will have his great experience. Unfortunately, at 35, they won’t have much of Hasselbeck’s health.
[Photos: Seattle’s Charlie Whitehurst | Matt Hasselbeck]
"We met up with Mack Maine from Young Money, he then took us to a hotel a couple of other girls were there and so was Lil Wayne, Guda Guda, Lil Chuckee, and Birdman," Destiny writes. "When we entered the room Guda was like “Damn, y’all pretty, to be dark skin.” And then Wayne quoted a verse from his song ["Right Above"]. I heard the song before and I was offended when I heard the lyrics, but I brushed my feelings off and forgot about what the gremlin said. But him saying it over again made me angry as hell. So me being the outspoken person that I am, I said, “'Wayne, your daughter is dark skin so why would you say such ignorance?' He said ‘My daughter is a dark skinned millionaire, that’s the difference between her and you.'”
"I can tell he was very upset because I brought his daughter up but that is no excuse for what he said. Next he stated, 'MY daughter is the first and last dark skin child I’m having. The rest of my baby moms [are] light skinned chicks. I even got an Asian baby moms to make sure I have a daughter with good hair. Too bad we had a son.'”"Everybody started laughing and [we] stormed out of the room," Destiny added. "Some guys followed us saying 'Not everybody hate dark skinned girls. Young Money just allergic to Chocolate.'”
A small backlash ensued online, but Lil Wayne has dismissed the story via his Twitter page. "Just read da funniest 'blog story' ever about me n my fam.....we color blind over here..if a female is beautiful she's beautiful!!Luv."
Wayne then added: "Rumors or as dumb as the people who believe them."
We're pretty sure you meant 'are as dumb as the people,' homie--but we feel you on this one.
Doesn't this sound like fiction?
I'm not sure what to believe on this one folks. It wouldn't be the first time I heard this from a guy...even my own guy smh
Incarcerated rapper T.I. is in trouble again - the hip-hop star has been banished to a secure special housing unit after he was caught canoodling with his wife during a prison visit.
The Live Your Life hitmaker, real name Clifford Harris, Jr., has been in and out of jail over the past year (10) and is currently serving an 11-month sentence in Arkansas for violating his probation following a drug arrest in September (10).
And the star is failing to keep out of trouble while behind bars - his visiting time with wife Tameka 'Tiny' Cottle over the weekend (01-02Jan11) was cut short after prison officers found them getting "frisky" in a visiting room.
Cottle tells TMZ.com that Harris was reprimanded and sent to a new housing wing, which is more secure and offers inmates less freedom.
According to Arkansas State Prison guidelines, couples are allowed to kiss and hug at the start and end of visiting sessions, but must keep their hands in full view throughout.
By Scott Sarvay
HOLMES COUNTY, Ohio (Indiana’s NewsCenter) - A 10-year-old boy is accused of shooting and killing his mother after they argued over chores.
The incident happened on Sunday.
According to the boy's sister her mother, 46-year-old Deborah McVay, had asked her son to bring in firewood, and the boy became angry grabbed a .22 caliber rifle and shot his mother in the back of the head.
The 10-year-old is in the custody of juvenile authorities and is charged with one count of murder.