Son of Usher's ex-wife dies from injuries in July 6 lake accident

By the CNN Wire Staff

Usher was married for two years to Tameka Raymond, the mother of Kile Glover.

Atlanta (CNN) -- The former stepson of singer Usher Raymond has died after more than two weeks in the hospital following a boating accident on a Georgia lake, sources close to the family said Saturday.

Kile Glover, 11, was riding with a 15-year-old girl on an inner tube that was being pulled by a pontoon boat in Lake Lanier July 6 when a personal watercraft crashed into the children, according to an accident report from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

Kile suffered a serious head injury and was flown by helicopter to Children's Healthcare at Egleston in Atlanta.

He died of heart failure Saturday, the sources said, disputing other reports that the child was taken off life support.

Jeffrey Hubbard, a 38-year-old Atlanta man, was driving the personal watercraft, the investigation report said. Investigators concluded that alcohol was not involved in the incident.

CNN Atlanta affiliate WSB, citing the DNR, reported that Hubbard and the children were part of the same group on a lake outing.

The boy's mother, Tameka Raymond, was married to Usher for two years. They have two children together, ages 3 and 4. They divorced in 2009.

Kile's father is Ryan Glover, the president of Bounce TV, a fledgling television network targeting African-American audiences. He is also a former executive with Turner Broadcasting, the parent company of CNN.

Dwight Howard or Andrew Bynum: Who is the Better Acquisition? Fan Question

By David Mehrwein | Yahoo! Contributor Network

With all of the talk that has surrounded the Los Angeles Lakers and their supposedly imminent deal to acquire Dwight Howard from the Orlando Magic there has also been talk surrounding the other major piece of the trade, Andrew Bynum. As things stand right now -- with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the picture -- the Cavaliers would acquire Bynum, Anderson Varejao would end up in Orlando and of course the Lakers would acquire Howard. However, to some Laker fans, it appears as if getting rid of Bynum and taking on Howard is a big mistake.

Those comments and suggestions really got me thinking about who the better acquisition actually is and why. So without much hesitation, let's jump right in and decide who the better acquisition is:

Pros and cons of acquiring Dwight Howard

On the positive side, the Lakers would be acquiring the best big man in the game - something I have no doubts about. Howard joining the Lakers would automatically push Los Angeles to be counted as the favorite to win the Western Conference, if not the 2012-2013 NBA championship. To put it simply, Howard's physique and skill are unparalleled. On the negative side, you have his issues with his back. That always seems to be everyone's concern when discussing Howard but he hasn't really missed much time with an injury of any sort in his career. In his eight years of experience, he has played in 621 of a possible 640 games.

Pros and cons of acquiring Andrew Bynum

When looking at Bynum, he certainly has the size to play center in the NBA. His body type reflects that of Shaquille O'Neal rather than the muscular and slim-waisted physique of Dwight Howard - perhaps making him less durable depending on how you break it down. However his physical body affects his career is far less relevant to his general attitude. Being big is one thing, but if he can't play smart and play the game as a professional it could take a toll on Bynum's career. Bynum has the talent and potential, but it is his negative outlook that I think holds him back from truly unleashing that potential. Maybe a change of scenery will do that or perhaps it could send him into a deeper state of apathy.

And the verdict reads…

Dwight Howard. 9.9 times out of 10 I'm taking the Magic's big man to be the center on my team. He may have his moments of indecisiveness and selfishness when it comes to his contract and where he wants to play, but his on the court attitude is of the no-quit variety. Besides, Howard bests Bynum in nearly every category statistically. Which means just one thing; Dwight Howard had better be on his way to Los Angeles if the Lakers want to become a contender for years to come - even after Mr. Kobe Bryant hangs up his sneakers.

Food for thought: Bynum or Howard? Which player do you take as your starting center? Is it even a close call or does one player absolutely blow the other out of the water?

Summer 2012: In Running for Hottest Summer on Record

By By Alex Sosnowski, Expert Senior Meteorologist for AccuWeather.com

The Chronicle-Express

Penn Yan, N.Y. -AccuWeather.com 

the running for one of the top three hottest summers in the past 60 years in the United States and southern Canada.

Steven A. Root, Certified Consulting Meteorologist and President and CEO of WeatherBank, Inc. has been examining hourly and daily temperatures in 59 hub cities dating back to Jan. 1, 1950.

WeatherBank is an AccuWeather, Inc. long-range forecasting and data partner.

Root computes the cooling degree days (CDD) for each city, each day of the year. Cooling degree days are the number of degrees that a day's average temperature is above 65 degrees. The period from May 15 to Sept. 15 is considered to be the air conditioning/cooling season for the U.S. and Canada.

Root is estimating this summer to finish up with 59,484 CDDs based on what has happened thus far and what is projected.

"The summer of 2012 is on pace to finish third hottest on the list of 62 summers since 1950, but is still in the running for number two or one on the list," Root said.

The hottest summer on Root's records was last year (2011) with 60,402 CDDs. The second hottest summer, according to Root was 1951 with 60,078 CDDs. Comparatively, the coolest summer was 1965 with 43,337 CDDs.

Root's approximate 60-year average is 51,923 CDDs. The commonly used National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) most recent 30-year average is 53,933 CDDs. In the past 10 years, the average CDDs is 56,134.

"This tells you that the summers are trending hotter in the most recent decades and years for the U.S. and southern Canada as a whole," Root said.

In the U.S. as a whole, seven out of the last 10 summers have been hotter than the 62-year average. This compared to the 1960s and 1970s, when seven out of 10 summers were cooler than the NOAA's recent 30-year average.

During the 1980s and 1990s, again in the U.S. as a whole, the number summers were about a 50/50 split being warmer or cooler than the NOAA 30-year average.

It is important to note that during an average summer across the U.S. and southern Canada, one part can be and often is significantly warmer or cooler than the local average.

Last summer, heat got a later start, compared to this summer. Root expects the period through Sept. 15 to fall a bit behind last year's pace and it is for that reason that this summer will probably fall a bit short of 

MC Chris Posts Weepy Apology For Tossing Fan From Show Nerdcore rapper believed to be the first artist to boot a concertgoer over a critical tweet.

By Gil Kaufman
   Rowdy fans have been kicked out of rock shows for all kinds of reasons over the years. Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters booted a dude for fighting during a London gig last summer and Guns N' Roses singer Axl Rose (who has a history of diving into the crowd to settle scores) did the same in Vancouver in December to an unruly audience member.

But, to our knowledge, nerdcore rapper MC Chris may be the first artist to have someone removed for sending an offensive tweet. And, reaping the geek wrath he's more used to sowing, Chris got his blinged-out pocket protector handed to him all day on Wednesday for it and ended up posting a teary apology video to the bootee.

It all went down on Tuesday night during a show in Philadelphia, where fan Mike Taylor posted a tweet that was critical of one of Chris' opening acts, Richie Branson. According to reports, Taylor walked out to get a drink, at which point the crowd went "nuts" when Chris called the tweeter out and asked for his real name from the stage in the middle of Branson's set.

"I wasn't digging his opener, Richie Branson. I felt his lyrics were lame and pandering to us gamers and other assorted nerd fans," Taylor wrote. "I also didn't think his delivery was good and his beats were mostly sampled from others songs and music (from games, anime and whatnot. I didn't like any of it, so I went on Twitter and Tweeted, 'Dear nerd rapper opening for Powerglove/mc chris. You're not good enough to pander to me. Better luck next time.'"

Taylor said after hearing Chris spazzing about the tweet he walked back in and raised his hand, at which point Chris yelled, "security, is going to take you the f--- out now! That's what you get for talking s--- on Twitter!" Describing the situation in a Reddit post, Taylor said he was humiliated, shocked and disappointed, especially since he's been a hardcore Chris fan since 2004. He got a refund and, later, a Twitter apology from Chris, which Taylor said was a "classy move." But the Internet was not done with this tempest in a hoodrow, as dozens of commenters tore into Chris for turning the bullying tables.

After initially mocking Taylor on Facebook and making fun of those who came to his defense in a since deleted rant, Chris later posted an apology video on YouTube in which he said that he had a "horrible" day, while lamenting that Taylor probably had a bad one as well since he didn't get to see the show.

"It wasn't right, it wasn't cool. I did the wrong thing. I definitely made a mistake," he said. Chris said he often asks to remove drunken and disorderly fans who disrupt the show because without a label, manager or security he is forced to fend for himself and has to concentrate on his rhymes without distraction.

"It sounds really lame because a lot of bands have people all over, running around all over the stage, jumping off stage and all kinds of crazy s---'s going on," he said. "I'm just not as good as them. I'm going to f--- up if somebody runs up on stage when my eyes are closed and punches me in the dick. I'm just gonna f--- up. That's just how it works."

Normally, he said he takes control of the situation and tries to kick the people out, but this time he felt the need to apologize, and not just because many people called him out about it. It's around that point in the video (2:23) that Chris breaks down and starts crying, offering a heartfelt "I'm sorry" and promising to try and be a good person from now on. "I was just trying to do the right thing last night, it wasn't the right thing and I made a mistake and I made somebody feel bad," the self-described "ex-Catholic" said in trying to atone for his on-stage sins.

Was MC Chris right to boot a fan from a show for posting a critical tweet? Let us know in comments below.

Fred Willard fired by PBS, denies he broke the law: Most embarrassing celeb sex scandal?

Talk about fair-weather friends. In the wake of his arrest on suspicion of committing a lewd act in public, PBS has dumped Fred Willard as the narrator of its new show "Market Warriors."

Jeanne Hopkins, a spokeswoman for WGBH, the Boston public broadcaster that produces the show, told The New York Times, "Given the unfortunate news reported today, effective immediately, Fred Willard no longer will be involved with the 'Market Warriors' series."

Meanwhile, Willard's attorney, Paul Takakjian, has said the actor "did nothing in any violation of any law" when he was allegedly caught with his pants down in an adult movie theater, TMZ reports. With his wife by his side, Willard himself told TMZ the arrest was a "big misunderstanding" and "It didn't happen."

The actor, who has been identified as 72 years old and 78 years old in various reports, is best known for his roles on "Modern Family," "Everybody Loves Raymond" and movies like "Best in Show" and "Anchorman." His upcoming movie has the unfortunate title of "The Yank."

British Open 2012: Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson Struggle On Friday At Open Championship

By Jeff Babineau, Golfweek

Rory McIlroy walks to the 11th tee during the second
 round of the British Open Golf Championship, Lytham
 St Annes, England, Friday, July 20, 2012.

LYTHAM ST. ANNES, England -- There are some things in life that are just plain difficult to explain. Like why some parents with dark hair bear blonde-haired children. Like why pitcher Mariano Rivera is so unhittable. Like why those flying swallows don’t take one summer and visit a destination other than Capistrano.

Rory McIlroy spent roughly half his Friday at the 141st Open Championship immersed in some of Royal Lytham’s 205 bunkers, so when he sighed and declared it “just one of those days,” everyone within earshot knew exactly what he meant. Ditto Phil Mickelson. Having chopped his way around in 78 strokes, his highest score in relation to par at this tournament since the Carnoustie craziness of 1999, Mickelson threw his hands up in surrender and didn’t really know what to say.

Thus, about 8-10 times mere minutes after he finished, Mickelson would ponder his growing summer woes, pause, and state, “I don’t know what to say right now.”
Strangely enough, we understand. Outside of American Brandt Snedeker (64) blistering the storied links at Lytham Friday, mostly with his red-hot putter, not many of the 156 players could sustain success at Royal Lytham. It was difficult to pinpoint why, exactly, that was. Yes, the course was tricky. Yes, there was the standing water in several bunkers. Sure, some hole locations were difficult to access. And though the early northwest winds never did dial up to typical Open strength, they blew in from a direction that was opposite a day earlier.

“It felt like every hole we played was into the wind,” McIlroy said.

A day after jumping out to a promising start with 67, McIlroy shot 75, hovering near the potential cut line down the homestretch. Thursday, he’d had but one blemish on his card; a day later, he was loose and all over the place. He made five bogeys and tacked on a double at the par-3 ninth when it required two swipes to escape one of the five bunkers he found.

He said the ninth was a turning point, and not for the good. “I couldn’t really recover from that,” he admitted.

He could have, of course, but he did not, making three bogeys and needing 39 strokes on the way in. The darling of last summer’s U.S. Open at Congressional, where he blitzed the field by eight, McIlroy has struggled in trying to land a second major. In four major starts since Congressional, he has yet to finish better than T-25; at the U.S. Open at Olympic, he didn’t make the cut.

“It’s tough when you’re trying to get something going and it’s just not quite happening,” McIlroy said. He was speaking about Friday, but it seemed applicable to a bigger picture. “You’re just sort of trying to force it a little bit.”

Mickelson, who began his day at 3 over and needed to play well just to make the cut, said he hit the ball more solidly than he had a day earlier, but he struggled to get anything out of his round. When he doubled the par-4 13th and then tacked on another double at 14, where he had to play out backwards from a greenside bunker, his fate was sealed.

“I felt I was going to have a little better round than I did,” said Mickelson, who’d worked late into the evening Thursday with instructor Butch Harmon to address a few flaws, including his ball position. In two days, he hit only 12 fairways and 15/36 greens. “It (the round) certainly got away from me the last five holes. I don’t know what to say.”

There, he said it again. Mickelson’s dossier at this championship is quite pedestrian (only two top 10s in 18 previous starts), but he usually works the weekend. This was his only his second missed cut at the Open since 1999. In fact, Mickelson had made the cut in each of his last 18 major championship starts. South African Charles Schwartzel was the only other player who’d survived the cut in each of the last 11 majors consecutively. (Mickelson did not play the 2009 Open at Turnberry.)

Next stop for Mickelson will be the WGC-Bridgestone in Akron in two weeks. There’s a good deal of work to do before then if he is to emerge from his post-Masters funk.

“I’ll work with Butch here in the next week and see if I can get some direction, and see if I can get into a little better play heading into these next two months, because we have some big tournaments,” he said.

Chick-fil-A and the other omnivore’s dilemma

By Alexandra Petri


Here’s the sandwich in question. (Tim Carman/The Washington Post)

I can occasionally stomach lectures on religion from actual human beings. I barely want to listen to people about politics.

But I draw the line at hearing from my sandwich.

I wish my food would disagree with me the traditional way — after I have eaten it and not before.

Next bacon will come out against women’s rights, and then where will I be?

Food has its own politics. Just try telling New Yorkers how much soda they can buy in a single swoop. But what to do if your delicious chicken sandwich had strong, negative feelings about marriage equality? “Please,” you begged. “Must we discuss this at the table? Can’t we put the politics on the side, along with the mayonnaise and inevitable pickle?”

There are some subjects on which, the less I hear from my food, the better. “Waiter, there’s a copy of Leviticus in my soup!” I yelp.

“I’m sorry, miss. I’ll replace it with a fly.”

So I’ve been conflicted about this Chick-fil-A business. On the one hand, food. On the other, principles. There’s a reason it’s called standing on your principles, not eating on your principles. Anyone can stand. But principled eating! The stomach balks. I quail. The thought of quail makes me remember how juicy and succulent the chicken at Chick-fil-A is. Perhaps it is the strength of their convictions that gives it that robust, crisp, golden —

No. Stop.

The ability of the founding fathers to give up their tea over a matter as minor as representative government continues to astound me. I don’t have convictions before I have coffee. Clearly, they were made of sterner stuff than I.

I love food with a deep, wide, broad, disinterested and constant love that I hope my Creator feels for me.

The best stomachs, said Voltaire, are not those that refuse all food. Mine refuses no food whatsoever.

I’ve always maintained (well, Oscar Wilde has maintained, and I’ve quoted) that the fact of a man’s being a poisoner is nothing against his poetry. I don’t care what you look like, what you believe in, where you come from, who you are, whether or not you just touched trace amounts of staphylococccus — if you know how to make a good chicken sandwich, I will eat it, and I will pay you for it.

There are other ways to make the world a better place than to vote with your stomach.

Besides, as a general rule, if a food item’s main selling point is the fact that it benefits some cause, it does not taste very good. You do not make a big fuss over the fact that your granola cookies benefit the rainforest unless people were unlikely to buy the cookies on their own. There is no such thing as a moral sandwich or an immoral sandwich. Sandwiches taste good, or they do not. That is all. Once you start judging sandwiches on criteria other than how good they taste, you wind up in a world full of mediocre sandwiches, and that impoverishes everyone.

But I am an unprincipled stomach. Others stand firm. After all, they argue, sandwiches are replaceable. There are other sandwiches that do not come with a lecture included. They taste almost as good.

And this is why Chick-fil-A has been such a problem. When Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy made news about his beliefs instead of his chicken, he forced us to think about more than simply how good the chicken tastes. This sort of thinking is dangerous. It’s not only the enjoyment of sausages that depends upon ignoring how exactly they were made. The people who insist on eating only animals that have been reared in more idyllic circumstances than many Hollywood actors have my respect, but I could not be like them. Start examining the causes and effects of what you eat, and eventually you wind up holed up on a farm eating only the eggs of the contented chickens and apologizing to your carrots as you pluck them. Or something. AskMichael Pollan.

It is bad enough to have to examine the caloric content of my food. To have to go over each item on the menu with a lorgnette scoping out the producer’s values — this leads nowhere good. You can disagree with someone about principles while admitting that he makes by far the best brisket in the DMV area.

Cathy has principles about which he feels strongly. If he makes profits by selling delicious, delicious chicken sandwiches to me, he is entitled to do whatever he likes with those profits. But sure enough, people started to boycott and denounce!

After a week of backlash, the company posted on its Facebook page: “Going forward, our intent is to leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena.”

Do what you like. Just don’t shove it down our gullets. We need that space for the waffle fries.

Emmy Awards 2012: Lena Dunham ponders if her breasts helped 'Girls' get nominated (Truth: It was much more than that!)

by Sandra Gonzalez

  Thursday morning was the best morning of Lena Dunham’s life. Well, almost. The day her sister was born is high on the list, too. But it definitely trumped Christmas morning when she was six years old. Yes, definitely, she shares.

These random asides are what one gets when chatting with Dunham, the pleasantly honest, uncommonly candid, and now Emmy-nominated star of HBO’sGirls. And today, after her show walked away with three big Emmy nominations — for Best Comedy, Best Actress in a Comedy, and Best Comedy Writing — EW thought it was a prime opportunity for a chat. Read on — and try to keep up.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Tell me about your morning.
LENA DUNHAM: I woke up and acted like I wasn’t nervous. When I went to sleep, I was listening to the Ellie Goulding single “Lights” over and over again. “I’m just a free young person. I don’t care what happens with the Emmys.” And then I set my alarm for 9 (ET) because I thought it would be really cool of me to sleep past when everyone knows — and of course I woke up at 7:30! Then my very close friend called me at 8:35 and the shrieking that ensued was legendary. I ran around my house down my hallway with no pants on, ran back into my house, called Jenni Konner — the other executive producer, screamed, called my mom, screamed, called my friend in Japan, screamed. It was a really shrieky morning. Then I found out that the director who was doing the current episode of our show had a spider bite and I had to direct for one day. So I had to mentally prepare myself for these scenes that I hadn’t really thought about how to shoot. Now I find myself talking to you.

So on top of an exciting morning, you’re directing?
I am! I just did one scenes and I’m about to do my second.

No rest for the wicked!
No rest for the wicked, but I was actually so happy that I got to celebrate and douchily say ‘Guys, guys, let me do my thing. I’m an Emmy-nominated director.’ I did it once. Not sure it was funny. Not gonna try it again.

What were your expectations going into this — because the show had a lot of praise.
My expectations going into award season were zero. I think that I felt like — I’m willing to indulge everybody that this was a possibility. But I didn’t see a world in which [it would happen]. Even a show like Louie, which I think is the best thing that’s ever been on TV, wasn’t even recognized until its second season. It’s totally surreal.

You were recognized on so many different levels — acting, writing, the show as a whole — I know it’s like picking a favorite child, but does one mean more?
I mean, it’s all crazy. At any different moment, it would all be meaningful. But I have to tell you that when I told my dad about the [nominations] he was like, “You’re nominated for acting?!” I don’t think he ever thought of that as something I do. So to be in a category with these female performers I respect and admire is unbelievable.

Have you talked with the other cast members yet today?
I did. I saw Allison Williams on set and we hugged like crazy people. Adam Driver called me this morning and said, “Dunham, good job.” And I told him I loved him, which I do. Jemima texted me and said “Congratulations, dufus.” So I think we’re all pretty much in touch.

For you, looking back on the season, that made this happen and helped you stand out. Was it the voice of the show? Or any particular episode that you feel clicked?
I think, you know, it’s hard for me to know, but I think the honest story from a female perspective is not something that’s constant in our industry. People responded to that. We’re also really committed to a certain independent style of filmmaking that doesn’t really scream television. So I hope that’s what people responded to. There’s a level of honesty — both in the sexuality and emotionality of the show — that’s my hope. Either that or the fact that I showed my boobs so much that they had to nominated me.

[Laughs] “They are award-worthy.”
Yes. “We don’t know what else to say about these except to just offer you a bunch of trophies because of what’s happening in your boob area.”

Last, the show was also the target of some pretty harsh criticism and commentary at times. Do you feel a little vindicated? I would. 
I mean, I try not to think in that revenge sort of way. But I do have to admit that it is a nice feeling, when you have been the victim of criticism, to have this validation is very satisfying. I wish I didn’t have so many visions of, like, myself talking to Joan Rivers or making someone who didn’t want to hook up with me in college cry. But that’s the darkest part of me that I try not to indulge. And that’s the reason I love Taylor Swift songs.

All-Star Game 2012: How Did National League Trounce American League? (PHOTOS)-

 One league has more money to throw around, better hitters, better pitchers, better teams and a nearly decade-long streak of dominance in interleague play.

The other just won the All-Star game for the third year in a row. So much for inferiority complexes.

"You've got to tip your hat to the National League again," American League manager Ron Washington said.

He's just hoping Tuesday night's 8-0 beating wasn't another omen. The NL wins in the 2010 and 2011 Midsummer Classics locked up home-field advantage in the World Series for the Giants and Cardinals. Both went on to beat Washington's Texas Rangers in the fall.

"They came out, swung the bats, and once they got the lead, started bringing those arms in ..." Washington added glumly, "and they got the job done."

With hindsight it's a lot easier to argue why one team of millionaires appeared more motivated than the other in an exhibition game only a few players on either side were wild about attending.

The four San Francisco starters who played important roles in helping the NL crack the game open early arrived in Kansas City a few days ago trailed by echoes their fans had stuffed the ballot box – which they apparently had. If that bothered Pablo Sandoval or Melky Cabrera, neither let on. Giants catcher Buster Posey arrived as the NL's all-time leading vote-getter and tried not to act embarrassed. Right-hander Matt Cain, whose 10 first-half wins included a perfect game and made him a plenty legitimate choice to start, had to dodge questions about why NL manager Tony La Russa chose him over the Mets' R.A. Dickey.

And then there was Milwaukee's Ryan Braun. The NL's reigning MVP is on something resembling a "vindication tour." Coming off a career year in 2011, the 28-year-old Braun spent much of the offseason defending himself – first after testing positive for a banned substance and then, after his suspension was overturned, against the charge that he beat the rap on a technicality. Asked ahead of the game whether his explosive first-half performance was proof that performance-enhancers played no part in his climb, Braun coolly answered yes. Then he went out and played like an All-Star yet again. He doubled, tripled and turned in a pair of nifty defensive plays, including one against former teammate Prince Fielder.

While Cain was stifling an AL lineup that resembled the first round of a fantasy draft, Braun and his Giants teammates collected five runs off AL starter Justin Verlander in the first, then put the game effectively out of reach in the fourth – with some assistance from Cardinals Rafael Furcal and Matt Holliday – by pounding Matt Harrison for another three runs.

Afterward, Washington still seemed surprised by Verlander's decision to begin the game throwing heat. The manager couldn't find too many nice things to say about the strategy, so he said almost nothing at all.

"Well, it's very disappointing, because we're competitors and we want to win," Washington said.

The Tigers' ace had an explanation ready. Verlander said he usually doesn't register triple digits on the radar gun until well into a game, but decided to try early in this one to give the fans a show.

"Obviously, you don't want to go out like that, but I had fun," Verlander said. "That's why I don't try to throw 100 (mph) in the first inning, but this is for the fans. It doesn't usually work out too well for me.

"I know this game means something and you don't want to give up runs, but we're here for the fans," he repeated a moment later. "I know the fans don't want to see me throw 90 and try to hit the corners."

One glance at the steadily declining TV ratings makes you wonder how much the fans really want to see. Last year's game in Phoenix was the lowest-rated ever, continuing a trend Commissioner Bud Selig hoped to avert by putting home-field advantage in the World Series at stake.

Then again, this one had more appeal than a few recent games. Familiar faces like Derek Jeter and Chipper Jones, at 40 playing in his eighth and final All-Star game, mingled with the fresh ones belonging to the next generation of stars, kids like Bryce Harper and Mike Trout. Fox showcased new hire Erin Andrews and trotted out a promotional campaign reminding us of the game's old-time virtues: "When we see the boys of summer actually be boys."

That may have been true about a few too many of the guys on the American League bench, at least for this one night. La Russa took some heat a day earlier – including in this space – for his decision to start Cain over fan favorite Dickey, a 37-year-old journeyman whose first All-Star appearance came after a long struggle to master the knuckleball. Apparently, that nasty little competitive streak grew wide enough to make a big difference.

MAKE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS WITH LIBERTY RESERVE ACCOUNT

Reading this, you can change your lifestyle! It turned mine around and I am here
to share the success story with you. In fact, the same system that made $24
during the first, $562 in the second week, and $1,320 in 30 days is available to
you for FREE!

Are you dissatisfied with your financial state? Are you in any form of
financial difficulty? Are you a paid employee, a worker, unemployed or a student?
Do you have any kind of dept to settle? Then, dear friend! This is for you!

I came across this system in one forum, and decided to give it a try. Surfing the
internet one day, I found an article, which says, one could make thousands of dollars
in a fortnight investing as little as $4. Well, I thought, that must be one more
attraction for dimwits, but still I read it up to the end, to know, what sort of „Holy
Grail“, I was supposed to spend my money on. 
Guess what? After 2 weeks, my cheeks started beeping with smiles and
satisfaction as dollars started pouring into my liberty-reserve account. 

THE THINGS YOU WILL NEED
*Liberty-Reserve Account: open one if you don’t have. It is free to open. Just
follow this link to open a new account: www. Libertyreserve. com. 
*Fund your liberty reserve account with just $4 only.
*Honesty (very important) and Ability to follow these instructions exactly. 

HOW IT WORKS
You are to pay $2, to each of the liberty-reserve accounts listed below. After that,
remove the first account number from the list, push the second account number up to number 1 thus clearing the second line. Then put the number of your own liberty-reserve account into this vacant 2nd line.
send/post this text to 10 different forums or news groups. 

I hesitated a bit and realised that I am risking a measly $4, and decided to give it a try. Just guess what happened in the next 7 days after I tried it? Money started to arrive… honestly, I was shocked! And thought, maybe, this opportunity would stop soon. But it didn’t! I made $24 during my first week of trying it, $562 by the
end of the second week, over $1, 320 in 30 days!! I didn’t believe it works, until I
started receiving money order, from all over the world. 

I promise that if you follow all the instructions, you will start earning much more money, more than you could ever expect without much effort. Please, read this twice! Follow the instructions, it’s very simple! It is legal. And you will have to invest a measly/mere $4…
ATTENTION
Follow these instructions EXACTLY the way, it is written, and you will be smiling in the next 20 to 30 days. 
These are the 4 simple steps to Your success:

1. If you haven’t got the $4 in your liberty-reserve account yet, you have to
create or open your free liberty account at liberty-reserve. Open an account
through this link: www. libertyreserve. com. Get acquainted with this system, see
how it works and choose the variant that suits you, and then, fund your liberty-
reserve account with a minimum of $5. 
2. Transfer $2 to each of the 2 liberty-reserve account numbers below:
U0856797<- account number 1<br />U5288688 <- account number 2<br />
3. After you must have transferred money ($2 each) to these accounts, delete the first account number, push the second one up and then insert your liberty reserve account number in the second position. Thus, the list will go higher (number 2 will become number 1, etc. ). It will look like this when you are through;
U5288688<- account number 1 <br />Uxxxxxxx <- account number 2 ( your account number)<br />
4. Make all the necessary changes and then Post this article to at least 10 forums
and News Groups. There thousands of forums and news groups you can post the article to. Getting them is very easy. Just use google search engine to search for as many as possible. Open google search in your browser and enter “forums”. There you have it, you will have as many as possible.

This business goes on and thrives. Thanks to the honesty of the participants. So,
by the time you reach the first position in the list, you will have thousands of
dollars in your liberty-reserve account! WORD! Remember, this only cost you a
mere $4, and simple work!!! Do it now! Don’t put it off till tomorrow!! Because
you might not come back to it again. Time is money!!!

SOME USEFUL TIPS
1. The first thing to do, is to highlight and SAVE this entire article in your MS Word
document or Notepad on your computer, or just print it out, so you can come
back to it later. 

2. Read through the program very well, so that you can understand the way, the system works. This is a liberty-reserve system that yields the members money, through compounding process. 

3. If you already have a liberty-reserve account, proceed to the next step. If you
don’t, then, go to liberty-reserve and register for free. To fund your liberty-reserve
account or change your liberty-reserve money to physical cash, you have to go to
an exchanger. Liberty-Reserve exchangers are available in most countries of the
world. You can find exchangers in your country through “GOOGLE SEARCH”. When
searching with Google, type “Liberty reserve exchangers in + your country name”
e. g. , Liberty reserve exchangers in U. S etc. 
I believe, I have done something to HELP YOU make money online using your Liberty Reserve account. Note that the idea behind this is to be truthful!

I tell you today, as you read this article, don’t play with it, get straight with every word, and soon, you will know experience the effect of this little secret, that has been locked and the keys thrown away, but now in your HANDS! Try it, it will not fail you!
REMEMBER, MAKING MONEY USING LIBERTY RESERVE IS 100% LEGAL AND IS
PROVEN BY OPRAH SHOW!
THE WHOLE THING HAS BEEN TESTED BY ME AND WORKS OVER AND OVER
AGAIN!!! GOODLUCK

Frank Ocean's album is bigger than 'he'

Frank Ocean's 'Channel Orange' is getting attention for his singing about lusting for a 'he,' but that may be distracting from its overall beauty.

By Randall Roberts, Los Angeles Times Pop Music Critic

July 10, 2012, 10:15 p.m.

With his decision to address lust for another man on his new album, "Channel Orange," 24-year-old Frank Ocean has become something other than one of the most dynamic R&B singers and songwriters of the last half-decade: He's become, for the moment, one of the first to challenge a genre known for its acidic intolerance of homosexuality.

The album was highly anticipated, coming on the heels of Ocean's critically acclaimed collection from last year, "Nostalgia, Ultra," and the sexual content — which surfaces on two songs — has so far received fairly gentle treatment. Ocean, born Christopher Breaux, debuted a song on "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon"on Monday only hours before releasing the album on iTunes, and got a warm reception. Several stars have also offered support on Twitter and in the media, including Beyoncé and Russell Simmons.

On the new album, the young MC says "he" rather than "she" on the songs "Bad Religion" and "Forrest Gump," and a few days after early reviewers began wondering about the lyrics, he published a note on his website spelling it out: Specifically, he fell in love with a man, and then decided to sing about it on this new album.

But the sexual themes, ultimately, are little more than a red herring — some would even say a publicity stunt, timed to draw attention to the album's release — when it comes to the overall beauty of "Channel Orange."

A concept album filled with as many stories and observations about modern-day Southern California life as theBeach Boys'"Surfin' Safari" did in 1962, the album offers a vivid snapshot of the twentysomething experience in Los Angeles. Ocean is a young artist with an ear for thoughtful, brave, witty, imaginative storytelling, a strong voice and keen sense of the world in which he's found himself. His is a city he describes in "Sweet Life" as "domesticated paradise, palm trees and pools, whatever feels good," a new home that has changed him in ways that he outlines throughout the album.

Ocean moved to L.A. in 2005 and joined the L.A. hip-hop collective Odd Future in 2009, and also signed to Def Jam Records as a solo artist that year to record "Nostalgia, Ultra." In early 2011, when the record sat on the label's shelf for too long, a frustrated Ocean, who had made inroads as a songwriter and worked with Justin Bieber andJohn Legend, released "Nostalgia, Ultra" as a free download on his Tumblr site. It drew raves and he had a hit song with "Novacane," a witty track about a hook-up after Coachella involving a dental assistant, and the release landed on many critics' best of 2011 lists (including mine). He sang memorable hooks on Jay-Z and Kanye West's album, "Watch the Throne," where his tenor played the perfect foil in the chorus to "No Church in the Wild." At one point Def Jam was going to finally release "Nostalgia, Ultra," but decided against it.

Smart move. Ocean went back into the studio, and the result is a quiet, if tempestuous, storm, filled with muffled beats, whispers, perfectly placed arrangements, enough space within songs that each note is clear and present, and an overarching theme that confirms that its creator has an artistic vision that reaches beyond the gender of his desire.

On the essential "Crack Rock," about an addict, you can hear the echo of Marvin Gaye's "What's Goin' On." Its quieter, more intimate moments suggest Sly and the Family Stone's version of "Que Sera Sera" and Prince's "Sign o' the Times," and Ocean's debt to Drake's brand of emo-R&B is obvious on a number of tracks. Combined, you can hear a whole history. And even if Ocean's writing could use fewer syllables and more allegiance to meter and rhyme — he crams a lot of information into his lines — with experience will come restraint.

Ocean's album sets itself as a kind of recorded program, with hissing between-song interludes that seem to capture specific moments in Ocean's life: a conversation with a woman driving; footsteps in a rainstorm; and pocket-shuffled snippets. These combine to create a swirl of mystery, one that Ocean describes in the first words on the album, in "Thinking About You," in an apology to an unnamed other. "A tornado flew around my room before you came," he confesses as he hints at tears shed. "Excuse the mess it made, it usually doesn't rain in Southern California."

Ocean takes us on a journey that tempers those tears, from a young man experiencing teenage (hetero) lust on "Sierra Leone" who seems confused by "tidbits of intuition that I been getting / Abandon mission, abandon mission," to an adult reveling in the mansions of Ladera Heights, which Ocean describes as "the black Beverly Hills."

Class tension is at the heart of "Super Rich Kids," as well. One of the album's best tracks, it describes a night drinking "too many bottles of wine we can't pronounce" as a member of the uber-wealthy where "the maids come round too much" and the parents are absent. Or, as Odd Future rapper Earl Sweatshirt describes them in an amazing 16-bar rap, "the Xany-gnashing Caddy smashing" children of fortune.

And then there's "Forrest Gump," the song about Ocean's pseudonymous male love interest. Set against a slow burn of a groove, the song is notable not for anything explicit or untoward. Rather, it's a simple song about desire. Well — not simple. Very complicated, in fact. How to reveal his feelings? "I know you wouldn't hurt a beetle / But you're so buff and so strong. I'm nervous, Forrest. Forrest Gump."

Thankfully, the hard part is over and we can look past a few pronouns and instead see the biggest truth about "Channel Orange" — that artistic courage can beget true change, especially when the creation beneath it tells such an engaging story.

Kate Upton and Justin Verlander? Suddenly everything makes sense

Model Kate Upton and Detroit pitcher Justin Verlander have been spotted together recently ... and we all know what that means (sorry, Tigers fans). (Paul Morigi / Getty Images for Hollywood Reporter; Charlie Neibergall / Associated Press / July 11, 2012)

• Photos: 2012 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
• National League defeats American League, 8-0, in All-Star Game
• Clayton Kershaw makes pitch to recruit Cole Hamels to Dodgers

By Chuck Schilken

July 11, 2012, 9:31 a.m.

Kate Upton may have found herself a new man. That's good news for many people -- the new man (obviously), as well as fans of the New York Jets and whichever National Leagueteam ends up playing in the World Series.

But it could be devastating news for fans of the Detroit Tigersand the American League representative in the World Series, not to mention all those Tim Tebow fanatics out there just counting the seconds until their idol takes the field again.

OK, so Upton -- the bikini model best known for appearing on the cover of the 2012 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue and showing off her dance moves all over the Internet -- apparently has been seen out and about in Detroit recently with Tigers ace pitcher Justin Verlander. Of course, the rumor mills have been churning furiously about the pair.

Verlander, the reigning AL Cy Young winner, is having another great season -- so good that he was named the league's starting pitcher in Tuesday night's All-Star game. But what happened? Verlander got rocked for five runs in the first inning, and the NL rolled to an 8-0 victory, earning home-field advantage at the World Series in the process.

Of course, it's all Upton's fault -- at least if you believe all the talk out there. Call it the Jessica Simpson effect: She and Dallas quarterback Tony Romo went their separate ways long ago and theCowboys still haven't recovered. Or the Rihanna effect: Dodgers fans are still trying to forget that horrid season she and All-Star Matt Kemp were romantically linked.

While Tigers fans have to be hoping their star pitcher shakes off the uncharacteristic effort, Jets fans are rejoicing right now. Upton and their starting quarterback, Mark Sanchez, were rumored to have been an item, and it just so happened that Sanchez (and the Jets) had the first mediocre year of his career last season.

This must all be quite upsetting to all those devoted fans of Tebow, the Jets' backup quarterback. If Sanchez returns to his winning ways, how will Tebowmaniacs be able to run the former Trojan out of town the way they did former Broncos starter Kyle Orton in Denver?

It also must be upsetting to anyone who believes that athletes' personal lives have no effect on their performance on the field. After all, there are other possible explanations for Verlander's poor performance on Tuesday. With the playing time of each all-star limited, some think he was trying to throw too hard, too early in the game.

"That's why I don't try to throw 100 [mph] in the first inning," Verlander said. "Usually doesn't work out too well for me."

Sure, Mr. Upton ... I mean, Verlander. Whatever you say.

Viacom channels are off DirecTV systems

By Mike Snider, USA TODAY

DirecTV's 20 million satellite TV subscribers have lost 17 channels produced by Viacom in a dispute about the fees paid to broadcast the media company's programs.

Late Tuesday night, the satellite service removed BET,Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Spike and VH1because contract talks with Viacom had reached an impasse.

Viacom sent DirecTV a letter on Tuesday ordering the pay-TV provider to "remove the channels by midnight or face legal action," said Derek Chang, DirecTV's executive vice president of content, strategy and development in a statement sent out late Tuesday.

The satellite provider hoped to continue transmitting the channels as the two sides continued their negotiations, he said. DirecTV said Viacom is seeking a 30% increase in fees, which would amount to an additional $1 billion. Chang noted that "ratings for many of (Viacom's) main networks have plummeted, and much of Viacom's programming can be seen for free online."

Viacom countered, saying that DirecTV has been paying "the same bargain rate" for its programming for seven years. Viacom is the top programmer on the service and Nickelodeon is the most watched individual channel on DirecTV, Viacom says, with 20% of viewers watching a Viacom channel at any given time.

Viacom wants an increase that amounts to "a couple pennies per day, per subscriber," wrote Mark Jafar, Viacom's vice president for corporate communications on the company's official blog (blog.viacom.com).

Both sides charge the other with dropping the ball on negotiations. This morning, Denise Denson, Viacom executive president of content distribution and marketing, said that "the last time we spoke with DirecTV at 11 a.m. (Tuesday) morning … there were no new ideas offered for resolution. In fact, the last proposal DirecTV had made was lower than anyone else pays in the industry, and a deal we said we would not do out of fairness to other distributors. … We are ready to talk at any time."

For now, DirecTV subscribers who tune to a Viacom channel get a "mix" channel of alternate programming such as Bravo, FX and TBS. Also airing on the service is a video of DirecTV CEO Mike White, who says that he has been in negotiations with Viacom for several months about "how much of your bill is fair to pay for their networks. Unfortunately, Viacom has decided to take their channels away from our customers. It is a temporary and regrettable tactic to try to force you to pay substantially more for all their networks. Even the ones you don't watch or care about."

He adds that "both sides will come to an agreement, so please ignore any of their scare tactics."

To appease viewers, DirecTV is making eight Encore movie channels (usually available in only the higher-price subscription tiers) viewable for free on channels 535-542 until July 31. .

This is the latest dispute to affect pay-TV subscribers. Still unsettled is a dispute that resulted in Dish Network's 14 million users losing AMC, IFC, Sundance and WE TV channels last month. Two years ago, DirecTV and Versus settled a seven-month stand-off just before the Comcast-owned sports channel was to begin broadcasting National Hockey League Stanley Cup playoffs. Versus was renamed the NBC Sports Networkearlier this year.

Cable TV systems are not immune. Time Warner Cable had to remove the MSG (Madison Square Garden) network last season, which broadcasts the New York Knicks, for more than a month during the ascent of New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin.

With the growth in popularity of Internet-based TV services such as Netflix and Hulu, the pay TV-network landscape is rapidly changing. That could mean many more transmission fee disputes to come, says Phil Swann on his blog TVPredictions.com.

"Today's economic realities — combined with an explosion of new services where viewers can watch almost any show online, including some for free — has changed everything," he says. "The networks' greed, the quest to generate revenue from every possible source, has come back to hurt them in their effort to wring more dollars from the pay-TV providers."