Categories
Sports

Hope he gets into the Hall Of Fame one day!!

Roy Halladay returns to Baseball as guest instructor

CLEARWATER, FLA.—Roy Halladay is back wearing a baseball uniform.

The two-time Cy Young Award winner returned Tuesday to serve as a guest instructor for the Phillies in spring training. Halladay, who threw a perfect game in his first season in Philadelphia in 2010 and a no-hitter later that year in his first post-season start, is considering a more permanent role in the big leagues.

“I definitely want to get back in,” Halladay said. “So just getting here and being around, obviously with a new front office they need to see who you are. I think it’s just a great opportunity to get out here again and be around the guys. Especially with so many new, young players, it’s exciting for a guy like myself to come in and watch them. If I can share anything that’ll help them, that’s awesome.”

The 39-year-old Halladay plans to work with pitchers on the mental side of the game along with the fundamentals and mechanics of pitching.

“Whatever concerns they may have, if any, or talking about things that helped me be successful, so it can cover a range of things,” Halladay said. “For me, it’s just a pleasure to be able to help out. If it’s throwing BP, I’ll throw BP.”

Halladay watched young starters Zach Eflin and Jake Thompson throw and talked with others on his first day in camp.

“He’s probably 95 per cent mental, whether it’s thought process going into pitches or sequence, it’s incredible,” Thompson said.

Eflin said he was excited to introduce himself to Halladay.

Halladay spent 16 seasons in the major leagues with the Toronto Blue Jays and Phillies. He retired in December 2013 because of an ailing back. Halladay was a guest instructor with the Phillies in 2014 but hadn’t returned until now.

“There are all kinds of options,” he said about his future in baseball. “I don’t ever try to get too far ahead of myself. I’m going to enjoy this first week here, being a guest coach, and see where things go. We’ll continue talking, but, you know, I think it’s always trying to find a good fit, too.”

Halladay was 203-105 with a 3.38 ERA in 416 career games, including 390 starts. He had 67 complete games and 20 shutouts. His resume includes three 20-win seasons, eight all-star games, and three other top-3 finishes for the Cy Young Award.

He’s going to Cooperstown this summer with one of his son’s baseball teams and looks forward to possibly being enshrined in the Hall of Fame one day.

“You see guys get in that are deserving and you see guys that are possibly deserving that don’t get in,” he said. “Boy, it’s a tough thing to figure out. But absolutely I would love to be there. I think every player who ever played the game would love to be there. It would be a tremendous honour.”

Categories
People

Casey Affleck has spoken to the Boston Globe.

Casey Affleck speaks to sexual harassment claims

In an interview following his best actor Oscar win on Sunday, Casey Affleck addressed earlier sexual harassment claims against him and said “everyone deserves to be treated with respect in the workplace and everywhere else.”

The Manchester by the Sea star had largely evaded questions about the two lawsuits brought against him while making the 2010 mockumentary I’m Still Here, which he directed. The settlement of each case prevents each party from discussing the accusations.

Affleck has denied the allegations.

In an interview posted Tuesday night by The Boston Globe, Affleck said, “I believe that any kind of mistreatment of anyone for any reason is unacceptable and abhorrent, and everyone deserves to be treated with respect in the workplace and anywhere else.”

Asked about those who have criticized his Academy Award win, Affleck said there was “nothing I can do about it other than live my life the way I know I live it and to speak to what my own values are and how I try to live by them all the time.”

Categories
Television

Good luck to them all, especially Mr. T!!

Dancing With the Stars season 24: And the celebrities are…

A Cheerio, a Beverly Hills housewife, two former Olympians, and a repeat visitor to The Love Boat are among the 12 celebrities who’ll grace the ballroom of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars this season, as announced on Good Morning America Wednesday.

And the men have reason to worry: Several of the women have lots of dance (and acrobatic) experience. Once again, it always helps to have earned a few Olympic medals.

Here are the season 24 celebrities and their partners, announced this morning on Good Morning America:

Pro bull rider Bonner Bolton, with Sharna Burgess
Former SNL comedian Chris Kattan, with Witney Carson
Former MLB catcher David Ross, with Lindsay Arnold
Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Erika Jayne, with Gleb Savchenko
Glee star Heather Morris, with Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Actor Mr. T, with Kym Herjavec
Olympic skater Nancy Kerrigan, with Artem Chigvintsev
Fifth Harmony member Normani Kordei, with Valentin Chmerkovskiy
NFL running back Rashad Jennings, with Emma Slater
Olympic gymnast Simone Biles, with Sasha Farber
The Bachelor’s Nick Viall, with Peta Murgatroyd
Spanish-American entertainer (and frequent Love Boat guest star) Charo, with Keo Motsepe

The season 24 premiere will mark the 400th episode of DWTS. It will air on March 20, 8-10 p.m. ET on ABC.

Categories
Awards

Too bad their mistake was seen by everyone!!!

Oscars accountants involved in best picture mix-up won’t be back

The two accountants responsible for the shocking best picture mix-up at the 89th annual Oscars will not work on the show again, a spokesperson for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has confirmed.

According to the Associated Press, which first reported the news, academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs said the organization’s 83-year relationship with the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers remains under review.

PwC accountants Brian Cullinan and Martha Ruiz were in charge of the winners’ envelopes at Sunday’s ceremony, each holding a complete set on opposite sides of the stage. Cullinan handed presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway the wrong envelope for Best Picture, shortly after tweeting a photo (since deleted) of best actress winner Emma Stone. Boone Isaacs told the AP that Cullinan was distracted from his duties.

Beatty was visibly perplexed by what was the second best actress envelope naming Stone the winner for La La Land. He then showed it to Dunaway, who erroneously announced La La Land as the best picture winner. It was only after two minutes — and two and a half acceptance speeches — that the mistake was corrected and Moonlight was declared the real best picture.

The episode stunned Oscars attendees and those watching the broadcast.

Within hours of the blunder, PwC released a statement apologizing “to Moonlight, La La Land, Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, and Oscar viewers for the error.” The firm followed up Monday, taking “full responsibility for the series of mistakes and breaches of established protocols” that caused the mix-up.

The academy was mum until Monday night, finally issuing a statement that said, “We deeply regret the mistakes that were made during the presentation of the Best Picture category during last night’s Oscar ceremony. We apologize to the entire cast and crew of La La Land and Moonlight whose experience was profoundly altered by this error. We salute the tremendous grace they displayed under the circumstances. To all involved — including our presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, the filmmakers, and our fans watching worldwide — we apologize.”

The academy also apologized Wednesday for mistakenly running a photo of a living producer during the Oscars’ annual In Memoriam segment.