Five Blue Jays named as all-stars
Jason Bay to start in NL outfield
TORONTO (CP) - The Toronto Blue Jays, seeking to break up years of dominance in the American League East by the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, are sending more players than their division rivals to next week's all-star game.
Ace Roy Halladay, closer B.J. Ryan, third baseman Troy Glaus plus outfielders Vernon Wells and Alex Rios, who will miss the game because of injury, were all voted by their peers onto the AL squad announced Sunday by Major League Baseball, the second highest total in club history. Seven Blue Jays were in the 1993 game.
This time, the defending World Series champion Chicago White Sox and National League East-leading New York Mets lead the way with six players each in the 77th all-star game next Tuesday at Pittsburgh's PNC Park.
The Blue Jays are next with five, plus manager John Gibbons will serve as one of Ozzie Guillen's coaches, followed by the Red Sox and Yankees with four apiece.
"Maybe this will bring a little recognition to what's going on up here and hopefully we can continue to let it go," Glaus said after an 11-6 loss to the Phillies. "So far it says we have some guys who have had good first halves. There's a lot more games to play, a lot more to accomplish."
Pittsburgh Pirates star Jason Bay of Trail, B.C., is the only Canadian in the contest and will start in the NL outfield after receiving 2,635,930 votes, the second-highest total among players in the Senior Circuit.
He's the first Canadian to start in the all-star game since Larry Walker in 1999 and it's the 10th straight year at least one Canuck has been named to an all-star team. The last time two Canadians went to the contest was 2001, when Walker and Paul Quantrill took part.
The Blue Jays won't have a single starter in the game, with Wells coming closest by finishing fifth in fan voting among AL outfielders.
Starting for the American League, which has a 40-34-2 edge over the National League, will be Detroit's Ivan Rodriguez at catcher, Boston's David Ortiz at first and Mark Loretta at second, the Yankees' Derek Jeter at short and Alex Rodriguez at third, with the Angels' Vladimir Guerrero, Boston's Manny Ramirez and Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki in the outfield.
"We don't have the kind of support that the Red Sox and Yankees have where they pretty much have their whole starting lineups starting in that game," said Wells. "These guys have played well and we've been able to have a good first half."
Rios, who remains in a Toronto hospital with a severe left leg infection, was replaced on the roster by Gary Matthews Jr. of Texas. He can still attend the all-star game festivities although it wasn't clear if he would.
"I would assume he'd go and get introduced. He should," said Gibbons. "He got recognized by his peers, he's having that kind of year."
Added Wells: "This definitely won't be his last one, that's for sure."
Minnesota Twins first baseman Justin Morneau of New Westminster, B.C., was a tough omission. Jim Thome and Paul Konerko, both of the White Sox, are the AL's backup first basemen.
Aside from Halladay and Ryan, Guillen's pitching staff includes three members of his White Sox: Jose Contreras, an early favourite to start for the AL, Mark Buehrle and closer Bobby Jenks. Minnesota's Johan Santana, Detroit's Kenny Rogers, Mark Redman of Kansas City and Oakland lefty Barry Zito are the other starters.
Also in the AL's fearsome bullpen are Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon and ageless Yankees stopper Mariano Rivera.
Joining Bay in the NL's starting outfield are Carlos Beltran of the Mets and Washington's Alfonso Soriano.
Paul Lo Duca of the Mets is the starting catcher, Albert Pujols, the St. Louis slugger who led all players with 3,418,555 votes, is at first, Philadelphia's Chase Utley is at second, the Mets' David Wright is at third and teammate Jose Reyes is at short.
Houston Astros manager Phil Garner can choose from Pedro Martinez and Tom Glavine of the Mets, Arizona's Brandon Webb, Cincinnati's Bronson Arroyo, St. Louis' Chris Carpenter, Brad Penny of the Dodgers, San Francisco's Jason Schmidt and Carlos Zambrano of the Cubs for his starting pitcher.
In the NL bullpen are Philadelphia's Tom Gordon, Milwaukee's Derrick Turnbow, San Diego's Trevor Hoffman and Colorado's Brian Fuentes.
The bevy of all-star selections came as nice surprise to the Blue Jays, who weren't sure how the whole selection process was going to play out. The fact that all five were chosen in the players' vote stirred some pride in the clubhouse.
"I think every player will tell you that having the respect of other players is probably the biggest compliment," said Halladay. "The way we've been playing lately and the way guys have been producing, I think other teams are going to recognize that, especially when we get a chance to play them."
Halladay, who was going to start last year's game until a broken leg felled him the weekend before the game, won't have a chance to start this one. He's starting Sunday in Kansas City and will likely only be available for an inning.
"I don't really see a problem pitching. That's the reason you go, you look forward to getting in the game," said Halladay, 10-2 with a 3.22 ERA. "It was disappointing not to be able to go last year, but it's going to be more fun for me just because there are so many guys from here going."
Halladay, Ryan (1-0 with 0.45 ERA and 22 saves) and Wells (.315 with 20 homers and 62 RBIs) were obvious picks, but things were going to be tough for Rios (.330 with 15 homers and 54 RBIs) and Glaus (.248 with 22 homers and 57 RBIs).
But Glaus was a clear winner in the players' vote at third base over Oakland's Eric Chavez (205-183), Wells was second and Rios fifth among outfielders while Halladay was second among starters and Ryan second among relievers.
"You want to be respected by your peers, that's the biggest thing," said Ryan.
Cito Gaston was the manager the year the Blue Jays sent seven players to the 1993 all-star game, his reward for leading the club to its first World Series title in 1992. He was the manager again in 1994, when four Jays took part in the contest.
More recently the Blue Jays had three players chosen for the 2000 and 2003 affairs.
"I would have guessed five but I don't know how it all sets up," said Gibbons. "We have some good players, guys having good years. We have a good club. It's good for the town, well represented."
Glaus is hoping the all-star game isn't the only place the Blue Jays end up one-upping the Red Sox and Yankees.
"Obviously the talent that was in here was very, very good," he said. "Hopefully we can all stay healthy and put a run together and kind of get back into this thing and see where it goes."
Stones rolling into Halifax: reports
A year after leaving Moncton, N.B. black and blue, the Rolling Stones appear ready to return to the Maritimes.
Two Halifax newspapers are reporting that the legendary rock group will receive approval from the city's regional council on Tuesday to stage an outdoor show in Halifax in September.
A site hasn't been determined, but one possibility is the Halifax Commons, a large park in the middle of the city that hosted Pope John Paul II and 80,000 Catholics in 1984.
According to the Halifax Daily News, sources say the concert could cost the city between $100,000 and $150,000 in security, traffic control and site costs.
That would seem a bargain compared with the $671,477 tab Moncton ended up footing when it hosted the Stones' first concert in Atlantic Canada last September.
City officials blamed the hefty price tag on spiralling costs connected to security, medical care and improvements made to the Magnetic Hill concert site, but said the concert succeeded in attracting thousands of tourists to Moncton.
The Stones are also rumoured to be playing Regina, Vancouver and Windsor, Ont. this fall.
Paris Hilton Storms Billboard Charts
Debut single makes top 20; Hicks still strong
Although it seemed like she talked about recording an album for years, Paris Hilton has actually gone and done it. And she now has a (gulp) hit single to prove it.
The hotel heiress/reality-TV-and-sex-tape star/paparazzi magnet can add "recording artist" to her list of identifying tags. Hilton's first single, "Stars Are Blind," sits at No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
The reggae-inflected song is the highest-ranking new song on this week's chart, though it didn't crack the top 10 as some were predicting it would. It's the third-best debut of the year, behind "American Idol" winner Taylor Hicks' "Do I Make You Proud," which was No. 1 last week, and former O-Town singer Ashley Parker Angel's "Let U Go," which entered the charts at No. 17.
'American Idol' Showcard
All three singers, oddly enough, have a reality-TV connection. Forty million people watched Hicks win "Idol" last month, and Angel, who starred in the original "Making the Band," chronicled his comeback attempt on MTV's "There and Back."
As her recording career unfolds, though, Hilton's TV fortunes are somewhat on the wane. "The Simple Life" migrated from FOX to cable network E! for its fourth season, and while ratings have been OK by the network's standards (about 1.3 million people watched the premiere earlier this month), they're a far cry from, say, "The Anna Nicole Show" at its height. Much of the buzz that once surrounded "The Simple Life" has disappeared as well.
Hilton's single couldn't overtake Hicks, who surrendered the No. 1 spot this week to Nelly Furtado and Timbaland's "Promiscuous" but is still going strong at No. 3.
Knightley didn't dig 'Pirates' at first
NEW YORK - Keira Knightley acknowledges she was a bit skeptical at first about appearing in a movie that shared a name with a Disney ride.
"I was like, 'Wait a minute, you're doing a pirate movie — something that hasn't worked in about 50 years — and it's based on an amusement park ride?!" the actress told the New York Daily News for a story published Sunday.
The 2003 film "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" went on to be a $650 million worldwide success, and co-star Johnny Depp earned an Oscar nomination for his role.
Knightley appears again in the sequel "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," opening Friday. A third "Pirates" installment is due out Memorial Day weekend next year.
Knightley says it wasn't until she was at the premiere of the first "Pirates" movie with co-star Orlando Bloom that she knew the premise would work.
"Orlando and I were sitting next to each other at the premiere, which was the first time I'd seen it, and we'd had a big talk and decided that if it was awful, we'd still leave the theater all smiles," she said.
"Halfway through the film, I nudged him and said, 'It's quite good, isn't it?' and he was like 'Yeah, it's really good.' We had no idea it would work."
Movie critic Ebert has emergency surgery
CHICAGO - Film critic Roger Ebert, who has battled cancer in recent years, was in serious but stable condition Sunday following an emergency operation to repair complications from a previous cancer surgery.
Chicago Sun-Times columnist Richard Roeper — co-host of the "Ebert and Roeper" movie review show — told the paper that Ebert's vital signs appeared to be good after the hours-long operation.
Ebert's family told WLS-TV, one of his employers, that they expected him to make a full recovery.
Ebert had surgery June 16 to remove a cancerous growth on his salivary gland. He told Sun-Times columnist Robert Feder at the time that the condition was not life threatening and he expected to make a full recovery.
About 8 p.m. Saturday, a blood vessel burst near the site of the operation, the Sun-Times reported Sunday on its Web site. A Northwestern Memorial Hospital spokeswoman declined to comment Sunday afternoon.
The 64-year-old has undergone cancer surgery three times before — once in 2002 to remove a malignant tumor on his thyroid gland and twice on his salivary gland the next year.
Ebert has been a film critic at the Chicago Sun-Times since 1967. He won the Pulitzer Prize for criticism in 1975, the same year he teamed up with Gene Siskel of the rival Chicago Tribune to launch their movie-review show. Siskel died in 1999.
'Superman' soars to $52 million opening
LOS ANGELES - Superman may not be the world's greatest superhero at the box office, but the Man of Steel still flies high. "Superman Returns" took in $52.15 million over opening weekend, lifting its five-day total since its debut Wednesday to $84.2 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
That puts the Warner Bros. film ahead of the premiere of last year's "Batman Begins," another Warner superhero revival, which took in $48.7 million over its opening weekend and $72.9 million in its first five days. But "Superman Returns" finished far behind Sony's "Spider-Man 2," the record-holder for best five-day openings, with $152.4 million over Fourth of July weekend in 2004.
The weekend's other new wide release, 20th Century Fox's "The Devil Wears Prada," debuted far stronger than expected to come in second with $27 million. Industry analysts had expected the movie, starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway, to debut at less than $20 million.
The previous weekend's No. 1 movie, Sony's Adam Sandler comedy "Click," fell to third place with $19.4 million, raising its 10-day total to $77.9 million.
Hollywood's overall revenues rose for the seventh straight weekend. The top 12 movies took in $140.1 million, up 5 percent from Fourth of July weekend last year. If estimates hold, it would be the second-best Fourth of July weekend ever, behind the $158.4 million haul in 2004, according to Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.
The first big-screen adventure for the Man of Steel in 19 years, "Superman Returns" traces the comic-book hero's homecoming after a mysterious five-year absence. Played by newcomer Brandon Routh, Superman finds lady love Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) has a son and a new man in her life, while archenemy Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey) has hatched a plot to control the world.
Directed by Bryan Singer, who made the blockbusters "X-Men" and "X2: X-Men United," "Superman Returns" earned favorable reviews. A Superman fan since boyhood, Singer passed on doing a third "X-Men" to make "Superman Returns" after Warner let him throw out previous Man of Steel scripts and start from scratch with his own story.
"Bryan is just such a bright and creative individual. He had his own vision, and he was right and did a great job," said Dan Fellman, Warner head of distribution.
The movie should hit $110 million by Tuesday, Fellman said.
"Superman Returns" had big returns in 76 huge-screen IMAX theaters, most of which ran the movie incorporating 3-D footage in many action sequences. About $5 million of the film's grosses came from IMAX theaters.
"The Devil Wears Prada," adapted from Lauren Weisberger's best-selling novel, stars Hathaway as an aspiring journalist who reluctantly takes a job at a top fashion magazine, where she works for a tyrannical editor (Streep).
The movie's audience was four-fifths women, who turned out in far bigger numbers than 20th Century Fox had predicted.
"I don't know what to say. This is beyond my expectations," said Bruce Snyder, the studio's head of distribution.
Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures through July 4 will be released Wednesday.
1. "Superman Returns," $52.15 million.
2. "The Devil Wears Prada," $27 million.
3. "Click," $19.4 million.
4. "Cars," $14 million.
5. "Nacho Libre," $6.2 million.
6. "The Lake House," $4.5 million.
7. "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift," $4.4 million.
8. "Waist Deep," $3.3 million.
9. "The Break-Up," $2.8 million.
10. "The Da Vinci Code," $2.3 million.