Rogers Centre to host '09 Classic
The first-round venues are set for the second running of the World Baseball Classic, which will begin on March 5, 2009, in Japan.
In 2009, Rogers Centre and Foro Sol Stadium in Mexico City will host games for the first time, joining 2006 venues Tokyo Dome and Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico, as first-round sites.
Rogers Centre is the home ballpark of the Blue Jays, and Major League Spring Training exhibition games have been played at the 27,940-seat facility in Mexico City.
"The 2009 World Baseball Classic will further demonstrate the remarkable global growth of our game," Commissioner Bud Selig said. "There has been incredible demand to host the games of the second World Baseball Classic, and we are pleased to have four international destinations as our first-round venues. We are excited about the 2009 World Baseball Classic and look forward to next March."
The 16-team field is the same as '06, though an expansion of the field to 24 countries and territories with qualifying rounds as a preface to reach the main competition is under consideration for 2013.
Next year's brackets are as follows:
Pool A -- China, Chinese Taipei, Japan and Korea will begin play on March 5 in Tokyo Dome, where the A's are opening the regular season against the Red Sox this week.
Pool B -- Australia, Cuba, Mexico and South Africa, from March 8-12 in Mexico City.
Pool C -- Canada, Italy, the U.S. and Venezuela, from March 8-12 in Toronto.
Pool D -- Dominican Republic, the Netherlands, Panama and Puerto Rico, from March 7-11 in Puerto Rico.
Venues for the second round, plus the combined semifinals and finals are still to be determined, although San Diego's PETCO Park seems to be set for the second round and Dodger Stadium has the inside track for the semifinals and finals.
The semifinals and finals were sold out at San Diego's 45,000-seat home of the Padres in 2006. Japan vanquished Cuba, 10-6, to win the tournament and Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka, who now toils for the Red Sox, was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
Attendance for the '06 tournament at its seven venues was 737,112 tickets sold, a major coup considering that the Asian bracket didn't reach the 80 percent capacity in Tokyo Dome that was originally projected.
It was the first time that all Major League players were allowed to represent their native lands in an international baseball tournament. The baseball competition in the Summer Olympics, which is slated for Beijing in August, includes non-25-man roster MLB players only.
In another new wrinkle for '09, a rules change has been made in the qualifying portion of the tournament, which will now be a double-elimination format in the first two rounds.
In '06, there was round-robin play as teams with the top two records in each bracket ascended to the second round and the semifinals with a complicated formula based on runs scored used as the first tie breaker.
The semifinals remain as single-elimination games.
Also, unlike '06, there will be a crossover of brackets in the semifinals. In '06, Cuba defeated the Dominican and Japan ousted Korea in the semifinals.
"The best baseball players in the world are looking forward with great anticipation to playing in the 2009 World Baseball Classic," said Don Fehr, the executive director of the Players' Association, who is a partner with Major League Baseball in the venture. "Implementation of double-elimination and crossover games to the World Baseball Classic next year will make the games even more intense and the tournament even more exciting for both players and fans. It will be an unforgettable experience."
Another trip to Casino Royale
With an autumn release for the next Bond film Quantum of Solace, MGM is sure to celebrate the way they celebrate all recent Bond releases; a slew of video releases. The first announcement out of the gate is a new three disc release for Casino Royale.
The original 2.40:1 ratio is preserved with an anamorphic widescreen release.
An audio commentary will accompany the film as well. Extras include the featurettes Bond Girls are Forever, Becoming Bond, James Bond for Real, The Road to Casino Royale, Paying Taxes, Rescue and Recovery, Old Boyfriend?, James Bond in the Bahamas, The Art of the Freerun, Death in Venice, Catching a Plane: From Storyboard to screen and Ian Flemming: The Secret Road to Paradise, a music video, filmmaker profiles, storyboards and deleted scenes.
No word on whether the set will also be available in Blu-ray or which of the several slightly different versions of the film will be included when the DVD arrives on June 3rd.
But don't worry, James Bond will return in More Information Soon!
New CD Releases, March 25: Gnarls Barkley, Counting Crows, Panic at the Disco
Gnarls Barkley "The Odd Couple"
"The Odd Couple" in question is multi-instrumentalist/producer Danger Mouse (Brian Burton) and rapper/vocalist Cee-Lo Green (Thomas Callaway), who notched what many considered to be the most memorable song of 2006 with the single "Crazy" and sold millions of copies of their 2006 debut full-length, "St. Elsewhere."
Now, Gnarls Barkley is looking to build upon their early success--which included two Grammy Awards in 2007--with the release of the sophomore outing, "The Odd Couple." The first single from the new 13-track disc is titled "Run."
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Counting Crows "Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings"
The Crows fly back into action with their first new studio release since 2002's "Hard Candy." The disc was produced by Gil Norton and Brian Deck.
The San Francisco Bay Area band, led by vocalist Adam Duritz, is looking to add to its already impressive career-sales total. The Crows have sold more than 20 million records to date, thanks in large part to their mega-platinum debut, 1993's "August and Everything After."
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Panic at the Disco "Pretty. Odd"
The alt-pop band boogies back into the spotlight with the release of its sophomore record, which follows the group's 2005 debut, "A Fever You Can't Sweat Out." The new set was recorded at Las Vegas' Studio at the Palms with producer Rob Mathes, and features the leadoff single "Nine in the Afternoon."
Panic at the Disco will promote "Pretty. Odd" by headlining this year's Honda Civic Tour, which kicks off April 10 in San Francisco. The tour will also feature Motion City Soundtrack, The Hush Sound and Phantom Planet.
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The B-52's "Funplex"
R.E.M. isn't the only legendary Athens, GA, alt-rock band looking to make a comeback in 2008; the B-52's are also hoping for a big year with the release of "Funplex." It's the group's first new album in 16 years.
The 11-track set features song credits from all of the band's original members: Kate Pierson, Fred Schneider, Keith Strickland and Cindy Wilson (who sat out the group's last record, 1992's "Good Stuff"). The B-52's recorded "Funplex" in their native Athens with producer Steve Osborne (New Order, KT Tunstall).
The B-52's will support "Funplex" with a 12-city headlining tour, which begins April 23 in Boston, and will then join the 24-city True Colors Tour with Cyndi Lauper and Rosie O'Donnell, which kicks off May 31, also in Boston.
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Day 26 "Day 26"
The boy band hopes to follow in the footprints of Danity Kane as it tries to translate small-screen fame into Billboard chart success with the release of its eponymous debut. Like Danity Kane, Day 26 was put together and mentored by Diddy on the MTV hit reality series "Making the Band."
* * *
More new releases:
Karrin Allyson, "Imagina: Songs of Brasil" (Decca)
Lindsey Buckingham, "Live at the Bass Performance Hall" (Reprise)
Cavalera Conspiracy, "Inflikted" (Roadrunner)
Enrique Iglesias, "95/08" (Universal)
Lionel Loueke, "Karibu" (Blue Note)
Brad Mehldau Trio, "Live" (Nonesuch)
Morrissey, "Greatest Hits" (Decca)
Mike Oldfield, "Music of the Spheres" (Decca)
RPWL, "The RPWL Experience" (Inside Out)
Silver Mount Zion, "13 Blues for Thirteen Moons" (Constellation)
Ricky Skaggs (Artist), Kentucky Thunder, "Honoring the Fathers of Bluegrass: Tribute to 1946 & 1947" (Skaggs Family)
Various Artists, "WWE: The Music, Vol. 8" (Sony)
Soundtracks and scores:
"Planet Earth" (EMI)
"Polish Night Music" (Absurda)
No frills Rock Band (finally) arrives on Wii June 22
A Wii version of Rock Band was all but certain given the success of the console and now it's official: the popular band emulator from Harmonix arrives on Nintendo's console June 22 for $169 -- DLC and online still in doubt, however.
Better late than never, eh Rock Band Wii?
Harmonix confirmed today that Rock Band is coming to the Wii on June 22 for $169.
The announcement was seen by many as a formality given the success of Nintendo's console among non-traditional gamers, but it wasn't until today that EA and Harmonix apparently decided the Wii's audience had reached sufficient mass to warrant a port to that system.
And this version of Rock Band is indeed a port, with no Wii-specific extras of any kind promised in Harmonix's short press release.
Also missing was any information about downloadable content or a music store like the one recently announced for PS3 and Xbox 360 -- but such omissions have undeniably been par for the course with any third party online effort on the Wii thus far.
"The Wii's success among casual and core gamers of all ages makes it an ideal match for the cross-generational appeal of the music featured in Rock Band," says Bob Picunko, Vice President of Electronic Games and Interactive Products, MTV Games.
The Harmonix release said Rock Band for Wii will be released as a Special Edition bundle including the software, drums, microphone and a wireless guitar. Stand alone instruments will also be available at launch on June 22nd for people who want to build their band one instrument at a time or want to play the drum versus drum game mode. The game will feature 63 songs including five exclusive bonus songs.
UPDATE: Harmonix has responded with the following statement: "The feature-set is a lot closer to the PS2 version of Rock Band which was also developed by Pi Studios... Because the Wii's online capabilities and potential have yet to be fully realized, we wanted to wait before we explored online functionality for Rock Band to ensure that players get the high-quality of online performance they've come to expect."
'Scrubs' Goes Back to Work
The cast and crew of "Scrubs" are going back to work this week, even as the show remains caught between two networks.
The NBC comedy will put the finishing touches on an episode that began production before the writers' strike, and it may also film a couple more installments, according to The Hollywood Reporter. This despite the fact that the network hasn't asked for any new episodes beyond the five that were completed before the strike but haven't yet aired.
The additional episodes could end up as a bonus on the seventh-season DVD collection for "Scrubs," with producer ABC Studios footing the bill. Another increasingly strong possibility is that the new episodes will end up on ABC, which is interested in grabbing the show for another season.
Speculation about ABC picking up the show has become an annual rite of spring the past couple of years, since the series is produced by Disney and ABC Entertainment chief helped develop "Scrubs" when he was head of the studio (then known as Touchstone TV). The negotiations have been more serious this year, and despite objections from NBC, the network shift is looking more likely.
NBC was initially upset that ABC began negotiations to pick up "Scrubs" before NBC's license agreement expired, but the HR says the two networks have mostly resolved those issues. Current talks are focused on new contracts for cast members; star Zach Braff is reportedly on board.
"Scrubs" is not a ratings powerhouse; it's averaging only 6.2 million viewers a week this season. It does, however, bring in decent demographic numbers and a loyal audience, something few other ABC comedies can say at the moment.
Sara Evans Primed for Hitchin'
After taking a tumble the first time, Sara Evans is ready to get right back on that marital horse.
The country singer is engaged to radio host Jay Barker, Evans' rep, Lori Genes, told People on Monday.
"The couple are enjoying their engagement and look forward to their upcoming nuptials," Genes said.
The betrothed duo, who started seeing each other sometime before Thanksgiving, have not yet set a date. This will be the second trip down the aisle for both.
Evans, 37, has three children from her first marriage, and Barker, who went through a divorce last summer, has four.
Barker, a former star quarterback at the University of Alabama who helped lead his team to a national championship in 1992, presides over the morning show The Opening Drive on WJOX-AM in Birmingham.
Evans' 13-year marriage to erstwhile politico Craig Schelske officially ended in September after one of the uglier he-said, she-said battles in recent memory. Their union came to a grinding halt in October 2006 while Evans was a contestant on Dancing with the Stars.
And at least in part because the "Suds in the Bucket" songstress opted to quit the show midseason, her pending divorce became home-page news.
The miscellaneous mudslinging included allegations of infidelity from both sides, including a since-retracted accusation from Evans that Schelske had an affair with their nanny. Meanwhile, Schelske at one point filed court documents demanding his spouse cop to at least 11 extramarital affairs, claiming she messed around with, among others, her Dancing partner Tony Dovolani.
When a judge signed off on their divorce on Sept. 28, the warring pair agreed to drop their respective accusations and wipe the slate clean. Evans, who got to keep the family's abode in Nashville, was ordered to pay $600,000 in alimony. Schelske was given the deeds to their two residences in Oregon.
U.S. satellite radio merger gets antitrust OK
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sirius Satellite Radio's $4.59 billion purchase of rival XM Satellite Radio was given antitrust clearance on Monday as the Justice Department concluded consumers have many alternatives, including mobile phones and personal audio players.
Investors sent shares of both companies sharply higher even though the Federal Communications Commission must still approve the combination of the only two U.S. providers of satellite radio, a deal first announced in February 2007.
In a victory for Sirius Chief Executive Mel Karmazin, who lobbied hard for the deal, the Justice Department agreed the satellite radio companies face stiff competition from traditional AM/FM radio, high-definition radio, MP3 players and programming delivered by mobile phones.
"Competition in the marketplace generally protects consumers and I have no reason to believe that this won't happen here," Justice Department antitrust chief, Thomas Barnett, told a conference call with reporters.
The traditional radio industry, consumer groups and some U.S. lawmakers had criticized the deal, which would bring entertainers such as talk show host Oprah Winfrey and shock-jock Howard Stern under one roof.
The National Association of Broadcasters, which fought against the deal, said the Justice Department had granted XM and Sirius a "monopoly" and called the decision "breathtaking."
Sirius and XM, which are losing money, each currently charge subscribers about $13 a month for more than 100 channels of news, music, talk and sports.
New York-based Sirius' programming includes lifestyle guru Martha Stewart and NFL Football while Washington, D.C.-based XM is home to Bob Dylan's radio show and Major League Baseball.
The Justice Department said the combination would lead to "substantial" cost saving steps such as consolidating the line of radios they offer. It said those savings would "most likely to be passed on to consumers in the form of lower prices."
XM stock ended Monday up 15.5 percent to $13.79, while Sirius closed up 8.6 percent to $3.15, both on Nasdaq. At that price for Sirius' stock, the deal, in which 4.6 shares of Sirius are to be exchanged for each XM share outstanding, is worth $4.59 billion.
AWAITING FCC DECISION
The antitrust decision shifts the spotlight to the FCC, which must determine whether the XM-Sirius is in the public interest, and whether to enforce its 1997 order barring either satellite radio company from acquiring the other.
A source at the FCC said Chairman Kevin Martin has yet to make a proposal either approving or opposing the XM-Sirius combination, but has asked the agency's staff to draft documents for different possible outcomes.
This source said the FCC could be strongly influenced by the Justice Department decision. "I think it would be hard to go in the complete opposite direction," said the source.
Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus said the FCC could impose conditions, such as requiring the companies to adhere to promises Karmazin made to Congress last year.
Karmazin promised lawmakers that a combined company would offer packages of channels that customers could pick on an "a la carte" basis, and that customers would be able to block adult channels and get a refund for those channels.
In addition, Stifel Nicolaus said, the FCC also may require Sirius and XM to promise that all existing satellite radios will continue to work after the companies are combined.
David Bank, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets, was optimistic about FCC approval. "Now it's past DOJ, and we feel pretty optimistic it will get through the FCC," he said.
The Justice Department's decision provoked immediate criticism from a key lawmaker in Congress, Senate antitrust subcommittee chairman Sen. Herb Kohl, a Wisconsin Democrat.
Kohl took the department to task for "failing to oppose numerous mergers which reduced competition in key industries, resulting in the Justice Department not bringing a single contested merger case in nearly four years."
"We urge that the FCC find the merger contrary to the public interest and exercise its authority to block it," Kohl said in a statement.
Sirius and XM said in a brief statement that they had received antitrust clearance and that their deal was still subject to FCC approval.
25 Live reasons for George Michael to tour
A swarming paparazzi presence coupled with a nasty legal spat with Sony Music nearly scared him away for good, but George Michael hasn't completely lost his faith in America. This summer, the British bad boy returns for his first U.S. tour in 17 years.
After performing more than 80 shows in Europe, Michael kicks off the U.S. leg of his 25 Live tour in San Diego on June 17 before heading to 19 other cities. The arena tour will showcase songs from his album Twenty-Five, out April 1 and featuring duets with Mary J. Blige and Paul McCartney.
Why return now? Michael, 44, calls it a "rounding off" of his career's first phase. "I don't want to do anything on this scale again," he says. "No more stadiums. I'd like to be the Tony Bennett for my generation."
Disturbed by the increasing trend of downloadable music rendering CDs obsolete and talent shows such as American Idol taking the passion out of pop music, Michael says, "it's the end of a certain era, and I'm not sure how much I really want to be a part of what's next. So, it's a kind of a way of saying thank you to everybody before I move on."
But this is not a farewell tour for the Grammy winner who shot to stardom in the '80s with the band Wham! and crashed when he was arrested for lewd conduct in a Beverly Hills public bathroom in 1998.
Hoping to release more music in the future, Michael suspects he will offer it up to fans gratis to allow for artistic freedom. "There are other ways I can express the things I want to. And pop music stopped being a place to express much lyrically awhile back."
On Thursday, he plays himself in his first major U.S. acting role in ABC's Eli Stone (10 p.m. ET/PT), a series in which he has appeared in brief cameos.
He also is developing British TV programs and has received an advance from HarperCollins to write an autobiography, in which he would discuss the depression he suffered in the '90s.
Critical of his own work, Michael believes his U.K. tour was "too much of a party to represent what I've done."
That means hits Wake Me Up (Before You Go Go) and I Want Your Sex are out. "I'm too old," he says. "But they'll get Careless Whisper, which I don't particularly enjoy singing."
As he prepares to head stateside, "there are some improvements I can really make to the show. If I have anything to do with it, they're going to see the best show of their lives."
Tickets will go on sale Tuesday exclusively via an iTunes package. Tour tickets will be available elsewhere beginning the weekend of April 5.
Here are the tour's dates and stops:
June 17: San Diego/San Diego Sports Arena
June 19: San Jose, Calif./HP Pavilion
June 21: Las Vegas/MGM Grand
June 22: Phoenix/US Airways Center
June 25: Los Angeles/Great Western Forum
July 2: Seattle/Key Arena
July 4: Vancouver/General Motors Place
July 7: St. Paul/Xcel Energy Center
July 9: Chicago/United Center
July 13: Dallas/American Airlines Center
July 14: Houston/Toyota Center
July 17: Toronto/Air Canada Centre
July 18: Montreal/Bell Centre
July 21 and 23: New York/Madison Square Garden
July 26: Philadelphia/Wachovia Center
July 27: Boston/TD Banknorth Garden
July 29: Washington, D.C./Verizon Center
July 31: Atlanta/Philips Arena
Aug. 2: Tampa/St. Pete Times Forum
Aug. 3: Sunrise, Fla./Bank Atlantic Center
Beatles' friend Neil Aspinall dies at 66
NEW YORK - Neil Aspinall, a longtime friend of the Beatles who managed their business enterprises and helped make the group a moneymaking phenomenon decades after they split up, has died. He was 66.
Aspinall's death was announced Monday in a statement from surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, the widows of John Lennon and George Harrison, and the band's Apple Corps Ltd. company.
Aspinall died at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, where he had been receiving treatment. The exact date of his death was unclear.
He was a childhood friend of McCartney and Harrison in Liverpool, England. While he didn't contribute musically, he played several key roles in support of the Beatles, most notably as the head of their Apple Corps business, which oversaw the commercial concerns of the group, including licensing.
"I've known Neil many years and he was a good friend. We were blessed to have him in our lives and he will be missed," Starr said in a statement Monday.
Aspinall was the Beatles' first road manager and would drive them to gigs in his van. He later became their personal assistant, and in 1968, he took over the management of Apple Corps.
As head of Apple Corps, Aspinall was executive producer of the hugely successful "Beatles Anthology" album and was behind other successes, including the "Beatles One" album and the recent Cirque du Soleil production "Love," which has been a hit in Las Vegas.
"As a loyal friend, confidant and chief executive, Neil's trusting stewardship and guidance has left a far-reaching legacy for generations to come," the band's statement said.
Aspinall stepped down from Apple Corps last year.
He is survived by his wife, Suzy, and five children, who were with him when he died.