By Lori Acken

Move over, Trista and Ryan. It looks like number 13 is lucky after all.

A year after he scandalized Bachelor and Bachelorette fans  by dumping his Final Rose, Melissa Rycroft, for first runner-up Molly Melaney on live TV, Bachelor No. 13 Jason Mesnick will wed Melaney in a two-hour television special on ABC March 8.

The series’ first Bachelorette, Trista Rehn (coincidentally the first runner-up for the affections of Bachelor No.1 Alex Michel) married her last man standing, Ryan Sutter, on Dec. 6, 2003, in a lavish ceremony broadcast a few days later on ABC to the delight of 17 million viewers.  The pair now have a 9-month-old daughter and two-year-old son.

The Mesnick-Melaney wedding special will reportedly feature former Bachelor and Bachelorette contestants (no word if the recently married Rycroft will be among them) as wedding guests and also trail the future Mrs. Mesnick as she tries on dresses and plans her big day.

Photo: © 2008 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.

Categories: Reality TV, TV News & Program Updates by buttonknows
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Tags: ABC, Bachelor, Bachelor wedding, Bachelorette, Jason Mesnick, Melissa Rycroft, Molly Melaney, Ryan Sutter, Trista Rehn, Trista Sutter

By Elaine Bergstrom

At an age when some kids are mastering their first 10-speed, American ski jumper Lindsey Van was traveling internationally and winning junior ski jump competitions. Interviewed after a winning jump, a then 11-year-old Van said her goal was to make the women’s Olympic team in 2002. Now it is 2010, and though more than nine nations have women jumpers registered with the International Ski Federation (FIS), and women jumpers’ enrollment in the organization is nearly equal to that of men, there still isn’t a women’s ski jumping event at the Olympics.

“When you watch men and women, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference,” says Van about the inequity that journalists have dubbed “Ice Gate.”

“It’s old-fashioned, traditional European men who have their extreme sport. They don’t want women diluting it,” comments Van’s teammate Jessica Jerome. But “diluting” is hardly the issue since Van has jumped farther than any man on one of the Olympic hills and will be watching the men’s event to see if a guy can break her record.

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Categories: Sports by Cubicle QB
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Tags: Lindsey Van, Olympics, Ski Jumping, Sports, Vancouver, Winter Olympics, Women's Ski Jumping

By Karl J. Paloucek

The Winter Olympics don’t always get the same level of respect as their summertime cousins. Some argue that the Winter Olympics aren’t Olympics at all, as they’re not at all connected with the Games of ancient Greece. But it’s harder to argue that they’re any less exciting or drama-filled, and they’re certainly far more dangerous. Events like the super-G have people hurtling themselves down iced-over mountainsides, and from the way those luge competitors try to keep themselves perfectly aerodynamic, it sure doesn’t look like they can even see where they’re going.

But the Winter Olympics does have its share of events that some will find peculiar. The biathlon, an event combining cross-country skiing speed and agility with rifle marksmanship, throws a lot of people for a loop until they understand its historic origins in Scandinavian border patrol activity. More recent, “extreme” events like freestyle skiing and snowboarding have a more contemporary than historic feel, but they mesh well with the intense media focus that’s become part of the Games.

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Categories: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Sports by Cubicle QB
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Tags: Acroski, Bandy, Ice Stock Sport, Olympics, Skijoring, Sled Dog Racing, Speed Skiing, Sports, Vancouver, Winter Olympics

We’re gearing up for the 2010 Winter Olympics Feb. 12-28 in Vancouver! First up in a series of features is a look at a few of the big names from past Games, and what they’ve been up to lately:

Oksana Baiul
While the 1994 Lillehammer figure-skating competition — and let’s not kid ourselves, the entire Olympics fortnight — was overwhelmed with the Nancy Kerrigan-Tonya Harding scandal, neither of them took home the gold. That distinction went to the 16-year-old Ukrainian, whose moves on the ice bumped Kerrigan down to silver. Baiul faced her own scandal in 1997 after being arrested for DUI, but still skates professionally. In 2007 she headlined Cold As Ice, a musical that blended skating, song and dialogue, and is hoping to resurrect the show for a Broadway run.

The Jamaican Bobsled Team

What started out as a lark at the 1988 Calgary Olympics turned into a media sensation, capturing the imagination of a worldwide audience fascinated by the idea of a tropical island nation competing in an icy, wintry sport. Not long after the release of Cool Runnings, the Disney movie based on its formation, the team vastly improved its performance, placing a shocking 14th at Lillehammer, beating the U.S., Russia, France and an Italian team. The team is slated to compete at Vancouver with a two-man squad.
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Categories: Sports by Cubicle QB
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Tags: Alberto Tomba, Dan Jansen, Jamaican Bobsled Team, Oksana Baiul, Olympics, Picabo Street, Sports, Vancouver, Winter Olympics

Don’t know your biathlon from your Nordic combined? In preparation for the Vancouver Winter Olympics Feb. 12-28, we take a quick glance at each of the Games’ sports disciplines:

Alpine Skiing
Skiers compete in five disciplines: downhill, the fastest, steepest, longest course; slalom, the shortest course with the quickest turns; giant slalom, with wider and smoother turns than slalom; super-G, combining the speed of downhill with the precision of giant slalom; and combined, one downhill run and two slalom runs.

Biathlon
Biathlon combines the aerobic demands of cross-country skiing with the marksmanship of rifle shooting in five events: individual, sprint, pursuit, mass start and relay.

Bobsled
Bobsledders navigate an enclosed sled down a curved track of ice, reaching speeds near 80 mph. Competitions include two-man, four-man and two-woman bobsled.

Cross-Country Skiing
Cross-country skiers compete in sprint, relay and distance events with varying lengths, formats and styles.

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Categories: Sports by Cubicle QB
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Tags: Olympics, Sports, Vancouver, Winter Olympics

By Lori Acken

That’s right, America’s Got Talent fans! (OK, you too, Knight Rider and Baywatch fans.)

Before your tears have even dried over  The Hoff’s departure from his seat alongside Sharon Osbourne and Piers Morgan at the AGT judging table comes word that A&E — the network that made a monster reality star out of Steven Seagal, lawman — has ordered ten episodes of a docuseries  starring the troubled but inarguably entertaining star.

Produced by the unscripted television juggernaut Fremantle Media’s North American division, the as yet untitled series will spotlight Hasselhoff  — the man listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as “The Most Watched TV Star in the World” — as he juggles his own business ventures with trying to help his two teen daughters become pop stars.

“It’s the dream of every parent to be able to help their children succeed,” said Hasselhoff. “I told the girls that I would help them open the door when they are ready, but they would have to walk through it on their own.”

We bet they’ll be huge in Germany.

Photo: Zuma Press/Newscom

Categories: Reality TV, TV News & Program Updates by buttonknows
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Tags: A&E, David Hasselhoff

scene from "Earth Song"

Celine Dion, Jennifer Hudson, Smokey Robinson, Carrie Underwood and Usher will join together, accompanied by the voice of Michael Jackson, to offer a moving tribute to the King of Pop during the Grammy Award telecast, Jan. 31 on CBS. The tribute will feature the never-before-seen 3-D mini-movie for “Earth Song” that was created by Jackson as the centerpiece of his “This Is It” tour. The 3-D film was created to support the performance of “Earth Song,” an original composition and a No. 1 hit for Jackson. The song has a strong theme about the future of the planet, and Jackson saw it as a unique opportunity to deliver a message to millions of people who would have seen him on tour. [Read more →]

Categories: Music, TV News & Program Updates by RabbitEars
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Tags: 3-D, Carrie Underwood, CBS, Celine Dion, Earth Song, Grammy Awards, Grammys, Jennifer Hudson, Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson tribute, Smokey Robinson, Target, This Is It, Usher

Hope For Haiti Now: A Global Benefit For Earthquake Relief announced its lineup of musical performers. The global telethon is set to become the most widely distributed telethon in history, both internationally and across media platforms, as it works to raise proceeds for Haiti earthquake relief.

Performers include:

From New York City – Wyclef Jean, Bruce Springsteen, Jennifer Hudson, Mary J. Blige, Shakira, Madonna and Sting

From Los Angeles — Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, Dave Matthews, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Stevie Wonder, Taylor Swift, Haitian artist Emeline Michel, and a group performance by Keith Urban, Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow

From London – Coldplay, Beyonce, and a group performance by Bono, The Edge, Jay-Z and Rihanna

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Categories: Music, TV News & Program Updates by RabbitEars
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Tags: Alicia Keys, Anderson Cooper, Bono, Bruce Springsteen, Christina Aguilera, Coldplay, Dave Matthews, earthquake, George Clooney, Haiti, Haiti earthquake relief, Haiti telethon, Haiti telethon channels, Hope for Haiti Now, Jay-Z, Jennifer Hudson, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Keith Urban, Kid Rock, Mary J. Blige, musical performances, Rihanna, Shakira, Sheryl Crow, Stevie Wonder, sting, Taylor Swift, telethon, The Edge, Wyclef Jean

By Ryan

The first Grand Slam event of the tennis calendar gets started this weekend from Australia’s Melbourne Park, where Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams defend their singles titles. ESPN2 and Tennis Channel cover the event Jan. 17-31, for the first time in high definition. The full TV schedule (continued after the jump):

Australian Open On ESPN2

All times Eastern

Sunday, Jan. 17
Noon-5pm    2009 Men’s Final        Taped
7pm-2am    Early Rounds        LIVE
3-8am Early Rounds     LIVE
Monday, Jan. 18
3-7pm Early Rounds     Same-day
9pm-2am Early Rounds     LIVE
3-8am Early Rounds     LIVE

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Categories: Sports, TV News & Program Updates by Cubicle QB
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Tags: Australian Open, ESPN2, Sports, Tennis, Tennis Channel

Burbank, CA (Jan. 12, 2010) — ABC Family’s two upcoming original movies will have spring premiere dates. The Cutting Edge: Fire & Ice, starring Francia Raisa (“The Secret Life of the American Teenager”) and Brendan Fehr, will premiere on Sunday, March 14 (8:00-10:00PM ET/PT). Business of Falling in Love, starring Hilary Duff, with Matt Dallas, Michael McMillan and Chris Carmack, will premiere on Sunday, April 18 (8:00-10:00PM ET/PT).

In The Cutting Edge: Fire & Ice, Francia Raisa reprises her role as Alexandra “Alex” Delgado in film franchise, whose figure skating career came to an abrupt halt after her partner (on and off the ice) became injured. As their love affair cooled, a heart-broken Alex stopped competing and turned to teaching. Enter James Van Behr (Fehr), the smoldering bad boy of speed skating, who has had fiery Alex in his sights as a skating partner ever since he was banned from speed skating. There aren’t many girls who say no to James — Alex may well be the first. However, James pushes her buttons, challenging her like no one else – and her fighting spirit returns. She agrees to be his partner and they begin a grueling practice regimen fueled (and occasionally derailed) by their own tempestuous relationship which heats up as they get closer to competition. But will their passion destroy Alex’s chance to bring home the gold again?

The Cutting Edge: Fire & Ice marks the fourth installment of the successful franchise produced by MGM Television. The movie is directed by Stephen Herek and is written by Holly Brix. It is executive-produced by the MGM team of Craig Roessler, Sara Berrisford and Hudson Hickman. [Read more →]

Categories: Movies, TV News & Program Updates by sharrison76
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Tags: ABC Family, Brendan Fehr, Business of Falling in Love, Cutting Edge: Fire and Ice, Francia Raisa, Gil Junger, Hilary Duff, Michael Horowitz, Stacey Harrison, Stephen Herek, TCA