LeBron James ... boooooo!

It’s about a month until most of the country gets to boo LeBron James when the NBA season opens … and I can’t wait. Read all about it in today’s High 5:

ANOTHER BAD DECISION: Maybe LeBron James should just keep his mouth shut. Now he and his “team” of advisers — which is mainly the buddies he grew up with — are blaming race as the factor for the negative backlash toward the NBA superstar that has resulted from the ESPN special in July when he said he was leaving his hometown team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, for the bright lights of south Florida and the Miami Heat. National reaction from fans and media alike slammed James and has not let up. He has gone from one of the nation’s most admired and popular athletes to the sixth-most disliked, according to a recent study by the Q Scores Company. The worst thing he could have done was to bring up the issue of race. Hey, LeBron, the reason people don’t like you anymore is that you stabbed Cleveland in the back. He’ll likely be booed out of every NBA arena outside of Miami during the coming season. That will undoubtedly be tough to take for a guy spent his first even years in the NBA trying to cultivate a superstar image to match his talent. James would have been one of the most admired players ever if he had stayed in Cleveland. Now his legacy is forever tainted. TNT pro basketball analyst Charles Barkley’s criticism of James’ actions has been non-stop, so it should be interesting the first time Miami is on one of the TNT games of the week. If the Heat struggle this season, especially at the onset, the pressure and criticism of James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh will quickly snowball. (You have no idea how much I am hoping that happens.)

FOUND ON FACEBOOK: “Who lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue? Anyone … anyone? OK …Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? If you got the second and not the first … you need help.”

OVERRATED: Automobile warranties. (They cover DEFECTIVE parts, not DAMAGED parts.)

UNDERRATED: Waiting for a granddaughter to be born. (She should arrive some time Friday morning.)

THEY’RE NOT OLDER, THEY’RE GETTING … WELL, YOU KNOW: Four more celebs (or ones who think they are) are celebrating today …

– Actor Eric Stoltz is 49. (He was in one of my all-time favorite films, “Some Kind of Wonderful.”)
– Actress Angie Dickinson is 79. (Remember her in “Police Woman”?)
– Rapper T-Pain is 26. (Now which one is he? They all sound alike.)
– Actor Barry Williams is 56. (He was “Greg” on the Brady Bunch, one of the worst TV shows ever. EVER!)

Bristol Palin on "Dancing With The Stars."

It seems there is always one Palin or another in the news. Personally, I would rather read about Sarah, but today’s High 5 deals with Bristol:

WHAT’S NEXT? Bristol Palin’s been receiving quite a bit of publicity for her gig on Dancing With The Stars. Many feel this is just the beginning for the daughter of political personality and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Time is conducting an online poll to see what Bristol’s next move should, could or might be. So far, here’s how the vote for what reality TV show she sould be on next has gone:

– Teen Mom, 48 percent
– The Bachelorette, 22 percent
– Survivor, 20 percent
– Celebrity Apprentice, 10 percent.

In case you were wondering, the majority of voters in Alaska have voted for Celebrity Apprentice.

FOUND ON FACEBOOK: “I can give you advice on lawyers.”

OVERRATED: Laurence Fishburne on CSI.

UNDERRATED:  Alex Loughlin on the new Hawaii Five-O. (What a show!)

– Guitarist Mike Pinera of Iron Buttefly is 62. (Remember “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida”?)
– Singer-guitarist Mark Farner of Grand Funk Railroad is 62.  (Or how about “We’re An American Band”?)
– TV personality Bryant Gumbel is 62. (I always thought Bryant, not Greg Gumbel, would have been the biggest on-air star. I was wrong.)
– Comedian Andrew “Dice” Clay is 53. (Howard Stern must have been his role model.)

The one definite candidate for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction class of 2011 should be Neil Diamond … read all about it in today’s High 5:

THE HALL AWAITS: Nominees have been released for the 2011 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It’s quite a mix of talents, to stay the least. The nominees are Alice Cooper, Dr. John, J. Geils Band, Donna Summer, the Beastie Boys, Bon Jovi, Chic, Neil Diamond, Donovan, LL Cool J, Darlene Love, Laura Nyro, Joe Tex, Tom Waits and Chuck Willis. To be eligible, an act must have released its first recording at least 25 years before being eligible for nomination. Here’s how I would break down the 15 nominees:

Worthy: Alice Cooper, Neil Diamond, J. Geils Band, Donna Summer, Bon Jovi. (Seriously, Neil Diamond should be a no-brainer. Bon Jovi is probably be right behind.)
Borderline: Donovan, Tom Waits, LL Cool J, Laura Nyro, Dr. John, Beastie Boys. (Donovan was one of the most underrated singer laureates of the flower power generation.)
No chance: Chic, Joe Tex, Chuck Willis, Darlene Love.

FOUND ON FACEBOOK: “If I didn’t have petty tasks like my job and having to shower and go to the bathroom, I could sit around and watch football all day … every day … forever.”

OVERRATED: Senior moments.

UNDERRATED: Blonde moments.

ANOTHER YEAR HAS COME AND … WELL, YOU KNOW: If you see any of the following wish them a happy birthday,.

– Actress-comedian Janeane Garofalo is 46. (I could never decide if she was funny, or just nasally annoying.)
– Actress Mira Sorvino is 43. (When was the last time she had a hit movie?)
– TV personality Moon Zappa is 43. (Have you ever said her name and not chuckled to yourself?)
– Actress Naomi Watts is 42. (A very underrated actress.)

Da Bears … repeat after me — Da Bears … repeat after me — Da Bears … Da Bears and more in today’s High 5:

THE GOOGLE/YAHOO TOP 10: It’s time to take another look …

1. Chicago Bears: 3-0. Eric Ervin is a happy man.
2. The Walking Dead: One of the most talked-about new programs of the fall starts on Halloween on AMC. Three words: Zombie. Apocalypse. Yes.
3. Sister Wives: It’s a show about polygamy on TLC. What’s a good word that combines disgusting and stupid?
4. George Blanda: One of the true stars of the old AFL passes away at age 83. Those young NFL fans who think football only began in the late 1990s should be required to read about Blanda and some of the othe heroes of the AFL, who changed pro football forever — and for the better — in the 1960s.
5. The Bachelor: My wife loves this show. My wife needs to get out more.
6. Lindsay Lohan: How can someone so young be so messed up?
7. Max Weinberg: Conan O’Brien’s former bandleader is not following him to TNT. Probably a good move for Max, who obviously can smell a disaster in the making.
8. George Lopez: His wife of 17 years is leaving him. What? Did she watch his show?
9. Little Debbie: More than $6,000 worth of the snack cakes were stolen in Wichita. My question is why?
10. Michael Douglas: His new Wall Street movie is No. 1.

FOUND ON THE FACEBOOK: ”Coming home from a long night at work to find a decapitated mouse on your bedroom floor and mouse parts everywhere is the worst thing ever.”

OVERRATED: Pizza rolls

UNDERRATED: Toasted ravioli.

THIS WEEK’S TOP FIVE: I’ve moved a new team — Stanford — into my top five, a school that has flown under the proverbial radar but has a chance to catch the nation’s attention Saturday when it plays at Oregon.

1. Alabama: Mark Ingram can play on my team anyday. 
2. Ohio State: So can Terrelle Pryor.
3. Boise State: Say what you want, but all the Broncos do is win. Call it a Boise Statement.
4. Oregon: If for some reason Ohio State does not make it to the BCS title game, we could have a heckuva rematch of last year’s Rose Bowl between Oregon the Buckeyes.
5. Stanford: When Nebraska only beat South Dakota State by 14 it opened the door for Stanford, which blasted Notre Dame.

Don Cornelius

There’s a reason — actually two — to look forward to Mondays. Read all about it in today’s High 5:

I’M PUMPED!: My two new favorite shows of the fall are on tonight. It will be the second episodes for The Event and Hawaii Five-O. I haven’t been this excited about new TV programs — especially Hawaii Five-O — since I got hooked on American Idol in 2003. The ironic thing about my new Five-O addiction is that I couldn’t stand the original. Jack Lord as Steve McGarrett just didn’t do it for me. I didn’t care for anything about that show, but the remake is scintillating. The Event reminds me of a network version of Rubicon, currently playing on Sunday nights on AMC. My only concern is that The Event will leave too many strings dangling for too long. We’re going to need closure some things — before January. I hope both Five-O and The Event can maintain the buzz they created a week ago.

FOUND ON FACEBOOK: “Cute but psycho. It all balances out.”

OVERRATED: Monday Night Football. (Jon Gruden is the only semi-interesting announcer/analyst associated with MNF. Could someone please — PLEASE! — get Ron Jaworski off the air?)

UNDERRATED: Sunday Night Football in America. (The NBC production is first class and interesting from top to bottom. Sunday night football is what Monday night used to be.)

LIGHT THE CANDLES: Some interesting celebrities will be opening presents today …

– Actor Wilford Brimley is 75. (One of America’s all-time great character actors.)
– Producer Don Cornelius is 73.  (If you ever watched Soul Train, you know who Don Cornelius is.)
– Singer-guitarist Randy Bachman of Bachman-Turner Overdrive is 66. (BTO ruled mid-1970s.)
– Singer-actor Meat Loaf is 62. (What many do not know about Meat Loaf is how big of a baseball fan he is.)

Octomom

I wish I would have been in the neighborhood of the Octomom’s yard sale. It had to have been interesting … read all about it in today’s High 5:

MONEY WOES: A celebrity website is reporting Nadya Suleman, better known as ”The Octomom,”  held a yard sale outside her Orange County home on Saturday, selling off some very personal items – including her well-broken-in nursing bra.  Among other things, children’s toys and clothes were also up for sale. Suleman is also selling some items on eBay including a sonogram of her octuplets which she signed. She said she’s in financial trouble and needs to come up with a way to support her family. Suleman said she needs to pay $450,000 in two weeks to save her house. She reportedly missed her September house payment of $4,060 and is facing foreclosure. In all, she has 14 children.

FOUND ON FACEBOOK: “I need cows please.”

OVERRATED:  This fall’s new network television shows. Was it just me or was last week — for the exception of The Event and Hawaii Five-O — a complete bomb?

UNDERRATED: Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who Saturday accounted for six touchdowns. He threw for four touchdowns, ran for one and caught a scoring pass. I wonder how many quarterbacks have accounted for touchdowns in all three fashions in one game before?

YIKES: Franco Sassi, economist and author estimates 75 percent of Americans will be overweight or obese by 2020. (Hey, I just beat the rest of them to that point by 10 years.)

Kirstie Alley

Enjoy a weekend of college and pro football, but start it off with a run through today’s High 5:

THE GOOGLE/YAHOO TOP 10: Time to check in with some of the most-searched items:

1. Kirstie Alley: She’s lost 80 pounds — again. Don’t worry, she’ll gain it back.
2. Lindsay Lohan: She’s in jail again. Yawnnnnnnnnnnn.
3. Gisele Bundchen: She’s quarterback Tom Brady’s supermodel wife and doesn’t want him to cut his hair. Double yawnnnnnnnnn.
4. Ali Lohan: All the world needs is another Lohan in the news.
5. Ashton Kutcher: That relationship with Demi Moore was built on sand anyway.
6. Katy Perry: She’s going to be on Saturday Night Live. It’s certainly a better choice than Lady Gaga. 
7. Buried: I will not see this movie. I’m too much of a claustrophobic.
8. Mad Men: It’s won three straight Emmys for best drama, but … IT’S BORING.
9. Steven Tyler: Something tells me the new American Idol judge is going to be a surprising hit with the fans.
10.  Starbucks: The prices are going up. (I have to be honest. I don’t care. I don’t drink coffee.)

FOUND ON FACEBOOK: “Jumping rope with your catheter is OK.”

OVERRATED: Saturday mornings.

UNDERRATED: Friday nights.

YOU SAY IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY: Today’s birthdays list is mostly a tribute to old groups that only baby boomers will appreciate.

– Singer Gerry Marsden of Gerry and the Pacemakers is 68. (Remember “Girl on a Swing”?)
– Singer Sonny Turner of The Platters is 71. (My favorite Platters song was “With this Ring.”)
– Singer Barbara Allbut of The Angels is 70. (The Angels’ biggest song was probably “My Boyfriend’s Back.”)
– Actor Kyle Sullivan of “Malcolm in the Middle” is 22. (That show always annoyed the heck out of me.)

Steven Tyler

We’re about 3 1/2 months away from the start of American Idol’s 10th season and I’m starting to get a little anxious … so here are some early thoughts:

IDOL THOUGHTS: American Idol made it official earlier this week when it confirmed Steven Tyler and J-Lo (Jennifer Lopez) would team with incumbent Randy Jackson to form this year’s three-judge panel. What I found more interesting was some of the comments about other changes we can expect for this year’s show:

– “We are no longer going to get the country singer to sing rock. We’re now going to stay with what their genre is. It’s going to be more decades of music than individual artists’ music. We’re going to develop what they’re good at.” (executive producer Nigel Lythgoe, who is back after a two-year absence)

– Lythgoe says other rule changes will be designed to find Idols as memorable as Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood, which hasn’t been the case in recent years. “We have to get back to creating an American Idol,” he says.

– Having an ability to move will be a factor, too. Tyler refers to performers who just stand awkwardly in place as “shoe gazers.” “They’re going to have to present themselves better than they did last year,” producer Ken Warwick says. “We got sick to death of them sitting there behind a guitar.”

 –  ”I think Steven Tyler should make for good television. I think he’s very opinionated. He also has a really long music history and a really good idea of what it takes to be a success. He reinvented Aerosmith many times to make them more successful and more in tune with what was happening with the music of the time. He knows what it’s like to be a survivor and to work hard and put everything you have into being successful. … I think he’ll be fun to watch and it will be interesting to see what he says. He’s definitely far more unpredictable than any judges we’ve seen in a while, even the kinder, gentler Simon Cowell that we saw in the last couple of years.” (Newsday music critic Glenn Gamboa)

Don’t forget, once Idol season gets close, we’ll be firing up the Idol Nation blog. Hope to see you there!

FOUND ON FACEBOOK: “It’s not called stalking … it’s called investigating.”

OVERRATED: Strawberry/banana pudding.

Jay Cutler

UNDERRATED: Longjohns with maple frosting and no filling.

GEOFF’S TOP 5 AND BOTTOM 5: The younger Eighinger is back again this week, offering his top five NFL quarterbacks … and his bottom five:

Top 5

1. Peyton Manning, Colts: It’s Peyton Manning, so enough said.
2. Drew Brees, Saints: No huge games so far but when you think accuracy, you think Drew Brees.
3. Philip Rivers, Chargers: He can’t wait to play Kansas City again.
4. Jay Cutler, Bears: Highest rating in the league as he tries to overcome a dismal 2009.
5. Tony Romo, Cowboys: But can he lead the Cowboys to a Super Bowl?

Bottom 5

28. Joe Flacco, Ravens: One touchdown and five interceptions isn’t gonna cut it, Blue Hen.
29. Trent Edwards, Bills: Benched.
30. Derek Anderson, Cardinals: He wishes it were 2007 and he had talent again.
31. Cleveland Browns: That’s right, any one of them. Perhaps Kevin Kolb could help.
32. Matt Moore, Panthers: Looks like his days as a starting QB are over. Hello, Jimmy Claussen!

I’ve been wanting one of those new HDTVs, but I don’t think it needs to be as big as the one in today’s High 5:

WONDER WHAT THE REMOTE LOOKS LIKE?: Charlotte Motor Speedway and Panasonic have announced  they are installing the world’s largest HD video board along the backstretch of the track in time for next year’s Coca-Cola 600 in late May. The video board will be an amazing 200 feet wide, standing 80 feet tall and weighing 165,000 pounds. The video board will cover an expansive 16,000 square feet and be located between turns 2 and 3 along the backstretch of the legendary superspeedway. The board will be bigger than the White House. Yes, that White House. I wonder if there is a slightly smaller version for the mancave?

FOUND ON FACEBOOK: “One of the best things about being a parent is all the body fluids you get to encounter.”

OVERRATED: Eminem.

UNDERRATED: Coconut M&Ms.

STILL GOING STRONG AT 114: A Montana resident believed to be the world’s oldest man celebrated his 114th birthday Tuesday at a retirement home in Great Falls. Walter Breuning was born on Sept. 21, 1896, in Melrose, Minn., and moved to Montana in 1918, where he worked as a clerk for the Great Northern Railway for 50 years. Do you realize how old 114 is? When Breuning was born before the Internet, before television, before Facebook, before Netflix … even before Ho-Ho’s. Just think how fascinating it would be to talk to this man.

Mel Gibson, in his Mad Max days.

Nowadays when you say “Mel Gibson” you almost have to wince. It wasn’t that long ago, however, he was one of the good guys … let’s look back in today’s High 5:

STILL MAD: I stumbled across Mad Max on AMC on Tuesday night and couldn’t turn the channel. This was Mel Gibson when he was Mel Gibson, before he went mainstream in Lethal Weapon, The Patriot and Braveheart. I really wish he hadn’t gone off the deep end in his personal life like he has in recent years. He was truly one of my all-time favorite actors back in the days of those films. The Mad Max flicks have long been underrated. They helped usher in a new generation of post-apocalyptic adventure/horror movies. Who can ever forget that barbaric motorcycle gang chasing The Road Warrior and the Feral Kid? AMC deserves some major kudos for its recent film specials. Two weeks ago it provided us with the five Dirty Harry movies, and now this week we have the Mad Max series.

FOUND ON FACEBOOK: “It’s 2 a.m. EST and there are still two live college football games on TV. That’s what I call American Beauty.” (A beautiful, beautiful thought.)

OVERRATED: Kent Stegeman.

UNDERRATED: Kent Tekulve.

BIRTHDAY WISHES: They’re not getting older, they’re getting … naw, they’re just getting older.

– Singer Joan Jett is 52. (I bet she still loves rock and roll.)
– Actor Scott Baio is 49. (Chachi is 49? How old is Joanie?)
– Singer Debby Boone is 54. (I never, ever, ever, ever want to hear “You Light Up My Life” again. Never.)
– Singer David Coverdale of Whitesnake and Deep Purple is 59. (Remember some of those old Whitesnake videos?)