pimblr.com

Fox was the most-watched American network last week, ably assisted by its one-two punch from “American Idol.”
Right behind, CBS was boosted by its scripted shows, seven of which (along with its “Survivor: Micronesia” and “60 Minutes”) landed in the top 20.
But third-place ABC had one of the week’s most unusual hits: the debate between Democratic hopefuls Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.
For the week, Fox averaged 8.75 million viewers (5.3 rating, 9 share), while CBS had 8.54 million (5.6 rating, 11 share), according to Nielsen Media Research. ABC had 7.91 million viewers (5.2 rating, 9 share), NBC 7.32 million (4.8 rating, 8 share), the CW 2.29 million viewers (1.5 rating, 2 share), My Network TV 1.01 million (0.7 rating, 1 share) and ION Television 400,000 (0.3 rating, 0 share).
Now playing at Belleville’s Famous Players 8 cinemas through April 24: Forgetting Sarah Marshall; 88 Minutes; The Forbidden Kingdom; Prom Night; Street Kings; Leatherheads; Nim’s Island; 21; Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! Call 613-969-7080 or see cineplex.com for details.
Empire Theatre films: The Other Boleyn Girl April 22. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. Info: 613-969-0099.
Next at the Quinte Film Alternative: 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days, April 30. Screenings at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at the Empire Theatre. Tickets: 613-969-0099. Info: 613-391-4310 or www.quintefilmalternative.ca
The Quinte Arts Council and Jeunesses Musicales of Canada present The Merry Widow, an operetta by Franz Lehar, April 23, 7:30 p.m., (reception at 6:30 p.m.) at the Empire Theatre. Tickets: 613-969-0099 or www.theempiretheatre.com
Interlink, young and old singing together in an intergenerational choir, will perform April 24 at 7 p.m. at Holy Rosary School, Belleville.
The Belleville Art Association presents an art show and sale called Spring Renewal in the gallery-studio at 392 Front St. through May 10. For more info: www.bellevilleart.ca

intelligencer.ca

HOUSTON, April 22 (UPI) — “American Idol” season six winner Jordin Sparks has been sidelined by a vocal chord injury, but anyone can got a voice problem, U.S. experts say.
Experts in the audiology speech pathology department at The Methodist Hospital in Houston say most voice disorders are related to trauma to the vocal folds from excessive or intense voice use and vocal nodules. Vocal nodules, polyps and cysts are common use-related problems that occur in adults — especially for those who use their voice a lot such as lawyers and teachers.
In addition, irritants, such as acid reflux and environmental allergies, also account for many throat and voice complaints and treating reflux or allergies can go a long way in preserving the voice.
To keep the throat in good working order, use a normal voice, avoid throat clearing and don’t whisper.
“Whispering is hard on the voice — as is talking very loudly,” the experts at The Methodist Hospital in Houston says in a statement. “Also, if you feel strain or tension in your throat, neck or shoulders, it means you’re talking too loudly.”
Smoking or drinking alcohol can also irritate the vocal cords.

upi.com

Cook sang “Forever” during Tuesday night’s performance episode. Idol judge Randy Jackson had said he “didn’t think that was amazing” and added “there were a couple of pitchy notes in the first part” before commenting she “definitely started stepping up towards the end.”
Fellow judge Paula Abdul said she was “blown away,” enjoyed the arrangement and thought Cook would “have a hit with it in the country-western world.” Not surprisingly, Simon Cowell disagreed.
“Well you probably weren’t jumping for joy when you heard it was Mariah Carey week,” Cowell told Cook during Tuesday night’s broadcast.
“I was just happy I gave her chills,” answered Cook, referring to Carey’s comments about getting goosebumps.
“Okay, well you didn’t give me chills,” replied Cowell. “I think you managed with what you could. It was a little bit whiny at times. It wasn’t ever going to be an advantage for you. So I think you were quite smart. It just wasn’t great.”
Prior to Cook’s elimination last night, Syesha Mercado, a 21-year-old from Sarasota, FL who currently resides in Miami, FL, and Brooke White, a 24-year-old from Mesa, AZ who currently resides in Van Nuys, CA, were revealed to be the other members of this week’s bottom three vote-getters.
“It’s tough. It’s tough every week now,” Jackson said when White and Cook were revealed to be the last two finalists in danger of elimination. “I don’t know man. I can’t call this one dude.”
“No surprises,” added Cowell. “Maybe Kristy, you know, your time’s up this time sweetheart.”
Seacrest then revealed that — after being among the bottom three four out of her six weeks in the Top 12 — Cook had been eliminated from this competition.
Earlier in the broadcast, Carly Smithson had openly expressed her displeasure with the way Cowell had been criticizing her.

realitytvworld.com

“CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF”: 8 p.m. April 20, Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora. Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Tennessee Williams. Story of a couple poised to inherit the largest plantation in the Mississippi Delta. He is confined, by injury, to the bedroom of his family estate. His bride is determined to win the family fortune. Tickets: $32.50, $37.50, $42.50 at 630-896-6666 or www.paramountarts.com.
“CLOSER”: through May 10, Riverfront Playhouse, 11-13 S. Water Street Mall, Aurora. Patrick Marber’s controversial and provocative play about love and sex in the 21st Century. Not appropriate for younger or more sensitive audience members. Schedule: 8 p.m. Fridays & Saturdays. Tickets: $15 adults, $12 seniors and students at 630-897-9496 or www.riverfrontplayhouse.com.
“DROOD”: through April 12, Pheasant Run Resort Mainstage Theater, 4051 E. Main St., St. Charles. Family-friendly mystery by Rupert Holmes. Presented by Noble Fool Theatricals. John Jasper, the “Jekyll-and-Hyde” choirmaster, is in love with his student, Rosa Bud, who is engaged to Jasper’s nephew, Edwin Drood. When Drood is discovered missing, suspicions surface as to whether Drood has been murdered. The audience will help determine the story ending. Schedule: 8 p.m. Friday, 5 & 8:30 p.m. Saturday. Tickets: $27, $38. Dinner show packages: $49, $60. Tickets and information: 630-584-6342; any Ticketmaster location or www.ticketmaster.com.
“LATE NITE CATECHISM”: through May 31, Preservation Hall Studio Theater at Pheasant Run Resort, 4051 E. Main St., St. Charles. Noble Fool theatricals comedy presentation featuring Lisa Braatz as Sister, the wisecracking, lovable nun. Schedule: 6 p.m. Saturdays, 2:30 p.m. Sundays. Tickets: $27 with dinner packages from $49. Tickets and information: 630-584-6342; any Ticketmaster location or www.ticketmaster.com.
“THE MUSIC MAN”: 7:30 p.m. April 17-19, Dundee-Crown High School auditorium, 1 Charger Country Drive, Carpentersville. Story of the con man salesman, Harold Hill, who fools everybody but the intelligent town librarian, Marian Paroo. Tickets: $7 adults, $6 seniors and students available at the door. Tickets and information: 847-275-6995.

nwherald.com

Relay For Life garage sale: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. today. The Florida Cancer Institute is sponsoring this garage sale with proceeds to the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life at 8763 River Crossing Blvd., New Port Richey, (727) 842-8411.
• 4:30 p.m. North Buena Vista Civic Club, 2039 Orange Drive, Holiday, (727) 938-6621. Nonsmoking.
• 7 p.m. VFW Post 10167, 4619 Bartelt Road, Holiday, (727) 938-5977. Smoking and non-smoking rooms.
Seafood and karaoke: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. today. Moose Lodge 1429, 1936 Abacus Road, Holiday, (727) 937-9030. Menu items: $7.95 to $8.95, featuring all-you-can-eat fish, blue plate special, butterfly shrimp. Roy’s Karaoke at 7 p.m. No cover.
Dinner-dance: Dinner at 5 p.m. today, dancing at 7 p.m. Father Farrell Knights of Columbus, 2040 Grand Blvd., Holiday, (727) 934-8024. Donation: $11; dance only, $5.
Pancake breakfast: 8 to 11 a.m. Saturday. Beacon Square Civic Club, 3741 Bradford Drive, Holiday, (727) 849-3740. Full breakfast. Donation: $4 adults, $2 children.
Polish Legion American Veterans: Noon to 4 p.m. Monday. The Polish Legion of American Veterans, U.S.A. will meet at the Beacon Square Club House, 3741 Bradford Drive, Holiday, (727) 376-6068.
Open invitation to all genealogists: The Family History Center at 7851 Lutz Lake Fern Road, Odessa, is open to the public and free. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays; 1 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays; 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays; closed Fridays and Sundays. For information, call Marlene Robinson, director, at (813) 926-3596 or (813) 926-3590.
PHCC Captain’s Party and Auction: 6 p.m. Thursday. This party is sponsored by Hampton Inn & Suites of Wesley Chapel at the Heritage Springs Golf & Country Club, 11345 Robert Trent Jones Parkway, Trinity. Tickets: $25. Purchase online at www.phcc.edu/gofish or call (727) 816-3707. Auction items include trips, laptop computer, gift baskets and more. Benefit for Pasco-Hernando Community College Foundation, 10230 Ridge Road, New Port Richey, (727) 816-3410.

tampabay.com

With his international family background and his passion at the podium, Obama is being viewed as the perfect supersalesman for the bid—a symbol of change who could rebuild bridges with disaffected nations, said sources close to the bid.
“What do you do that is unique to Chicago; what is the secret sauce? Barack and Michael Jordan,” said one source.
Obama, who built his career in Chicago and lives in Kenwood, already touted Chicago’s bid in a video endorsement played for U.S. Olympic Committee evaluators who were visiting the city in March 2007. The USOC later selected Chicago over Los Angeles as the nation’s bid city.
As for his role in the future? An Obama spokeswoman kept it general: “Sen. Obama believes that a Chicago Olympics will bring lasting benefits to the residents of our region, and he’ll continue to work hard to help make this a reality.”
The Chicago 2016 bid team declined to address his potential role at this point, noting the city is focused on making the cut in June to become a finalist candidate city. Right now, it is one of seven applicant cities.
“At this point in the campaign, it would be presumptive for us to think about who will be in a final presentation,” said Patrick Sandusky, a spokesman for the bid organization.
The final selection will be made at an International Olympic Committee session in Copenhagen on Oct. 2, 2009.
There seems to be a growing trend toward heads of state making personal appearances on behalf of competing cities. At the IOC session in Guatemala last summer, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s presence helped clinch the decision to make Sochi the host for the 2014 Winter Games. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s appearance at the IOC session in Singapore in 2005 helped snag the deal for the London 2012 Summer Games. In that competition, President Bush sent a videotaped message touting New York City’s bid, and Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York made an appearance.

chicagosports.chicagotribune.com

DENVER, Colo. - Colorado Crush QB John Dutton will continue to cheer for his sister-in-law and American Idol hopeful, Kristy Lee Cook tonight as she will perform once again on the hit show as one of the final nine contestants.
Cook, a country singer, impressed judges last week with her rendition of “God Bless The U.S.A.” and will be right at home this week as Idol welcomes country superstar Dolly Parton to the show.
“She is country through and through,” Dutton said of Cook. “She will be totally in her element this week and we are excited to watch her perform once again.”
Cook, a 24-year-old singer from Selma, OR, auditioned for the show at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, home to the Philadelphia Soul, last August. Cook will perform on Tuesday, April 1, at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT on FOX.
Watch American Idol and vote for Kristy via text message or phone with the information provided during the telecast.
Season and group tickets for the 2008 season are now on sale. Contact a Crush account executive at (720) 258-3400 to reserve your seats today. Individual game tickets can be purchased at the Pepsi Center Ticket Office, all Colo rado Ticketmaster locations and on line at ticketmaster.com.
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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

oursportscentral.com

The wait is over. You can officially start enjoying spring now. The days will get longer, the sun will shine brighter, and the birds will sing more sweetly now that the line-up for this year’s Sundown in the City has been announced. Feel free to grumble about the picks and complain about the crowds.
Check back on Thursday for the full line-up. Sorry, information embargo is in place until then.
Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria in the Old City was closed for lunch on Monday so staff members could attend a funeral mass for Carrie Daugherty in Chattanooga. Daugherty, 24, was killed March 19. She had been an employee of Barley’s for two years.
“I couldn’t think of anything more horrifying than what we’ve had to go through the last week,” says Barley’s booking manager Robby Dubov. “She was that person for us, you know? She came in a room and everyone smiled. We’re tight. There’s not a lot of turnover. Some people have been here for three to six years.”
Barley’s will hold a benefit concert with the local honky-tonk band J.C. and the Dirty Smokers on April 19 in Daugherty’s memory. Proceeds from the show will be donated to Emily’s Power for the Cure, a foundation formed in honor of Daugherty’s niece, Emily Ransom, that raises money for research to cure neuroblastoma, a form of childhood cancer.
Daugherty had also been training for the Country Music Marathon in Nashville on April 26 to raise money for the foundation. Several Barley’s staff members, including Dubov, are now planning to take part in the marathon.
Micah Johnson, a 21-year-old acquaintance of Daugherty, has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder in her death.
Word has it that Josiah Leming, the Morristown teenager whose dismissal from American Idol earlier this year was among the most controversial cuts ever made on the show, has signed a deal with Warner Bros. The first report, with additional news that Leming had already spent part of his advance on a pick-up truck for his father, came on the KnoxBlab message board on Thursday, March 20. That was followed the next day by a post on News Sentinel entertainment writer Terry Morrow’s blog, which was then linked to by Rolling Stone’s website and realitytvmagazine.com. As of Monday, Leming’s MySpace page still reads that his label deal is “up for negotiation.”

metropulse.com

He had just given his speech on race in Philadelphia and was expanding a little on the need to get past the endless back and forth on this toxic and frustrating issue. He said he had hoped in his speech to accurately describe the “chasm of misunderstanding” that continues to foster racial division, and to offer a way to “get out of that situation.”
The speech, which has gotten wonderful reviews, should be required reading in classrooms across the country — and in as many other venues as possible. With a worldview that embraces both justice and healing, Senator Obama is better on these issues than any American leader since King.
Unfortunately, what is more likely to happen is that the essence of the speech will be lost in the din that inevitably erupts whenever there is a racial controversy in the United States.
The fundamental message that Senator Obama is trying to get across is that the racial madness that has perverted so many elections needs to stop — and stop now. Time and again, that madness has been employed to undermine efforts to create what the senator characterizes as “a more just, more equal, more free, more caring and more prosperous America.”
Racial prejudice, ignorance, hostility — whatever — has caused millions of Americans to vote against their own economic interests, and for policies that have damaged the country.
“It’s hard to address big issues,” Mr. Obama told me, “if we’re easily diverted or distracted by racial antagonism.”
Far more people will see the endless loop of Senator Obama’s frenzied former pastor than will ever read or hear the sober, thoughtful, constructive words of the senator himself.
The Philadelphia speech was obviously political, designed to limit the damage that the sermons by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright were inflicting on Mr. Obama’s campaign. But the theme of the speech was both legitimate and powerful, and it ought to resonate with fair-minded Americans, regardless of whether they support Mr. Obama for president.

nytimes.com

CLEVELAND — In the waning minutes, as it became increasingly obvious that Eastern Michigan University’s basketball season was about to end in Thursday’s Mid-American Conference Tournament quarterfinals, frustration engulfed the face of Travis Lewis.
By the time the senior swingman and former Loy Norrix standout finished his duties at the postgame podium, his mood had turned somber.
Lewis, a scholarship member of the football team who walked on to the basketball team in the middle of the 2005-06 season, is done as an athlete at Eastern Michigan.
“Both with football and basketball, I’m going to miss putting on an Eastern Michigan jersey,” Lewis said, after scoring three points and grabbing eight rebounds before fouling out with 1:37 left in the Eagles’ 70-61 loss to Western Michigan.
“My entire career I’ve been the underdog, but it made our team come closer together. It’s been a great experience, it’s been fun. The only thing I didn’t accomplish was getting a ring, so that’s the thing that really hurts the most.
“I experienced a lot of things that made me better as a person, from the struggles and ups and downs that we had here. It’s just, it’s going to be a hard step to take now, not being able to put on that jersey in the fall and put it on again in the winter. Man, it’s … I’m going to miss it.”

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