Tyra Banks Vanessa Hudgens Sarah Michelle Gellar Olivia Munn Melissa Sagemiller
Filed under: New Trend, News / Politics, Photos
Al Jazeera English's The Stream reports on a meme springing up on Twitter.
"Gaddafi claims to be 'king of kings'. too bad #EpicLibyanMan is the king of Gaddafi. #libya #feb17"
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Bridget Moynahan Noureen DeWulf Nicollette Sheridan Amber Heard Veronica Kay
Filed under: TV News, Celebrity Interviews
It was one of a the closest contests ever in 'Top Chef' history, as Wednesday's finale came down to two remarkable, four-course dinners composed by the remaining two 'Top Chef All-Stars' cheftestants.
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Kelly Rowland Danica Patrick Josie Maran Leighton Meester Dominique Swain
Who doesn't like what NASCAR has become and thinks it can improve quite a bit? This guy.
We all have our own opinions on how we think NASCAR should be run. There will be people who agree and disagree, no matter what. So, here is what I would do if I ran NASCAR.
First, eliminate start and park teams.
This has been an ongoing saga for the past couple of years. I think it is truly disrespectful to enter a race and retire the car after a few laps just to earn a paycheck. There would be zero tolerance for this kind of activity.
Any violators would be fined their winnings and suspended for three races. This includes drivers and owners. I would much rather have less cars in the field and everyone race than five cars retiring early for a paycheck.
Second, fix the qualifying scenario.
The field doesn't need a limit right now, since NASCAR is struggling to fill the limit. I would like the F1 qualifying rule applied to NASCAR. If your qualifying time is not within 107 percent of the pole time, then you don't make the race.
Drivers in danger of missing the race would be given one extra lap to redeem themselves. This, along with no start-and-park teams, will increase the competitiveness that has been missing at the top level of NASCAR.
Third, eliminate the Top 35 Rule.
Everyone must make the field on speed. That's the bottom line.
No one should be given a spot because of points. With the struggle to fill the limit of cars in a race, this rule would become irrelevant.
If qualifying is rained out, practice times will set the field and a limit will be worked out if necessary.
Fourth, establish the lower divisions.
I'm tired of the Sprint Cup regulars running races in the lower series.
Why would Albert Pujols play for Memphis one day and St. Louis the next? He wouldn't.
This is part of the reason for the lack of rising talent.
Owners' points wouldn't matter.
If the driver is above 25th in points, they would not be allowed to race the lower series. Anyone below can go back and forth if they choose.
Incoming rookies would have to declare if they were running full-time or part-time in the Cup Series. Rookies would then be ordered to drive a specific series, depending on their past performance in other series.
If they performed well, then they would only run Cup. If not, they could run both.
Fifth, welcome new drivers.
In order to make NASCAR the most competitive form of motorsports, there would need to be ways to attract new drivers. I enjoy hearing about racers coming from different types of racing making the transition to NASCAR.
Drivers from IndyCar, F1, Le Mans or any other series would be welcome to make the transition. They would bring a fanbase that would be new to NASCAR.
As for foreign manufacturers, I don't have a problem with a new manufacturer coming to NASCAR. If they can be competitive, I don't see a reason why they can't join.
Sixth, change the schedule.
I don't think this schedule is indicative of how talented these drivers are.
There are too many tracks receiving second races that shouldn't be. My schedule would have only seven tracks that hosted two races a year.
Daytona and Talladega are the only superspeedways. Bristol, Richmond, and Martinsville are true short tracks. Darlington has a rich history and it's own unique shape. Charlotte gets two only because it's the home track.
The rest of the 16 tracks will host one race. This leaves six race slots open for new tracks. I would add three more road courses and bring back Rockingham, North Wilkesboro and Milwaukee. The three road courses would be Road America, Circuit Gilles Villenueve, and Mid-Ohio, with possibility of adding another track. Anytime a track was failing to meet standards required to host a race, they would lose one. Also, if a track meets requirements to host a race, they get one. As of now, Iowa Speedway would be the first in line to replace another track.
Seventh, I'd create a new special event.
During the week of The Last Race to Make the Chase, I would try to organize a special event to bring more publicity to what is a crucial weekend for Cup drivers.
It would be a celebrity showdown of 20 drivers on the Thursday night before the race. It would be announced during Daytona Speedweeks, and the first celebrities to sign up would get the spots.
The drivers would be announced during the All-Star Race. They would be randomly matched with a Sprint Cup driver in the top 20 in points. The team would use an older car they don't use anymore with a less powerful, but competitive engine. The crews would be the same, but the drivers would get to be the crew chiefs. Also, other celebrities would get to be commentators and pit reporters for the event. It would just be a fun event on a very important weekend, with most of the money going to charity.
As for the other rules and regulations, I wouldn't change very much. These are just some ideas I had that I think could be interesting. If you have any other ideas, just comment below.
Cindy Taylor Halle Berry Catherine Bell Tessie Santiago Jessica Simpson
Basketball set to enjoy post-Games boom time if GB teams can secure wildcard entry to London 2012 from Fiba
After more than two decades of slow burn, the National Basketball Association believe next year's London Olympics could light the blue touchpaper for the sport in Britain. There are many, from an organising committee flogging tickets to a government hoping to boost participation ? not to mention the international and domestic federations in charge of the sport ? who hope they are right.
As their impeccably marketed circus rolled into London on Friday for the first regular-season NBA games to be played in Europe, two back-to-back ties between the Toronto Raptors and the New Jersey Nets at the O2 Arena, the organisation's deputy commissioner and chief operating officer insisted next summer's Games would have a huge impact. "It's not going to happen overnight. But the Olympics could ignite much broader interest in the game. For people here to see the best in the world play in Olympic competition will, I think, be a life-changing event," says Adam Silver.
It is easy to become inured to grand pronouncements about global growth, and there are already more than enough legacy hopes pinned on next summer's Olympics, but the NBA and the International Basketball Federation (Fiba) are convinced the Games will be a pivotal moment. The basketball arena on the Olympic Park is a temporary structure, but British Basketball harbour ambitions of moving into the Handball Arena and making it a permanent home for the sport in east London. Beyond 2012, there are embryonic plans to bid for the EuroBasket tournament in 2015 or 2017.
Ever since London won the right to host the Games, basketball has been flagged up as the sort of sport that will drive a virtuous circle of increased participation and better elite performance. It requires comparatively little space or equipment, is suited to urban areas and is popular with both sexes. But harnessing its potential has proved more difficult, with the past two decades littered with attempts to establish a competitive national league and boost performance on the European and world stage. The latest push could yet be derailed by Fiba, who will meet in Lyon a week today to decide whether to gift Team GB one of 12 places at the Games.
Basketball is unusual in that the host nation is not guaranteed a place but depends on the federation awarding it a wildcard. Fiba's general secretary, Patrick Baumann, accepts the British teams deserve to be gifted a place in "sporting terms" despite the fact neither would qualify by merit. But there are wider concerns and Fiba need to be convinced over legacy plans beyond the Games.
"We will be looking at the performance of the team on court. The main objective is to be competitive," Baumann says. "The second aspect is what is going to happen after the Games, how the associations' efforts will be continued. Will the British team exist after the Games? Will it be resurrected only for 2016? How will this country become a basketball country?"
On Friday, in a match that seemed to make more impression on the sold-out crowd as an experience than a sport, the Nets defeated the Raptors 116-103. Last night the Nets needed three overtimes before winning 137-136 to complete the double. Eleven NBA teams have played nine matches in the UK and Silver insists these games were part of an "evolution" designed to see a "European division" established. While acknowledging there are logistical and commercial hurdles to overcome, he foresees a handful of European teams playing in state of the art arenas within a decade.
"One of the things that held the league back until recently is you didn't have these American-style arenas and visions that, economically, can allow you now to make sense out of games like this," says Tim Leiweke, chief executive of AEG, the US sports giant that operates the O2 and has a share in the Los Angeles Lakers. "We have an economic model that can work for the league, but we need six or eight of these in the right markets."
It is easy to believe a combination of US commercial nous and the Olympic spirit could provide a defining moment for British basketball. Whether that feeling persists once the glitter cannons have been put away, the NBA teams have gone home and the hard slog in building the profile of the game resumes may depend on the decision reached in Lyon.
Leslie Bibb Chelsea Handler Salma Hayek Jennifer Scholle Tatiana Zavialova
