Jimmy Kimmel bashes Jay Leno on Kimmel show

The bashing of Jay Leno continues in the wake of Jay Leno's appearance on Oprah.

On Jimmy Kimmel Live, Jimmy talks about his appearance on The Jay Leno Show:


Now, a montage from Jay Leno's appearance on Oprah:

Snow on the Ground!

It's gone viral! View John Belski and Kevin Harned, performing as Weather Boyz, do a rendition of "Pants on the Ground" called "Snow on the Ground. I can't figure out how to embed the video but you can click here!

Evan Bayh won't run for President in 2012

Evan Bayh is not going to run against President Barack Obama in 2012.

Though it's not clear where they originated, Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) dismissed rumors that he'd run for president in 2012.

Bayh said he wouldn't challenge President Barack Obama for reelection in 2012 as an independent or Democratic candidate when asked by Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto.

"I'm not running for president, I'm trying to do what's right for my state and our country," Bayh said. "And I'm willing to work with the president, Republicans -- anybody -- to get that job done."

It would be unusual though not unprecedented for a sitting senator to challenge a president of his own party. It would raise eyebrows for Bayh, especially, to do so, given the number of meetings he's had with the president over the past year.

"I don't know what to think of that, except the people who wrote that have too much time on their hands," the Indiana centrist said. "I'm focused on one thing and one thing only: trying to do a good job of representing the people of my state."

Belski criticizes JCPS

John Belski, the meteorologist for WAVE-3 in Louisville criticized JCPS for making a very bad decision with yesterday morning's black ice.

Based on what I had heard from JCPS I stated it was a "bad forecast". At that time I did not know who JCPS had talked to. Well it turned out they talked to the NWS. Now I never want to criticize our NWS because if you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that I always say this is one of the top NWS offices in the country.

JCPS called the NWS in the middle of the night. The NWS advised them that some snow was moving in and that temperatures would be at or slightly below freezing and that there would be some slick spots. As the night went on it was increasingly likely for the band of snow to hit Louisville with bad driving conditions so a Winter Weather Advisory was issued before 5:00 AM. When JCPS called back the NWS told them about the deteriorating conditions. Other school districts were calling in and were told the same thing.

I feel that JCPS was misleading in their statement about the forecast and not telling the whole story......maybe trying to put the blame on the mets.

FOX wants Conan

Usually, I'd be skeptical of articles in the New York Post because Murdoch owns the Post but in this case, I have no reason to be skeptical at all.

The latest developments with regards to Conan O'Brien:

FOX is set to move fast to pick up Conan O'Brien for a rival late-night show, according to sources.

Talks between O'Brien and Fox could start as early as this week.

"Chances like this don't come around very often," says the source with knowledge of the situation.

"If Fox wants to be in late night, now's the time."[...]

"He's one of the few guys on the planet who has demonstrated he can do one of these shows every night," Kevin Reilly, Fox's entertainment president, said last week.

What is new is word that Fox wants to complete a deal with Conan quickly.[...]

O'Brien's young appeal is a better fit at Fox than at NBC, which was used to the larger-but-older audience that Jay Leno had been getting at 11:30.[...]

And, most attractive of all, Conan's salary will be paid in large part by NBC -- thanks to the $32.5-million settlement he received last week to get out of his "Tonight" show contract.

Indications are that Fox execs began quizzing local affiliates last week to see if time at 11 p.m. -- now reserved mostly for reruns of comedies -- can be cleared.

"If they don't jump now, they'll have to wait another five years for another opportunity like this to come along," says the source.

Offers from cable TV channels and TV syndication are also expected to come in this week, sources close to Conan said.

At the center of talks with Fox will be whether Conan, like David Letterman, will be allowed to own his show -- or split ownership with Fox.

"One things for sure," says a Conan source. "He won't do anything that is not a high-quality show."

Translation: Any new show will be expecting a "Tonight" show-type budget.

Ken Burns' The Late Night Wars

This is from Ken Burns' exciting new documentary on PBS:

16th Annual Screen Actors Guild Winners

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series: ALEC BALDWIN /Jack Donaghy - "30 ROCK" (NBC)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series: TINA FEY / LizLemon - "30 ROCK" (NBC)

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series: GLEE (FOX)
DIANNA AGRON /Quinn Fabray
CHRIS COLFER /Kurt Hummel
PATRICK GALLAGHER/ Ken Tanaka
JESSALYN GILSIG /Terri Schuester
JANE LYNCH / Sue Sylvester
JAYMA MAYS / Emma Pillsbury
KEVIN McHALE /Arty Abrams
LEA MICHELE /Rachel Berry
CORY MONTEITH /Finn Hudson
HEATHER MORRIS /Brittany
MATTHEW MORRISON/ Will Schuester
AMBER RILEY /Mercedes
NAYA RIVERA /Santana Lopez
MARK SALLING /Puck
HARRY SHUM JR. /Mike Chang
JOSH SUSSMAN /Jacob Ben Israel
DIJON TALTON /Matt Rutherford
IQBAL THEBA /Principal Figgins
JENNA USHKOWITZ /Tina

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role: CHRISTOPH WALTZ /COL. Hans Landa - "INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS" (The Weinstein Company/Universal Pictures)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series: JULIANNA MARGULIES / Alicia Florrick - "THE GOOD WIFE" (CBS)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series: MICHAEL C. HALL /Dexter Morgan - "DEXTER" (Showtime)

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series: MAD MEN (AMC)
ALEXA ALEMANNI /Allison
BRYAN BATT /Salvatore Romano
JARED S. GILMORE/ Bobby Draper
MICHAEL GLADIS /Paul Kinsey
JON HAMM / Don Draper
JARED HARRIS /Lane Pryce
CHRISTINA HENDRICKS / Joan Holloway (Harris)
JANUARY JONES /Betty Draper
VINCENT KARTHEISER / Peter Campbell
ROBERT MORSE /Bertram Cooper
ELISABETH MOSS /Peggy Olson
KIERNAN SHIPKA /Sally Draper
JOHN SLATTERY /Roger Sterling
RICH SOMMER /Harry Crane
CHRISTOPHER STANLEY / Henry Francis
AARON STATON /Ken Cosgrove

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role: CHRISTOPH WALTZ /COL. Hans Landa - "INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS" (The Weinstein Company/Universal Pictures)

46th Annual Life Achievement Award: BETTY WHITE

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries: DREW BARRYMORE /Little Edie - "GREY GARDENS" (HBO)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries: KEVIN BACON / Lt. Col. Michael R. Strobl - "TAKING CHANCE" (HBO)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role: MO'NIQUE / Mary - "PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL ‘PUSH' BY SAPPHIRE" (Lionsgate)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role: JEFF BRIDGES /Bad Blake - "CRAZY HEART" (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role: SANDRA BULLOCK /Leigh Anne Tuohy - "THE BLIND SIDE" (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture: INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS (The Weinstein Company/Universal Pictures)
DANIEL BRÜHL /Fredrick Zoller
AUGUST DIEHL /Major Hellstrom
JULIE DREYFUS /Francesca Mondino
MICHAELFASSBENDER / LT. Archie Hicox
SYLVESTER GROTH /Joseph Goebbels
JACKY IDO /Marcel
DIANE KRUGER / Bridget von Hammersmark
MÉLANIE LAURENT /Shosanna
DENIS MENOCHET /Perrier LaPadite
MIKE MYERS /General Ed French
BRAD PITT / LT. Aldo Raine
ELI ROTH / SGT. Donny Donowitz
TIL SCHWEIGER /SGT. Hugo Stiglitz
ROD TAYLOR /Winston Churchill
CHRISTOPH WALTZ /COL. Hans Landa
MARTIN WUTTKE /Hitler

Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture: STAR TREK (Paramount Pictures)
Robert Alonzo
Daniel Arrias
Sala Baker
Steve Blalock
Joey Box
Ben Bray
Mark Chadwick
Ilram Choi
Zack Duhame
Pete Epstein
Jeremy Fitzgerald
Terry Jackson
Craig Jensen
Paul Lacovara
Rob Mars
Mike Massa
Heidi Moneymaker
Mike Mukatis
Courtney Munch
Kimberly Murphy
Chris Palermo
Jim Palmer
Eddie Perez
Dan Plum
Damion Poitier
Susan Purkhiser
Mike Schneider
Dennis Scott
Chris Torres
Webster Winnery, Jr.
Marcus Young

Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series
24 (FOX)
Jeff Cadiente
Brian Hite
Norman Howell
Chris Leps
Dustin Meier
John Meier
Gary Price
Jimmy Sharp, Jr.
Erik Stabenau
Justin Sundquist

Conan O'Brien's Final Tonight Show address to his audience and fans

Here it is:
Before we end this rodeo, a few things need to be said. There has been a lot of speculation in the press about what I legally can and can't say about NBC. To set the record straight, tonight I am allowed to say anything I want. And what I want to say is this: between my time at Saturday Night Live, The Late Night Show, and my brief run here on The Tonight Show, I have worked with NBC for over twenty years. Yes, we have our differences right now and yes, we're going to go our separate ways. But this company has been my home for most of my adult life. I am enormously proud of the work we have done together, and I want to thank NBC for making it all possible.

Walking away from The Tonight Show is the hardest thing I have ever had to do. Making this choice has been enormously difficult. This is the best job in the world, I absolutely love doing it, and I have the best staff and crew in the history of the medium. But despite this sense of loss, I really feel this should be a happy moment. Every comedian dreams of hosting The Tonight Show and, for seven months, I got to. I did it my way, with people I love, and I do not regret a second. I've had more good fortune than anyone I know and if our next gig is doing a show in a 7-11 parking lot, we'll find a way to make it fun.

And finally, I have to say something to our fans. The massive outpouring of support and passion from so many people has been overwhelming. The rallies, the signs, all the goofy, outrageous creativity on the internet, and the fact that people have traveled long distances and camped out all night in the pouring rain to be in our audience, made a sad situation joyous and inspirational.

To all the people watching, I can never thank you enough for your kindness to me and I'll think about it for the rest of my life. All I ask of you is one thing: please don't be cynical. I hate cynicism -- it's my least favorite quality and it doesn't lead anywhere.

Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen.

Thank you, Conan

A few years ago, 2006 actually, I wrote off to Conan O'Brien shortly before the break during the Winter Olympics. A few months later, I recieved the above autographed photo in the mail.

You see, Conan O'Brien is the Johnny Carson of my generation.

I posted these some time after we lost Johnny five years ago. This is from the World Magazine:

A measure of hope on the horizon for a return to the Carson-style grounding in broader American culture might be found in Conan O'Brien, who has been announced as Mr. Leno's heir to the throne of Carson as host of "The Tonight Show." Mr. O'Brien, whose show "Late Night" comes on after "The Tonight Show" on NBC, is also liberal politically. And though he makes a point of cultivating "irreverent" and sometimes crude humor, he is a practicing Roman Catholic who sometimes serves as his church's lector, reading the Scriptures in the service. And of all the current late-night hosts, he is the least afraid of violating the tenets of political correctness—unleashing a hand-puppet named Triumph the Insult Comic Dog on French-speaking Quebec.

Some of the nicest people in the industry have written for Conan O'Brien including Brian Stack and Rob Kutner.

Brian was nice enough to arrange for me to get VIP tickets when I was scheduling my vacation to NYC to see Yankee and Shea for the first and last times. Unfortunately, my trip was cancelled due to the economy and I never got to attend the taping of Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

Rob Kutner, who came over from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, is another one of the nicest guys I know in the industry. I got to know him during the writers' strike. He's the writer of the song about Mormons.

I first started watching Conan O'Brien in high school when encores were airing on either CNBC or Comedy Central. Once I started college and was in central time, I became a regular viewer being a late night owl when my class schedule allowed me to.

Writers for The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien include:
Josh Comers, Dan Cronin, Andres du Bouchet, Michael Gordon, Berkley Johnson, Mike Sweeney, Chris Albers, José Arroyo, Kevin Dorff, Brian Kiley, Todd Levin, Matt O'Brien, Brian McCann, Guy Nicolucci, Conan O'Brien, Andy Richter, Brian Stack, Andrew Weinberg, Rob Kutner, and Deon Cole.

Conan and staff, I raise my cap in salute. I wish you nothing but the best in future endeavors.

The latest on Conan

Here's the latest on Conan via Nikki:

NBC and Conan O'Brien have reached a resolution of the issues surrounding O'Brien's contract to host "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.

Under terms of an agreement that was signed earlier today, NBC and O'Brien will settle their contractual obligations and the network will release O'Brien from his contract, freeing him to pursue other opportunities after September 1, 2010.

O'Brien will make his final appearance as host of "The Tonight Show" on January 22.

Conan is paying his staff out of his own pocket.

Along with that, NBC will pay about $12 million to settle the contracts of others associated with show, including Mr. O’Brien’s longtime executive producer, and closest colleague, Jeff Ross. Some of the last-minute contentiousness surrounded the severance that NBC will pay to staff members who do not have contracts.

NBC executives emphasized that the network had stepped up and paid an additional $600,000 beyond the standard severance and sought to make it clear that it was a network decision to add that money, not one made by Mr. O’Brien’s side in the negotiations.

Gavin Polone, Mr. O’Brien’s manager, agreed with that characterization. “They did step up and Conan is appreciative of that,” he said. But he stressed that Mr. O’Brien has committed to paying additional money to staff members who have lost jobs with the end of the show—many of whom sold homes in New York and moved to Los Angeles to follow Mr. O’Brien.

Mr. Polone said, “Conan is paying them more beyond that out of his own pocket — a large seven-figure amount.”

In one glaring coincidence being noticed throughout the television business, the total amount that NBC is paying – just about $45 million – is precisely the amount that NBC had promised to Mr. O’Brien as a penalty payment if he did not get the “Tonight” show when it was first promised to him in 2004. In that case he himself would have received that entire amount, however, not him and his entire staff.[...]

In defending the decision to alter NBC’s late-night lineup — a decision that originally asked Mr. O’Brien to slide back a half hour to 12:05 p.m. to make room for the former “Tonight” host, Jay Leno — Mr. Gaspin repeated his argument that the network never wanted to lose Mr. O’Brien.

He agreed with the argument made by many fans of Mr. O’Brien that if he had been allowed to stay in the show, the comic had a good chance to increase his ratings over time

“Could it have grown? Absolutely,” Mr. Gaspin said. “We just couldn’t give him the time.” He pointed to the pressure that was being exerted by NBC’s affiliated stations for NBC to change its 10 p.m. lineup, where Mr. Leno has been moved.

“Our hand was forced,” Mr. Gaspin said.

But he went some lengths to justify the network’s choice to preserve Mr. Leno, who previously had been the dominant leader in late-night ratings. “For the first time ever ‘The Tonight Show’ is going to lose money this season,” Mr. Gaspin said. He called it “substantial money” and while he declined to name a figure said it amounts to “tens of millions of dollars.”

Mr. Polone said he “did not know NBC’s financials” but cited advertising figures and demand that still seemed strong for the show.[...]

Mr. Polone said, “I don’t agree with their interpretation of the numbers,” and added, “The numbers this week speak for themselves.”

This week, as Mr. O’Brien has come out swinging against NBC, his ratings have soared.

“In the end Conan will benefit from this,” Mr. Polone said.

The settlement allows Mr. O’Brien to come back with a new show as early as Sept. 1. Mr. Polone said he and Mr. O’Brien’s agents would begin soliciting offers for the star immediately with a goal of landing a new network show as close to that date as possible. The Fox network has already expressed interest in exploring that option.

“The show is working,” Mr. Polone said, warming up his pitch. He noted that Mr. O’Brien has been “very up” over the past week despite the protracted negotiations over his future. “He is incredibly grateful for the 500,000 people on Facebook supporting him and the people staging protests. The energy in that room has been fantastic.”

As he has before, Mr. Polone again cited how Mr. Leno had first taken off as the “Tonight” host when an outside event—he had Hugh Grant as a guest just after the actor was involved in an arrest for soliciting a prostitute—brought hordes of viewers into the show. “It’s ironic, but this week was that event for Conan,” Mr. Polone said.

More of a downer:

Whenever Conan O’Brien comes back to television, his show is likely to look significantly different. NBC is claiming that it owns all the comedy bits that were created during Mr. O’Brien’s run, first on the “Late Night” show and for the past seven months on “Tonight.”

That even includes one of the most recognizable comedy characters of recent years Triumph, The Insult-Comic Dog. The character was created by Mr. O’Brien’s one-time writer (and longtime friend) Robert Smigel, and NBC claims it owns the character in partnership with Mr. Smigel.

But NBC also can — and apparently will — claim ownership of other signature comedy bits created on Mr. O’Brien’s shows, including some of his classic routines like “The Year 3000” and Conando. (NBC also is claiming dibs on “The Masturbating Bear,” though Mr. O’Brien had largely retired him before he made a cameo on Wednesday night’s show.)

One member of Mr. O’Brien’s staff said the show is unworried and planning to come up with new routines — or maybe some clever variations on the old ones. One suggestion: different animals doing vulgar things.

NBC also had some concern that Mr. O’Brien might take his anger with the network to the next step and seek to undermine Mr. Leno’s return to “The Tonight Show” by making a guest appearance with David Letterman — or maybe Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert on the Comedy Central cable channel — on the first night Mr. Leno comes back to “Tonight” after the Olympics.

However, one participant in the discussion said that possibility was taken care of in the settlement: Mr. O’Brien will not be able to do any interviews for a period of time that extends beyond the date of Mr. Leno’s March 1 return.

I don't know what day that is but NBC is taking a major hit with this.

All Things Conan...

Dave hits back even harder at Jay Leno and NBC tonight:


Last night:



Bill Carter reports on the rising ratings for The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien:

In the local overnight ratings in the country’s 24 biggest cities, Mr. O’Brien scored a 1.9 rating in the young demographic, crushing Mr. Letterman, who sank to a 0.7, one of his lowest numbers in recent months. The hosts essentially tied in the national household ratings, where Mr. Letterman has dominated since Mr. O’Brien’s first weeks on “The Tonight Show” in June.

The surge for Mr. O’Brien has been propelled by support among younger viewers – those 18 to 49, which many advertisers prefer to reach. He was helped Tuesday by a rare night of prime-time ratings strength for NBC, which got big numbers from its reality hit “The Biggest Loser” and a better-than-usual performance from Jay Leno at 10 p.m.

Evan Bayh is on the money

Indiana Senator Evan Bayh is on the money in comments he made yesterday:

Even before the votes are counted, Senator Evan Bayh is warning fellow Democrats that ignoring the lessons of the Massachusetts Senate race will “lead to even further catastrophe” for their party.

“There’s going to be a tendency on the part of our people to be in denial about all this,” Bayh told ABC News, but “if you lose Massachusetts and that’s not a wake-up call, there’s no hope of waking up.”

What is the lesson of Massachusetts – where Democrats face the prospects of losing a Senate seat they’ve held since 1952? For Senator Bayh the lesson is that the party pushed an agenda that is too far to the left, alienating moderate and independent voters.

“It’s why moderates and independents even in a state as Democratic as Massachusetts just aren’t buying our message,” he said. “They just don’t believe the answers we are currently proposing are solving their problems. That’s something that has to be corrected.”

Bayh pointed that it’s not just Massachusetts. Independents also rejected Democratic gubernatorial candidates in New Jersey and Virginia in November.

“The only we are able to govern successfully in this country is by liberals and progressives making common cause with independents and moderates,” Bayh said. “Whenever you have just the furthest left elements of the Dem party attempting to impose their will on the rest of the country -- that’s not going to work too well.”

Robert Downey, Jr.'s Golden Globe Speech Transcript

Here's the transcript of Robert Downey, Jr.'s speech accepting the Golden Globe award for best actor in a comedy or musical:

If you start playing violins, I will tear this joint apart.

First of all I would like to thank Susan Downey for telling me that Matt Damon was going to win so don't bother to prepare a speech. That was at about 10AM.

I don't have anybody to thank. I'm sorry everyone's been so gratuitous, It was a collaboration, we all did this together. Certainly not going to thank Warner Brothers. Alan Horn and, my God, Robinov, these guys--they needed me. Avatar was going to take us to the cleaners! If they didn't have me, we didn't have a shot, buddy. What am I gonna do? Thank Joel Silver, the guy's that's only restarted my career about 12 times since I began it 25 years ago?

I mean, I really don't want to thank my wife because I could be busing tables at the daily grill right now if not for her. Jesus, what a gig that'd be. Guy Ritchie had a great vision for this film, and a lot of great people came together and we worked our asses off... And it's just a privilege.

By the way, the Hollywood Foreign Press, there's a Holmes quote by Conan Doyle--who is a genius by the way--and he said, 'Art in the blood is liable to take the strangest forms.' That is why I would like to thank also, or not thank, the Hollywood Foreign Press, because they are a strange bunch, and now I'm one of them.

Take it easy!

David Lettermand hands it to Dick Ebersol

CBS, once again, has released two videos early.



Dave hands it to Dick Ebersol (who can be seen on Colbert later this week).

Jay Leno finally speaks

Via THR, here is what Jay Leno told his audience before the taping (this comes after the 2004 announcement has been making its way around the internet):

I thought maybe I should address this. At least give you my view of what has been going on here at NBC.

Oh, let’s start in 2004. 2004 I’m sitting in my office, an NBC executive comes in and says to me, listen, Conan O’Brien has gotten offers from other networks. We don’t want him to go, so we’re going to give him ‘The Tonight Show.’ I said, ‘well, I’ve been number one for 12 years.’ They said, ‘we know that, but we don’t think you can sustain that.’ I said, ‘okay. How about until I fall to number two, then you fire me?’ ‘No, we made this decision.’ I said, ‘That’s fine.’ Don’t blame Conan O’Brien. Nice guy, good family guy, great guy. He and I have talked and not a problem since then. That’s what managers and people do, they try to get something for their clients. I said, ‘I’ll retire just to avoid what happened the last time.’ Okay.

So time goes by and we stay number one up until the day we leave. We hand - (applause)-No, no. Okay, but I’m leaving before my contract is out. About six to eight months early. So before I could go anywhere else, I would be at least a year or 18 months before I could go and do a show somewhere else. I said to NBC, ‘would you release me from my contract.’ They said, ‘we want to keep you here.’ Okay. What are your ideas? They said, ‘how about primetime?’ I said, ‘that will never work.’ No, no, we want to put you on at 10:00. We have done focus groups. People will love you at 10:00. Look at these studies showing Jay’s chin at 10:00. People will go crazy. Didn’t seem like a good idea at the time. I said, ‘alright, can I keep my staff?’ There are 175 people that work here. I said, ‘can I keep my staff?’ Yes, you can. Let’s try it. We guarantee you two years on the air, guaranteed. Now for the first four or five months against original shows like “CSI” you’ll get killed, but in the spring and summer when the reruns come, that’s when you’ll pick up. Okay, great. I agree to that.

Four months go by, we don’t make it. Meanwhile, Conan’s show during the summer, we’re not on, was not doing well. The great hope was that we would help him. Well, we didn’t help him any, okay. They come and go, ‘this show isn’t working. We want to let you go.’ Can you let me out of my contract? No, you’re still a valuable asset to this company. How valuable can I be? You fired me twice. How valuable can I be? Okay. So then, the affiliates are not happy. The affiliates are the ones that own the TV stations. They’re the ones that sort of makes the decisions, they’re not happy with your performance and Conan is not doing well at 11:30. I said, ‘what’s your idea?’ They said, ‘well, look, how about you do a half hour show at 11:30?’ Now, where I come from, when your boss gives you a job and you don’t do it well, I think we did a good job here, but we didn’t’ get the ratings, so you get humbled. I said, ‘okay, I’m not crazy about doing a half hour, but okay. What do you want to do with Conan?’ We’ll put him on at midnight, or 12:05, keeps “The Tonight Show” does all that, he gets the whole hour. I said, okay. You think Conan will go for that? Yes, yes. (laughter) Almost guarantee you. I said okay. Shake hands, that’s it. I don’t have a manager, I don’t have an agent, that’s my handshake deal.

Next thing I see Conan has a story in the paper saying he doesn’t want to do that. They come back to me and they say if he decides to walk and doesn’t want to do it, do you want the show back? I go, ‘yeah, I’ll take the show back. If that’s what he wants to do. This way, we keep our people working, fine.’ So that’s pretty much where we are. It looks like we might be back at 11:30, I’m not sure. I don’t know. (applause) I don’t know. But through all of this - through all of this, Conan O’Brien has been a gentleman. He’s a good guy. I have no animosity towards him. This is all business. If you don’t get the ratings, they take you off the air. I think you know this town, you can do almost anything. You get ratings they keep you. I don’t get ratings, he wants. That was NBC’s solution. It didn’t work so we might have an answer for you tomorrow. So, we’ll see. That’s basically where it is.

So basically, Jay Leno never wanted to go to prime time but NBC would not release him from his contract. Had NBC released him from his contract, we would not be in the dilemna we are in right now.

Jim Edmonds to be a Cardinal again?

Via Matthew Leach:

Maybe Jim Edmonds was dead serious. Maybe it was all an elaborate put-on. When it comes to Edmonds and Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, it can be tough to tell. This much is certain: Edmonds said on Sunday night that he wants to come back and play for the Cardinals in 2010.

The long-time Angels and Cards star hasn't played since 2008. Before that year, St. Louis traded him to San Diego. After the Padres released him, he signed on with the Cubs, with whom he played his last game on Sept. 26, 2008.

On Sunday night at the annual "Stars to the Rescue" benefit for La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation, Edmonds said he was "challenging" La Russa to let him rejoin his old team.

The exchange started after the final bows for the event, which featured country star Dierks Bentley and comedienne Kathleen Madigan, among others. La Russa said that "someone" had sent him a text and wanted to come onstage. That someone turned out to be Edmonds, who made his way from his seat at the opposite end of the arena.[...]

"I'm challenging him to let me come back and play for the Cardinals again for free," Edmonds said to the crowd at Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis.

Edmonds then modified his offer to playing for the league minimum, rather than for free. He and La Russa engaged in some playful banter, and at the end, La Russa quipped that he wished he had a rewind button so that he could simply skip Edmonds appearance -- but he said it with a grin.[...]

On stage on Sunday, though, Edmonds referred to La Russa as like a father figure to him, and the warmth in their relationship, rather than any strain, dominated the scene.

Neither La Russa nor general manager John Mozeliak could be reached for comment after the event ended.

The 67th Annual Golden Globe Award Winners

Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture: Mo'nique – Precious: Based On The Novel Push By Sapphire

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy: Toni Collette – United States Of Tara (SHOWTIME)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: John Lithgow – Dexter (SHOWTIME)

Best Animated Feature Film: Up (Walt Disney Pictures/PIXAR Animation Studios; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Drama: Michael C. Hall – Dexter (SHOWTIME)

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Drama: Julianna Margulies – The Good Wife (CBS)

Best Original Song - Motion Picture: "The Weary Kind (Theme From Crazy Heart)" – Crazy Heart; Music & Lyrics By: Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

Best Original Score - Motion Picture: Up - Composed by Michael Giacchino

Best Mini-Series Or Motion Picture Made for Television: Grey Gardens (HBO) (Specialty Films and Locomotive in association with HBO Films)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy: Meryl Streep – Julie & Julia

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Kevin Bacon – Taking Chance (HBO)

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture: Up In The Air - Written by Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner

Best Performance by an Actress In A Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Drew Barrymore – Grey Gardens (HBO)

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy: Alec Baldwin – 30 Rock (NBC)

Best Foreign Language Film: The White Ribbon (Das Weisse Band - Eine Deutsche Kindergeschichte) (Germany) (Wega Films; Sony Pictures Classics)

Best Television Series - Drama: Mad Men (AMC) (Lionsgate)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Chloe Sevigny – Big Love (HBO)

Best Performance by an Actor In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture: Christoph Waltz – Inglourious Basterds

Previously Announced: Cecil B. DeMille Award: Martin Scorsese

Best Director - Motion Picture: James Cameron – Avatar

Best Television Series - Musical Or Comedy: Glee (FOX) (Twentieth Century Fox Television)

Best Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy: The Hangover (Warner Bros. Pictures; Warner Bros. Pictures)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama: Sandra Bullock – The Blind Side

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy: Robert Downey Jr. – Sherlock Holmes

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama: Jeff Bridges – Crazy Heart

Best Motion Picture - Drama: Avatar (Lightstorm Entertainment; Twentieth Century Fox)

Non-Conan news...

I would agree that all five films were overlooked during 2009, save for the fact that Matt Damon did get a Golden Globe nomination for his performance in The Informant!. I'm interested in seeing if the screenplay gets a nomination by the Academy Awards in the category of adapted screenplay. If the WGA nominations are any indication, and they usually are, then the screenplay probably won't be nominated. The five films in question are: Sunshine Cleaning, Funny People, Away We Go, Adventureland, and The Informant.

In Golden Globe news, here's this tidbit:

Ricky Gervais and the writers of the Golden Globe Awards show are likely giving the comedy gods extra thanks this week – they do that by ritual sacrifice of a Judd Apatow script – because the Jay/Conan dust-up is no doubt giving them reams of easy topical material. The Carpetbagger is asking: How long will it take Mr. Gervais to make a reference to the late-night show brouhaha on Sunday night?

The ten best college basketball games of the past decade can be found here.

3. Syracuse 127, Connecticut 117 (6 OT) -- Quarterfinal, 2009 Big East tournament

The headline here on The Dagger read: "This is why we love college hoops." Couldn't have said it better myself.

Putting things in context

This really puts the whole NBC dilemna in context.

Give it a read. I beg you.

Seth Meyers killed on Saturday Night Live:

The 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards: My Predictions

Best Motion Picture - Drama: Up In The Air (Paramount Pictures; Paramount Pictures)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama: Sandra Bullock – The Blind Side

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama: George Clooney – Up In The Air

Best Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy: (500) Days Of Summer (Watermark Pictures; Fox Searchlight Pictures) (I loved The Hangover but sorry folks, this one will one.)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy: Meryl Streep – It's Complicated

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy: Joseph Gordon-Levitt – (500) Days Of Summer

Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture: Mo'nique – Precious: Based On The Novel Push By Sapphire

Best Performance by an Actor In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture: Christoph Waltz – Inglourious Basterds

Best Animated Feature Film: Up (Walt Disney Pictures/PIXAR Animation Studios; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)

Best Foreign Language Film: A Prophet (Un Prophete) (France) (Chic Films; Sony Pictures Classics)

Best Director - Motion Picture: Jason Reitman – Up In The Air (Very tough choice to make here with several superb nominees.)

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture: Up In The Air - Written by Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner

Best Original Score - Motion Picture: Avatar - Composed by James Horner

Best Original Song - Motion Picture: "I Want To Come Home" – Everybody's Fine; Music & Lyrics By: Paul McCartney

Best Television Series - Drama: Mad Men (AMC) (Lionsgate)

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Drama: Glenn Close – Damages (FX NETWORK)

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Drama: Jon Hamm – Mad Men (AMC)

Best Television Series - Musical Or Comedy:
30 Rock (NBC) (Universal Media Studios in association with Broadway Video and Little Stranger Inc.)

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy: Tina Fey – 30 Rock (NBC)

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy: Alec Baldwin – 30 Rock (NBC)

Best Mini-Series Or Motion Picture Made for Television: Grey Gardens (HBO) (Specialty Films and Locomotive in association with HBO Films)

Best Performance by an Actress In A Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Drew Barrymore – Grey Gardens (HBO)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Jeremy Irons – Georgia O'Keeffe (LIFETIME)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Jane Lynch – Glee (FOX)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Neil Patrick Harris – How I Met Your Mother (CBS)

Previously Announced:
Cecil B. DeMille Award: Martin Scorsese

Conan O'Brien's Original Announcement from 2004

Conan gets the Tonight Show!
by cutapacka

Jay's 2004 retirement announcement

Jay Leno's retirement announcement:

Jay's 2004 Announcement - watch more funny videos

Oh, the irony!

More on the Jaypocalypse

Given the drama at NBC, Conan O'Brien is delivering huge ratings.

For the first time in several weeks, Mr. O’Brien was ahead of his main rival, David Letterman on CBS, even in the broad household ratings that are delivered the next day. Mr. O’Brien had a 3.2 household rating Friday night, to a 3.0 for Mr. Letterman.

And the margin of his win among the younger adult viewers preferred by advertisers grew even larger in preliminary numbers from the top 24 cities. In that measure, called the local people meters, Mr. O’Brien hit his biggest number of what has been a big week for him, a 1.9 to just a 0.8 for Mr. Letterman among viewers from age of 18 to 49.

NBC and Conan O'Brien's camp continues to negotiate on a settlement.

Here's the worst part so far of all of this mess: NBC gets to keep characters that were created during O'Brien's tenure on both shows.

The Masturbating Bear is dead.

As a deal nears for Conan O'Brien's exit from NBC, one thing is certain: the characters and recurring comedy bits O'Brien originated during his 16-plus years on "Late Night" and "The Tonight Show" will not follow the host when he leaves NBC.

The Peacock owns the intellectual property behind such popular O'Brien characters as Pimpbot 5000 and Conando, as well as recurring segments such as In the Year 3000 and Desk Driving. Sources involved in the settlement negotiations say NBC is keeping the copyrighted and trademarked elements of O'Brien's shows as part of the deal. That means the bits and characters will likely never be seen after O'Brien's "Tonight" ends its run Jan 22. ‬

While the vast majority of the characters O'Brien introduced are said to owned by NBC, it's unclear who controls Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, the crass canine puppet that is perhaps O'Brien's most popular recurring bit. Triumph was originated by writer and longtime O'Brien pal Robert Smigel, whose reps declined to comment on whether Smigel or NBC owned rights to the character.

In 1993, David Letterman got into a dustup with NBC when he departed "Late Night" for CBS's "Late Show." NBC attorneys attempted to prevent Letterman from taking intellectual property originated on "Late Night" to the comic's new home. Letterman responded by dropping certain bits and renaming other recurring segments--"Viewer Mail" became "CBS Mailbag" and frequent guest Larry "Bud" Melman began referring to himself by his real name, Calvert DeForest. Letterman mocked the dispute on his first "Late Show" when NBC anchor Tom Brokaw interrupted the monologue and stole cue cards in the name of securing NBC's intellectual property.

This truly sucks.

Hey There My CoCo

Jimmy Kimmel bashes Jay Leno on Leno show

Earlier tonight, Jimmy Kimmel appeared on that show with Big Jaw Leno. Here's some of the details:

He was sorta being increasingly bitchy throughout — he compared Leno’s relationship to Conan to a stripper’s relationship with a john,” says our source. “He accused Jay of trying to trick him to host The Tonight Show just so Leno can take it back from him: ‘Listen Lucy, I’m not Charlie Brown, I don’t fall for that trick.’”

Still, says our source, Kimmel got really brutal on Conan’s usurper at the very end of the segment.

“Listen, Jay: Conan and I have children. All you have to take care of is cars,” Kimmel said.

“We’ve got lives to lead here, you’ve got 800 million dollars. For God’s sake, leave our shows alone!”

Here's some more courtesy of Gawker:

Asked by Leno what the best prank he ever pulled was] "The best prank I ever pulled was I told a guy that—five years from now—I'm gonna give you my show. And then when the five years came, I gave it to him, and then I took it back almost instantly."

[Asked by Leno if he ever orders anything off of the TV] "Like NBC ordered your show off the TV?"

[Asked by Leno what the record is for number of lap dances he's received in one night] "Strippers, I don't like in general. Because you have this phony relationship with them for money, similar to that of when you and Conan were on The Tonight Show together, passing the torch... you know what I'm saying."

[Asked by Leno what he hasn't yet hosted, but would like to] "Oh, this is a trick, right? Where you get me to host The Tonight Show and then take it back from me?"

[Asked why he came on to do the segment] "Listen, Jay, Conan and I have children—all you have to take care of is cars. I mean, we have lives to lead here. You've got $800 million, for God's sakes—leave our shows alone."

I've got to hand it to Letterman and CBS for releasing portions on youtube early:

It's not looking good for Conan

According to Nikki Finke, it's not looking good for Conan.

NBC Universal, faced with Conan O'Brien's defiance, is taking what insiders tell me is "a super tough threatening position" over his refusal to host The Tonight Show at 12:05 AM instead of 11:35 PM. "Someone's got to show NBCU that big greedy corporate dickheads can't win," one of Conan's manager-agent-lawyer "Team Conan" representatives told me. And while Jeff Zucker has stayed out of sight over this mess he set in in motion in the first place -- by replacing Leno with Conan O'Brien as host of The Tonight Show even though Jay was No. 1 in his time slot at the time -- he's not out of mind. I've already reported how Zucker has been privately blaming Conan for the current debacle, saying "He let me down" because The Tonight Show has been losing out to David Letterman in both eyeballs and advertiser-coveted demographics. (Bullshit, Zucker, you can't keep blaming others for your Zucked-up messes.) Bad enough that NBC made Conan hear about the planned move in the first place from the media. But now the NBCU chief has been talking tough behind the scenes. To counter O'Brien's principled public statement which the late night host issued this week, Zucker "is threatening to ice Conan", according to his reps. "Zucker said, 'I'll keep you off the air for 3 1/2 years.' Which doesn't have a chance in hell of happening. What I really think Zucker wants is to hold him off the market for at least six months to a year until the dust settles and Leno is secure and Conan is squelched." One of the reps even compared Zucker to "Darth Vader" because the NBCU chief "has been so evil" about this.

Zero Effect

I saw an advanced screening in Louisville of Zero Effect back in the day. Of course, after seeing it, it must have had a limited release because it was never released in Louisville--not that I know of, of course.

Anyway, there's an article in the AV Club about the influence that it has from the Sherlock Holmes stories.

I need to see that movie again. I haven't seen it since it came out. Jake Kasdan directed it. Since then, he's directed The TV Set, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, and select episodes of Freaks and Geeks.

The latest...

EW:

Conan’s biggest supporter? That would be David Letterman. Letterman showed a segment called “Jay Leno: The Early Years,” with random found-footage of what he claimed was Jay “sabotaging [his] school’s production of Peter Pan.”

Letterman excoriated “the pinheads, the nitwits, the twits, the knuckle-draggers, and the mouth-breathers” who run NBC. And he did a list of the Top Ten messages left on NBC exec Jeff Zucker’s answering machine that included, “Hi, it’s Jay. All in all, I think it’s going pretty well.”

My friend and colleague Mark Harris suggested to me that it was Leno’s joke early in the week that “I didn’t sleep with my staff for nothing” — all the more piercing for being such an off-topic, out-of-left-field, gratuitous gag — that has helped stoke Letterman’s renewed, glowing flame of fury at the late-night situation. That could very well be. But I also think Letterman loves all the behind-the-scenes power moves, he loves dissecting who went wrong when, and how this mess confirms his decades-long belief that people in power tend to be deluded and out-of-touch with reality. (This informs his politcal humor as much as his show-biz philosophy, which puts him squarely in the Johnny Carson tradition.)

But the Conan debacle has brought out a fresh zest in Letterman. He picks his targets precisely. He’s the only host who’s brought up how burned new NBC owners Comcast must be. He’s the only host who’s connected the dots between Conan’s situation and the botch NBC made of the 1992 Tonight Show transition.

And he’s the only host who’d make the joke he uttered last night, saying that Leno had “also taken over the grave of Merv Griffin.” I always like a gasp when I laugh.

More NBC Drama...

Letterman:


Jack McBrayer on Conan:

Everybody loves Conan

Conan O'Brien drew big ratings last night in the midst of the NBC drama.

And Conan fans showed their support for the comedian on Tuesday night by tuning in to "The Tonight Show" - according to the Los Angeles Times, it scored a 1.7 rating / 7 share among adults 18-49, up 40 percent from Monday.

Here's a look at the financial aspect.

Everybody loves Conan and despises Leno.

"You can do anything you want in life...unless Jay Leno wants to do it to."
--Conan O'Brien, January 13, 2010 monologue.

Matt Besser Pens Tribute to Conan

Here is Matt Besser's King Zucker and the Soldier:

Late Night Drama...only on NBC!

Here's a recap of some of the mess from Monday night.

The late night hosts gang up on NBC...as they should.

For the most part, Jimmy Fallon is staying out of it.

James Poniewozik wonders if Jay Leno is the smart choice.

It also may be—and NBC has to be thinking of this—that if Conan goes to Fox, he will hurt David Letterman (with the second half-hour of an 11 p.m. Fox show) much more than he will hurt Jay, with whom his audience overlaps less.

But it is also possible that Conan can in fact—like Jay and Dave at similar stages in their careers—develop a bigger 11:35 audience, or that the audience will change (demographically and in its tastes) to like him better. It's not guaranteed, by any means. But it's enough of a possibility that I'm surprised we don't hear more about at least the possibility of NBC picking Conan instead.

The bottom line is that Jay is certainly the better short-term pick. Long-term, Conan has more upside and more downside. And that may be what does him in. NBC has very likely decided to get out of the risk-taking business.

Here is another essential.

I'm with Conan

I'M WITH COCO!!

Conan O'Brien Releases Statement

Here is Conan O'Brien's statement on the current matter at hand.

People of Earth:

In the last few days, I've been getting a lot of sympathy calls, and I want to start by making it clear that no one should waste a second feeling sorry for me. For 17 years, I've been getting paid to do what I love most and, in a world with real problems, I've been absurdly lucky. That said, I've been suddenly put in a very public predicament and my bosses are demanding an immediate decision.

Six years ago, I signed a contract with NBC to take over The Tonight Show in June of 2009. Like a lot of us, I grew up watching Johnny Carson every night and the chance to one day sit in that chair has meant everything to me. I worked long and hard to get that opportunity, passed up far more lucrative offers, and since 2004 I have spent literally hundreds of hours thinking of ways to extend the franchise long into the future. It was my mistaken belief that, like my predecessor, I would have the benefit of some time and, just as important, some degree of ratings support from the prime-time schedule. Building a lasting audience at 11:30 is impossible without both.

But sadly, we were never given that chance. After only seven months, with my Tonight Show in its infancy, NBC has decided to react to their terrible difficulties in prime-time by making a change in their long-established late night schedule.

Last Thursday, NBC executives told me they intended to move the Tonight Show to 12:05 to accommodate the Jay Leno Show at 11:35. For 60 years the Tonight Show has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying the Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn't the Tonight Show. Also, if I accept this move I will be knocking the Late Night show, which I inherited from David Letterman and passed on to Jimmy Fallon, out of its long-held time slot. That would hurt the other NBC franchise that I love, and it would be unfair to Jimmy.

So it has come to this: I cannot express in words how much I enjoy hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it is for me to consider losing it. My staff and I have worked unbelievably hard and we are very proud of our contribution to the legacy of The Tonight Show. But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction. Some people will make the argument that with DVRs and the Internet a time slot doesn't matter. But with the Tonight Show, I believe nothing could matter more.

There has been speculation about my going to another network but, to set the record straight, I currently have no other offer and honestly have no idea what happens next. My hope is that NBC and I can resolve this quickly so that my staff, crew, and I can do a show we can be proud of, for a company that values our work.

Have a great day and, for the record, I am truly sorry about my hair; it's always been that way.

Yours,
Conan

Super Bowl Odds

The Super Bowl odds are out, and Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts, perhaps not unexpectedly, are the favorites to win at Land Shark Stadium in Super Bowl XLIV, at 3/1. But they're not the favorites by much, as the New Orleans Saints and the San Diego Chargers, both winners of their respective divisions and led by Pro Bowl quarterbacks, with byes in the first playoff round, are listed at 4/1 in the Super Bowl odds. The New York Jets are actually the longshots on the Super Bowl odds list at 40/1, but coach Rex Ryan is absolutely confident that they can go all the way. They won against the Cincinnati team they manhandled in Week 17, but we all know next Sunday is going to be a much different ball game. Jets game against the chargers seems to be the end of the road for the NY Jets plus the fact that the Jets have a rookie QB, makes this game a toss up. With all the great games taking place over the next few weeks, leading up to the biggest sporting event.

What the hell, Jay Leno?

I just watched the portion of Jay Leno's monologue and he "claims" his prior show was cancelled. You know the show where it was announced in late 2004 or early 2005 that Conan O'Brien would be taking over for The Tonight Show in 2009.

Apparently, Leno wants to create a revisionist history where NBC cancelled him in 2009. Not the case, Jay. Everybody knows this but you apparently.

Jimmy Kimmel addresses the situation:

Trent Lott, anyone?

This is something I don't get. Democrats hold Republicans to a double standard.

It's wrong.

Eliot Spitzer and Jim McGreevey did the right thing when they did wrong. It may have taken them a few days but it was the right thing to do.

Harry Reid made a racist comment no different than that of the comment Trent Lott made. It cost Trent Lott his leadership post in the Senate--and the pressure came from the Democrats. Why is Harry Reid not resigning his leadership post? Why are Democrats not calling for Reid to resign?!?

Reid did wrong. An apology isn't strong enough. Not in my book.

What NBC SHOULD do is this

As many readers probably know, NBC is proposing the following line-up:
11:35 PM: The Jay Leno Show
12:05 AM: The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien
1:05 AM: Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
2:05 AM: Last Call with Carson Daly

However, they shouldn't do this. They should keep their late night schedule (minus the Leno experiment, an obvious failure) as it is.

What they SHOULD do is this: Give Jay Leno a variety show on Sunday nights when it is not the NFL season. Have it in the same style of the classic variety shows a la The Ed Sullivan Show. If it fails, it fails. If not, they have nothing to lose. Sunday night tends to be a weak night on the schedule as it is. I go from watching Sunday Night Football to watching Sunday Night Baseball or DVDs. That is, if I'm not watching a show at iO or Second City in Chicago.

A variety show on Sunday night will work. Furthermore, it could be shot during a day a week and air on Sunday. Right now, there's nothing airing late night on Sundays. A Jay Leno show on Sunday nights would feel that void. Remember Ed Sullivan? He aired on Sunday nights. So did Jack Benny, too.

Think about it NBC. Think about it.

C-J article on the STUPID JCPS decision

Here's the article on the STUPID decision that JCPS made this morning. Listen, I value education. Believe me, I do. But if there's one thing I value more, it's safety. Safety includes not sending out vehicles on roads where you KNOW that they have not been plowed. Furthermore, KY 22 is a disaster when it snows because of all the curves between Seminary and Hurstbourne Parkway. It's horrid. I avoid it when I can.

So why did they, when a number of school districts in surrounding counties closed — and when the eventual snow wound up forcing schools to close early?

“It’s my feeling that if we can get them to and from school safely, it’s best to have them in school,” said Superintendent Sheldon Berman. “This is not a major storm. I know it is hard for people, and we try to be as safe as possible.”

Not a major storm? The weathermen were talking about it ALL FRICKING WEEK. How is that not major? This isn't Chicago. Chicago is prepared for these storms. Louisville isn't prepared. It's all talk but when push comes to shove, the side roads in the suburbs, where buses MUST drive through, are usually not plowed.

Berman on Thursday predicted that school would be in session Friday, although a final decision might not come until the early morning hours.

No matter what decision is made, he said, it’s hard to please everyone. Some parents have more disruption from work when school is canceled, officials said.

Umm, we have another one to two more inches on top of a refreeze that will come overnight. Were you expecting some sort of lawsuit.

“We’re going to have parents who complain that the kids were in school and if we had canceled school, we would have had parents complain that we should have had school,” he said. “It’s never an easy call.”

I'd rather have the ones complaining about holding classes. The ones complaining about cancelling are the ones that don't want to take off of work to take care of their kids. Regardless, there's always a negative. I'd take safety first.

Officials said they’re at the mercy of forecasters and the weather. Each snowy or icy morning around 4 a.m., 18 district staffers drive around the county to check routes to help decide whether roads are safe, officials said.

Rick Caple, who heads the district’s bus fleet, said the National Weather Service on Thursday morning initially said the main brunt of the snow would start arriving between 8 and 9 a.m. After officials decided to hold school, the weather service changed the projected time to between 6 and 7 a.m.

See? There's your problem. YOU ARE NOT CHECKING THE RADAR!! Checking the effing radar for crying out loud. What a road looks like at 4 AM is NOT what it's going to look like hours later.

“We thought we could get to schools on time, and we pretty much did,” he said, noting there were no major bus accidents and only minor delays.

Umm, there were several non-injury accidents, including SIX JCPS vehicles.

As conditions deteriorated as expected during the day, officials called off school an hour early to avoid long afternoon delays.

Morons. Why hold class when you decide to dismiss early, thus forcing parents to LEAVE work if they made it in and deal with traffic on their own right.

“We decided to release students an hour early to make sure that they can get home in a timely way and avoid the rush hour traffic,” Berman said.

No, you released them early so you can avoid major traffic accidents.

SNOWPOCALYPSE

It's snowing bad outside, yet Sheldon Berman and the Jefferson County Public Schools made a HORRIBLE decision. They decided that it was worth the risk to hold classes today. BAD IDEA.

The driveway was shoveled over 2 hours ago and there's easily another two more inches over what was shoveled.

The neighborhood has not even been plowed at all!

My Favorite 100 Comedies of the 2000s

Here are my favorite ten comedies in each year of the decade. It should come out to a hundred when all is said and done. No particular rank.

2000
Meet the Parents
The Whole Nine Yards
High Fidelity
Keeping the Faith
Space Cowboys
Bring it On
Miss Congeniality
O Brother , Where Art Thou?
Almost Famous
Charlie's Angels

2001
Shrek
Ocean's 11
Saving Silverman
Heartbreakers
Cats and Dogs
Legally Blonde
Monster's Inc.
The Royal Tenenbaums
Spy Kids
The Princess Diaries

2002
Men in Black 2
Ice Age
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
Orange County
Snow Dogs
Big Fat Liar
Van Wilder
The Sweetest Thing
Mr. Deeds
Austin Powers in Goldmember

2003
Bruce Almighty
Just Married
Agent Cody Banks
Head of State
What a Girl Wants
The In-Laws
Elf
My Boss's Daughter
School of Rock
Duplex

2004
Shrek 2
Ocean's 12
Meet the Fockers
Along Came Polly
50 First Dates
Starsky and Hutch
Dodgeball
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
Garden State
I Heart Huckabees

2005
The 40 Year Old Virgin
Wedding Crashers
Man of the House
Ice Princess
Fever Pitch
Kicking and Screaming
The Longest Yard
Bewitched
Just Friends
Rumor Has It

2006
Night at the Museum
Grandma's Boy
The Pink Panther
Accepted
She's the Man
Thank You for Smoking
The Break Up
You, Me, and Dupree
Little Miss Sunshine
Talladega Nights

2007
Knocked Up
Superbad
Walk Hard
Juno
Wild Hogs
Ocean's 13
Evan Almighty
License to Wed
The Heartbreak Kid
Dan in Real Life

2008
Pineapple Express
Tropic Thunder
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Role Models
Zack and Miri Make a Porno
Hancock
Burn After Reading
Drillbit Taylor
You Don't Mess with the Zohan
Get Smart

2009
Funny People
Night at the Museum 2
Up in the Air
The Hangover
Sherlock Holmes
A Serious Man
500 Days of Summer
Extract
I Love You, Man
The Goods