Tracy Morgan returns to 'Saturday Night Live'

I saw a line this morning that read "On 'Saturday Night Live,' Tracy Morgan proves that playing 'loud, brash and not-too-bright' is about all he does.

Pretty much.

Kates and I almost didn't bother watching SNL this weekend, knowing Morgan was the host. We would've been perfectly satisfied with watching Kelly Clarkson's performances (watch them here and here) and turning it off ...

Then again, Kristen Wiig's entertaining Barbie impression almost made the show worth watching ...



And I could watch her do that dance she did in the "High IQ" gameshow sketch over and over. I'm laughing just from typing it and playing the image in my head ... I'd love to post the video it, but I can't find it anywhere!

Sunday reading

Just said good-bye to the parents, who spent a couple days with us here on the homestead ...

A great weekend. Great food. Great conversation. Great times playing with Phoebe ... And not so great weather. It poured almost endlessly yesterday and today ...

The afternoon is fast turning into a lazy Sunday evening. Kates and I can barely keep our eyes open.

Here's some of the reads that caught my eyes over the last few days ...

Sports ...
a A tragic end for minor leaguer traded for bats
a For Free Throws, 50 Years of Practice Is No Help
a Manny Ramirez has some things to say
a What Yankees Knew About Rodriguez’s Injury, and When They Knew It

Media & the Internet ...
a When Everyone’s a Friend, Is Anything Private?
a 15 Fake and Funny Twitter Accounts
a WIAA files suit against Gannett over broadcasting of postseason games on Internet
a In Denver, Residents Lament the Closing of a Newspaper
a Will Report for Tips
a Small Town News" journalist dissed by Letterman was laid off last week ... I'm posting this mostly because I thought the "Small Town News" segment -- in case you missed it -- was hilarious. I think this reporter's reaction to it is a little over-the-top.
a Copyright Challenge for Sites That Excerpt
a YouTube and Universal Music Are Said to Discuss Deal
a A Google Search of a Distinctly Retro Kind
a How To Save Print ... A good funny

Politics ...
a For Young President, Flecks of Gray

TV ...
a CBS has its eye on Fox's ratings prize

Music ...
a Kelly Clarkson's 'All I Ever Wanted': 3.5 stars
a U2 looks in, branches out

Life & other stuff ...
a Here, all sales are final ... Never made it to any of the local Circuit City sales to check out the big sales (We don't have the money to spend), but this was an amusing read nonetheless.
a This winter, last year's add up to some bragging rights ... I'm throwing it back.

Saturday morning

Sitting here watching the snow fall outside … And the VH1 countdown. What more could you want on a Saturday morning …

I caught the Plain White T’s video for “1,2,3,4” for the first time this morning … I wasn’t fond of the song at first -- the chords sound way too much like “Hey, There Delilah.” But it’s really grown on me the last couple weeks … And the video gets major props from me because it was filmed in Chicago and has some great scenery in it …



I can hardly get enough of Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” video … Not because I’m a Beyonce fan, but because I’m so mesmerized by the dancing in it … It is a pretty cool song, too … (And don't forget SNL's funny take on it starring Beyonce AND Justin Timberlake.)

Good to see Kelly Clarkson back on top again, too. After the controversey of “My December” -- I listened to that album once and it hasn’t seen my CD player since … “My Live Would Suck Without You” is officially the song stuck in my head this weekend …

Sunday reading

Some of the stories and headlines that have caught my eyes the last couple weeks ...

Music & entertainment ...
a Kelly Clarkson's dispute with Clive Davis has made her music hard to hear
a The Baby is Back on Ferrell's Funnyordie
a Chuckles, Guffaws and Some Yucks: Potty-Mouthed Toddler Got Will Ferrell's Comedy Web Site Up and Running
a Bringing Out the Worst In Celebrity Coverage? Esquire Chided for Jolie Cover Story
a What were they thinking? Good actors' bad choices
a Blunt's shaking his hit
a Watching Films or TV Together Is a Rite of Coupledom, Until A Scarlet Temptress Beckons
a TV cancellation hidden in a cloud of euphemism
a Paris fans are so Paris
a Rowling's spell, not a wizard, is behind the magic of 'Potter'
a When bad roles happen to good actors
a What will Ben Silverman think of next for NBC?

Sports ...
a Once the dirtiest player in the NFL, Conrad Dobler is now fighting for guys he tried to dismember ... My friend Mike is responsible for many of the photos you see with this one ...
a 'Bronx' revisits boys of summer 1977
a With Old-School Sluggers, A 'Derby' Done Right

The Internet ...
a Blogging Vs. Broadcast Rights: Free Press Or Freeloading?
a Calling In Pros to Refine Your Google Image
a Nanoseconds Of Happiness: You're Going to Love Your iPhone, Until the Next Gizmo Calls a Candidates learning that YouTube and other Web sites are potent portals

Other stuff ...
a A Roto-Rooter rescue
a A President Besieged and Isolated, Yet at Ease
a For 50 years, Milwaukee's been on a freeway ride
a Robotic cars could take pressure off nation's highways
a Travelers to the Grand Canyon have always had a killer view. Now they can take a step in a new direction
a Two Little Letters, Addressed to Everyone, That Speak Volumes
a Big blasts at harbor rock out near Big Gig

Sunday reading

Some of the stories that caught my eyes this past week ...

Politics ...
a How Big a Stretch? For Barack Obama, Winning the White House Would Mean Bridging The Biggest Gap Of All
a The Truman Primary

Movies ...
a THE BIG PICTURE: Cue the sequel, and the safe, boring route
a The Princess Inquiries: Having Helped Voice 'Shrek the Third,' Four Actresses Reminisce Snappily Ever After

TV ...
a HERE'S THE STORY: TV theme music plays a vital role
a Mismatches Made in Sitcom Heaven
a The series finale of 'King of Queens' signals the further dwindling of a long-popular genre
a Host With the Most: The Cult of Bob Barker
a CBS salutes retiring game-show host Bob Barker this week
a Did the Others save 'Lost'?
a 'Idol' sweetheart Kelly Clarkson is ready to rock it
a 'American Idol': It's all about the makeup

The internet ...
a New survey shows it's not the future yet
a Cut-and-Paste Is a Skill, Too

Baseball ...
a Success doesn't rattle Brewers ... yes, it has been quite a month for the Brewers ...
a Brewers firing on all cylinders
a Crew's cooking when Soup's on
a When it's time to shut 'em down, Francisco Cordero is ... lights out
a Fever brewing, but team has much to prove
a Brewtown 90210 is a big hit
a History makes this likely year of the Brewers
a Brewers stack up well next to recent elite
a Youngsters continue talent show
a It's time to take New York by storm
a Not bad for part-time job: Clemens' deal raises eyebrows

Just a good read ...
a 'Reunion' turns out to be just one big fish tale

Good reads

a O'Brien on track to build Reds, just a year late ... Yeah, they're good. But they also have a knack for fading, and I don't think they'll be able to keep it up ...Surely the Astros or Cardinals will find a way to take the NL Central.

a 'Grey's Anatomy's' Morgan sees his career reborn after Denny dies ... Fine. But pllleeeeeease don't even think about a resurection on Grey's. As if the psycho-Izzy finale wasn't far enough out of left field and insane, it was a mistake to let Denny live much more than two episodes ...

a Clarkson makes time for new album, tour ... I've never watched a second of 'American Idol.' And I want no part of it, really. The way I percieve it, it's just Simon and his cronies picking and choosing the most attractive wannabe pop-stars in hopes that some record company can make a few fast bucks off 'em. It's not real music to me. But I could be proven wrong ... Bring up Kelly Clarkson, however, and you've got my ears. Again, never saw her on American Idol. And I didn't care either ... then. Now -- since the moments I first heard/saw 'Since U Been Gone' on VH1 -- you can rank her among one of my favorite artists. She's spunky, down-to-Earth, and oh so fun to watch ... which is a big reason I added her video to the sidebar of this site. That, and the first time I saw the video a couple months back conjured up visions of me dancing in my bathroom just like the people featured in the video. (and those of you who know me well are totally smiling, nodding and saying, 'yep, that's Horns ...')

a The Pictures Worth 4 Million Smackeroos ... one word: insane. When I first heard this one on the radio the other day my jaw dropped. ... and then I thought, I hope People barely sells a copy ... it's a dang baby photo!!!!!!!!

Spring fever

So I drove to work today amid bright sunshine, smiles, only a slight chill and feeling as though spring was about to begin ...

I got into my office, started up my computer and got settled into my work area. Barely two minutes had passed when a cohort groaned and several of us looked out the window to see GIANT SNOWFLAKES FALLING FROM THE SKY!

You've GOT to be kidding me.

I mean I've heard about this lake effect snow, but this is crazy. ... It continued ALL MORNING LONG. And I was insane enough to drive home for lunch in the whiteout that had become our poor, tortured city. ... All the while there were reports of sunshine and NO snow just miles away.

... and by the time I returned to work about an hour later, the sun was shining brightly as if we were returning to the tropics again.

Crazy, indeed.

* * *
My cohorts and I were happy to learn today that Mike Tirico, Joe Theismann and Tony Kornheiser will be anchoring the new (and probably not-so-improved) ESPN version of 'Monday Night Football' ... actually we all agreed we're more happy that Stuart Scott and his -yo-yo homey jargon won't be part of the new MNF. ...It was unanimous. We can't stand him and he's a big reason we don't watch 'Sportscenter as much as we used to.

Seriously? ESPN made a smooth move by putting Kornheiser -- one of my absolute, all-time favorite writers for years -- in the booth.

Plus, it gives Al Michaels a chance to reunite with John Madden for what should be a promising new era of Sunday night football on NBC.

* * *
A few observations of tonight's Grammys ...

... Best moment of the night: Kelly Clarkson's tearful acceptance after her win for 'Since U Been Gone' Hey, my eyes welled up too. ... 'She's like a real person,' Kates said. ...'And that's why she's so likable,' I followed.

...Was it just me or did Alison Krauss look stoned as she and her band accepted their award for best country album?

... I still don't get all the hype about John Legend and his 'Ordinary People' ... Although, he got some points from me for being so cool and humble during his acceptance speech.

... The all-star tribute to Sly & The Family Stone was, well, pitiful ... except for Ciarra and Marroon 5's slick performance of 'Everyday People.'

... Kanye West and Jamie Foxx's performance -- drum, bugle corps., and all -- was awesomely entertaining. But why the heck was Foxx not singing his Ray Charles hook?

And Bono's acceptance speech after U2 took the album of the year honor was the classiest speech of the night. ... very nice.

Music’s big night

Less than 24 hours to go. Yes, folks, these are my Oscars, if you will. Forget movies, forget the Foreign Press, forget all the talk about who’s dress is hot and who’s not. In my mind, this is the only awards show worth watching and the night I wait for each February.

So without further ado, here’s the predictions from the AP music writers ...

And then mine …

Record of the year ...
Horns: Moody’s probably right but you can’t deny the crazy amount of time ‘Golddigger’ spent on the charts and it’s mongo catchiness. Plus, Kanye has been a critical darling since before last year’s Grammy’s and I can’t foresee voters rewarding the cartoony (not to mention the headachy) Gorillaz.

Album of the year …
Horns: I gotta lean with Bauder on this one. I don’t care how many octaves Mariah can sing, I’m surprised the album has sold as well as it has. About Stefani and Kanye … yeah. And McCartney’s album was good, but overrated. …and I haven’t the heard the U2 album, sooooooo …

Song of the year …
Horns: Nekesha, you couldn’t have said it better. … I can’t recall Springsteen’s song and, not being a big Springsteen fan, I’m not about to go download it on iTunes. All I ask, Grammy voters, pleeeease don’t give it to John Legend. ‘Ordinary People’ is the most overrated song of the year, and I can’t understand why people are still talking about it.

New artist …
Horns: How can you possibly predict John Legend will be around in 10 years? Keane is alright, but Fallout Boy has a lot more potential.

Female pop vocal performance ...
Horns: Hands down. Kelly Clarkson should walk away with this one for ‘Since U Been Gone.’ Once it’s in your head, it refuses to let go. Her performance of it is powerful. And yes, it should have been up for record of the year. … the whole album is pretty good too (see album of the year).

Male pop vocal performance ...
I’ve only heard ‘Fine Line’ and ‘Lonely No More.’ I’m a huge Rob Thomas fan and he’s one of the greatest musical minds of his era, but I think ‘Fine Line’ is a better song.

Album of the year ...
This is a tough one because I adore Fiona’s ‘Extraordinary Machine’ and Sheryl Crow’s ‘Wildflower’ (who you calling dull, Bauder!?) The other contestants are good, but ‘Machine’ is by far the more creative and imaginative album. And that’s why it’s been playing in my office stereo for the last two weeks.

Rock album ...
I'd love to see Coldplay in a landslide … but U2’s legend, unfortunately, may loom to large.

R&B album ...
Don’t know, don’t really care.

Rap album ...
Eminem and Kanye’s stuff has been good. I’ll go with Kanye.

Country album ...
Another don’t know, don’t care. But I will say Faith Hill’s ‘Fireflies’ is awful compared to her more memorable work.

Alternative music album ...
Blah, blah, blah. (I’d like to see it go to Death Cab For Cutie).

And while we’re on the subject …

…Another cool episode of ‘Love Monkey’ tonight. I gotta find some of that Wayne kid’s music (Although I know his real name’s not Wayne …) It’s got a sweet beat.

…Tonight’s 'Scrubs' episodes also had a catchy soundtrack … not to mention they were HA-larious and they featured the adorable and talented Mandy Moore -- aka Zach Braff's significant other.

… And finally, an interesting revelation. But does anyone think the music execs care really care what the consumers think? Shaaa right. ...At least, the return to singles is kind of refreshing.