Pop superstar Ke$ha has joined forces with Humane Society International to bring awareness to the serious issue of animal welfare on a global level. She is the Humane Society’s first-ever Global Ambassador. And she’s starting her efforts with the following PSA bringing awareness to the issue of street dogs. Take a look below:
The UCF Knights football team (5-7; 3-5 C-USA) defeated the Miners of UTEP (5-7; 2-6 C-USA) in front of a national audience Friday night at Bright House Networks Stadium. While quarterback Jeff Godfrey started the game with an interception, his replacement, Blake Bortles, led the Knights to a solid 31-14 victory. Bortles scored his first-ever career-rushing touchdown. He was put in the game at the end of the first quarter and remained there until the game’s end. The win was also a nice send-off to the team’s seniors, who were all a part of the 2010 squad that made program history with a season finish in the Top-20, a Conference Championship, and victory over the SEC perennial powerhouse Georgia Bulldogs in the LibertyBowl. Unfortunately, UCF finishes 2011 with a losing season and is not bowl-eligible. In other UCF sports news, the men’s basketball team (4-2; 0-0 C-USA) defeated #4 UCONN (6-1; 0-0 Big East), effectively ending the team’s winning streak, which was the longest in college basketball! The Knights were competing in the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas (unfortunately, they lost to an undefeated Harvard [8-0] squad this afternoon) and had to erase a 17-point deficit to come back for the win against the Huskies. It marked the biggest win in UCF Basketball history, the previous of which was last year’s win against the Florida Gators. The Knights’ next game is on Saturday December 3rd against Hartford in the UCF Arena.
Photos courtesy Orlando Sentinel.
A study conducted by media researchers at Fairleigh Dickinson University has some not too surprising findings about viewers of Fox News. The researchers compared knowledge levels about current events in Egypt and the Middle East using a sample of men and women who watch Fox News and a sample of those who watch no news at all. The findings indicated statistically significant lower knowledge levels about current events in these foreign locations and the impact these events have on the USA in the Fox News viewers. For example, the Fox News Channel viewers were 18-points less likely to know that the Egyptian people actually overthrew their government and 6-points less likely to know the Syrians haven’t done the same. The study’s primary author and Political Science professor Dr. Dan Cassino stated the study indicated the knowledge deficits weren’t related to the network drawing more Republican viewers versus non-Republican viewers. “The results show us that there is something about watching Fox News that leads people to do worse on these questions than those who don’t watch any news at all.” This isn’t the first study to indicate viewers of Fox News as less knowledgeable than watchers of other news channels. A 2010 University of Maryland study indicated Fox News viewers were much more likely to believe false information about American politics.
After finishing a 2010 season ranked in the Top 20 in all 3 polls (AP, Coaches, and BCS), being crowned Conference USA Champions, and beating the Georgia Bulldogs in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, the UCF Knights (4-7, 2-5 C-USA) have solidified a losing 2011 season. After losing to the Pirates of East Carolina(5-6, 4-3 C-USA) in-front of a nationwide audience (and sold-out 52,000-fan filled Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium) on Saturday in Greenville, NC the Knights cannot get to the crucial six wins needed to secure a post-season bowl berth. The game was somewhat of a shootout between the two teams. But UCF struggled both offensively and defensively. Quarterback Blake Bortles appeared to be much more productive than Jeff Godfrey during the contest. And receiver JJ Worton continued to show his value to the team as he tied the game up 31-31 in the last two minutes. ECU answered with a quick touchdown of their own, taking the lead 38-31. UCF would regain possession of the ball, taking it all the way down to the 11-yard line; but the Knights weren’t able to punch it in and score the points needed to put the contest into OT. The season will end on Friday when the Knights take on the UTEP Miners (5-6; 2-5 C-USA) at Bright House Networks Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:00pm and the game will be nationally televised on Fox Sports Network. The College of Nursing Tailgate Party will begin at 3:00pm in the Softball Lot.
Lady GaGa performed her new single “Marry the Night” from Born This Way (which has sold over 8 million copies!) on UK’s X-Factor last week. Take a look at the dramatically-infused performance below. As always, her vocals are as outstanding as ever.
The UCF Knights (4-6; 2-4 C-USA) lost to a very good ranked (#23) Southern Miss (9-1; 5-1 C-USA) team Saturday night in a showdown at “The Rock” in Hattiesburg, MS. The Knights brought the game down to the wire, mostly by racking up yardage on the backs of backup quarterback Blake Bortles and wide receiver Lativius Murray. The Knights marched down the field in the last final seconds of the game and scored a touchdown that brought the game to 29-30. Instead of tying the game up and bringing it into overtime, UCF went for a two-point conversion, that unfortunately, fell short and gave the Golden Eagles the win. This was also the away-game I chose to attend this season with my dad. We made plans to attend Southern Miss before the start of the season, believing the Conference USA East Division Title would be on the line at this game. UCF now needs to win-out its remaining two games at East Carolina (4-5; 3-2 C-USA) and at home against UTEP (5-4; 2-3 C-USA) to become bowl eligible. Most college football experts predict the Knights will do that and land in the St. Petersburg (Beef O’Brady’s Bowl) against a Big East (UCF’s future conference) team on December 20th. UCF vs. East Carolina is being broadcasted on Fox Sports Network this Saturday. Kickoff is at 7:00pm. See below for my reflections from Southern Miss. (Photo Courtesy Orlando Sentinel).
1. Pre-Game Dinner at Leatha’s BBQ: Ridiculously good BBQ! Dad and I both remarked it could be the best BBQ we ever had, even better than Memphis! Neat atmosphere and very friendly wait staff who welcomed the UCF fans that were there.
2. Southern Miss Campus/ Tailgate/ Fans: Very nice campus that consists of older style brick buildings. Lots of tailgaters. Every Southern Miss fan we interacted with at the game was incredibly friendly and welcoming. The fans (with the exception of a few who’ve come to this Board) are very classy folks.
3. The Game: I think we saw an amazing comeback performance from our boys that brought it down to the wire. Obviously Bortles was much more effective than Godfrey (he should be our starter period) and Murray/ Worton were great. I have some great feelings about our offense and entire 2012 team after this game. The two-pointer was a gutsy call that would’ve made one hell of a statement had it worked. Hindsight is always 20/20. So going for the tie for OT looks much more attractive now. But I give O’Leary some credit for the ballsy call.
4. Attendance: My dad and I were shocked to hear the announced crowd at just 32,000! A ranked top-25 football team that seems to be destined for their Conference Championship game and a nice post-season bowl only had 32K people attend their game and that is sad to me. And the very friendly, welcoming, and cordial Southern Miss fans around us told us that the attendance last night was actually slightly better than average and that “The Rock” has NEVER hosted one sell-out game in its entire history! Seeing such poor attendance for a team that is having such an incredible season was disappointing for sure. Overall, we really enjoyed the Southern Miss experience. I would definitely go back again.
The national tour of the hit Broadway show The Addams Family made its way through Orlando last week making a stop at the Bob Carr Performing Arts Center. This version of the show is slightly different from its Broadway counterpart, which closes at the Lunt Fontanne Theater (the same theater that housed my beloved Titanic) in January of 2012. Of course the show is based on the famous bizarre Addams Family characters of Gomez, Fester, Morticia, Wednesday, Pugsly, Lurch, and Grandma. But the Broadway incantation, which has largely been panned as a sloppy and messy show without any true plot line was rewritten for its tour by Andrew Lippa. And unfortunately, while I haven’t seen the version in New York, this one left a lot to be desired. That doesn’t mean I didn’t like the show–I did! It was funny, the songs were very good, and there was a TON of comedy that really kept a smile on my face throughout the vast majority of the show.
But for all the fun the show conjures up, it has numerous shortfalls. Its basic plotline is weak. In a nutshell, Wednesday has fallen in love with straight-laced Lucas. She tells her father early in Act I and the two hold their secret during the remaining of the Act as Lucas’ family joins the Addams Family for a dinner. Obviously, Lippa has been quite inspired by La Cage Au Follies (The Birdcage) as the macabre Addams have to act “normal” as to not threaten the relationship between the two young lovebirds. While that part of the plot is rather formulaic, the events that transpire during the dinner are quite hilarious. And the pinnacle of Act I is “The Game,” which is a funny take on the classic adolescent game of truth or dare. Act I ends solid. I was pleasantly surprised at how excellent the music, acting, and comedy was flowing.
Morticia is played wonderfully by Sarah Gettelfinger and Gomez is craftfully played by the handsome Douglas Sills, who portrays a fantastic Spanish accent. Wednesday (Cortney Wolfson), Pugsly (Brian Justin Crum), Lurch (Tom Corbeil), Grandma (Pippa Pearthree), and Fester (Blake Hammond) play their parts well. So, it’s of no fault of their’s that Act II of The Addams Family unfortunately fails. Act II sees struggles between the main characters (Morticia/Gomez, Wednesday/Lucas) that never really make any sense. I felt as if I had missed something in the show, particularly in the conflict between Wednesday and Lucas. Their relationship hinged on their differences; yet the entire second act is predicated on their differences as nothing but a source of tension. The songs of Act II, while certainly good, also fail to bring the storyline anywhere significant. At times, tunes like Morticia’s “Just Around the Corner” and Fester’s ode to the moon seem thrown in just to kill time. They make no true contributions to advance the storyline.
One major star of the show, however, is its look. The sets are INCREDIBLE. A curtain effect is employed to conceal set changes that happen rapidly and leave the audience in awe. And the look of the Addams’ mansion, the opening scenes in the graveyard, and a scene of Fester dancing with the moon are excellently well-depicted. The skills used in the execution of these scenes and the talent of the set designers in a way, steal the show. In the end, The Addams Family is a VERY fun and VERY funny show. Did it sweep the Tony’s and leave an impact on me in the same way as so many other live performances have? No. But, it did make my face sore from laughing and smiling for a solid two hours. See The Addams Family for the lighthearted show it is. But, keep your expectations low or you’ll find your cynical side taking over. Photo Courtesy Orlando Sentinel.
The UCF Knights (4-5; 2-3 C-USA) suffered yet another loss Thursday night. In front of a national audience on CBS Sports Network, UCF lost to Conference USA mate Tulsa (6-3; 5-0 C-USA) at Bright House Networks Stadium. While the offense saw some success, the defense really struggled. With five starters out on injury, the Golden Hurricane took advantage of missed tackles and sloppy play. UCF led during the half; but they couldn’t perform in the red zone, which resulted in them adding just 3 points in the entire second half. And in the end, Tulsa took control of the game running out close to 5 minutes of the game clock giving the Knights no time for any offensive effort. With this loss, the Knights are now struggling to win just six games to become bowl eligible. The season has been a terrible disappointment for a team that finished 2010 ranked in the top 20 in two polls and #25 in the BCS, won their Conference Championship game, and beat a traditional powerhouse team in the Liberty Bowl. And their season isn’t getting any easier. The Knights play a very good Golden Eagles (8-1; 4-1 C-USA) team in Southern Miss this Saturday. Kickoff is at 8pm and the game is televised nationwide on CBS Sports Network. Photo courtesy Orlando Sentinel.
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