Phew!Sounds like Amanda Bynes MIGHT just be able to breathe a sigh of relief…that is, for now!Earlier, we reported how Amanda was involved in yet ANOTHER car accident on Monday night, when she was rear-ended in El Lay!While the woman who bumped into Mz. Bynes’ car claimed Amanda made a “dangerous manuever,” which caused her [...]

Amanda Bynes NOT At Fault For Latest Car Collision?

BOSTON (AP) — Brandon Bass scored 18 of his postseason career-high 27 points in the third quarter on Monday night as the Boston Celtics pulled away from the Philadelphia 76ers to win 101-85 and take a 3-2 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Kevin Garnett added 20 points and Rajon Rondo had 13 points and 14 assists for the Celtics, who can advance to the East finals with a victory in Philadelphia in Game 6 on Wednesday. the Sixers would need a win there to force the series back to Boston for a decisive seventh game on Saturday.

Elton Brand scored 19 and Evan Turner had 11 points and 10 rebounds for Philadelphia, which led by six points early in the third quarter before Boston scored 14 of the next 16 points. Bass scored eight of them, including back-to-back dunks followed by a steal that set up Ray Allen’s fast-break layup to give the Celtics a 63-57 lead with five minutes left in the quarter.

Boston closed out the third with a 10-2 run over the final 3 minutes and outscored the Sixers 28-16 in the period. the Celtics also scored 16 of the first 22 points in the fourth quarter — seven from Rondo — to put away the game.

Paul Pierce had 16 points — a perfect 9 for 9 from the free throw line — and Allen, back in the starting lineup because of an injury to Avery Bradley, had five points.

The Celtics acquired Bass in December in a trade with Orlando for Glen “Big Baby” Davis, and he worked his way into the starting lineup after the All-Star break. Although he solidified the power forward position after Garnett moved to center, he hadn’t done anything spectacular — until Monday.

Bass hadn’t scored more than 22 points in a game this season and he matched his regular-season career high of 27 on Monday night. his playoff high was 19 points, in 2008.

He left the game to a standing ovation with 2 minutes left and the Celtics leading by 18.

Boston tied it 57-all when Bass stole the ball from Thaddeus Young and got to the free throw line, making both foul shots. After a Sixers miss, Rondo found Bass underneath for the dunk. Bass added another crowd-pleasing dunk before knocking loose a ball to start Rondo on a fast break he finished by finding Allen for the layup.

(© Copyright 2012 the associated Press. All Rights Reserved. this material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Sixers Lose To The Celtics, 101-85

Gather round, chillins! It’s time for another riveting round of which Kardashian Talks Dishes The most! Ha! We LOVE watching all the K-sisters together on talk shows. It’s just like a bonus episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians… minus the consistent Bruce Jenner stares. and on Monday night, Kim, Kourtney, and Khloe all [...]

The Kardashians Take OverJay Leno: Cravings, Kanye & Lamar!!

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — One way or another, our long, long Viking stadium issue is coming to a conclusion, starting with the critical vote in the House probably sometime late Monday night.

We all have and can continue to argue the merits of any public participation in the building of stadiums and ballparks. these arguments have gone on in Arizona to Dallas, Indianapolis to renovations in Kansas City. They had the vision and understanding: it’s the price you pay to keep big time sports and all the events which go along with a new venue.

It took 10 years of rhetoric and arm twisting to build the Metrodome for $68 million — but without air conditioning at first because it was just good enough, in the words of one stadium official, to “get fans in, let ‘em see a game and let ‘em go home.”

Yet despite the lack of amenities and spartan feel to the Dome, it still hosted a Major League All-Star game, a Super Bowl, two basketball Final Fours, a bunch of regional tournaments and of course two World Series, to say nothing of non-sporting events, concerts and the like. but we all knew the Dome did not have a future. the Gophers left, the Twins left and now the Vikings’ lease is up.

The pass-the-buck mentality of our so-called legislative leaders over the past decade has put us in this spot. “Let the next governor deal with it.”

The time is now, yet a week ago, they were still talking “roof or no roof” on the new facility.

Last week was a complete clown show in St. Paul. look, we all have stadium fatigue, but it’s time to quit worrying about saving face and partisan politics and the horse trading, step up and do what virtually every other big league community has done. They’ve had plenty of time to figure it out.

Some people are going to be unhappy no matter how the vote goes, but like it or not, House speaker Kurt Zellers will have the tag on the guy who drove the Vikings out of Minnesota if it fails.

This is it. Trust me. the NFL will not be coming back this way.

Mark Rosen On Stadium: ‘The Time Is Now’

Nicklas Backstrom scored 2:56 into the second overtime to lift the Capitals to a 2-1 win over the Bruins in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series Saturday at TD Garden. the series is tied, 1-1, and shifts to Washington for Game 3 Monday night. Tim Thomas stopped 37-of-38 shots before allowing the game-winner from nearly the identical spot on the ice that Chris Kelly won Game 1 in overtime. Braden Holtby stopped 43-of-44 Bruins shots for his first NHL playoff win.

The series has been a defensive battle so far, with both teams fighting to a scoreless tie after one period. 

The Bruins had several chances in the second period, including two from close range in the slot from Patrice Bergeron. But the first was partially stopped by Holtby before it went through his legs before just missing the net. then with under five minutes left in the period, Bergeron again had a point-blank chance but Holtby denied the Bruins top center. 

But moments later, it was the Capitals who broke through when Alex Ovechkin centered the puck. Tim Thomas attempted to come out and cover but he collided with defenseman Greg Zanon and Troy Brouwer was there to take advantage of the opportunity. he backhanded the puck between Thomas’ legs for the Captials first goal of the series, after not scoring for the first 99 minutes, 15 seconds of the series. 

Thomas also had a signficant streak come to an end, as he allowed his first playoff goal since Max Lapierre scored late in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals in June. Thomas had gone 161 minutes and 41 seconds without allowing a playoff goal. 

Trailing after 40 minutes, the Bruins appeared stymied again by the tight Washington defense when Brad Marchand was stopped right in front midway through the third. But a hustle play was the difference as Boston finally broke through. Thursday’s hero – Chris Kelly – came down the left wing, dropped a pass for Brian Rolston, who centered the puck. Holtby came out to cover but Benoit Pouliot got to the puck before he could cover and flipped a backhander into the center of the vacated net, tying the game, 1-1, with 7:47 left in regulation.

Both teams had quality chances in the first overtime, including Keith Aucoin, who was denied right in front by Thomas with under 10 minutes left in the period. the Bruins had five of the first six shots on goal in the period. Kelly was wide open on the weak side when the puck came through but he was tied up by Dennis Wideman and couldn’t get his stick down on the ice. 

The Bruins continue to struggle on the power play, missing out on two chances, making them 0-for-6 on the man advantage in the series. After blocking 22 shots in Game 1, the Capitals blocked another 25 to help in the defensive effort in front of their rookie goalie. 

The series now shifts to the nation’s capital for Games 3 and 4 Monday and Thursday at the Verizon Center. for complete coverage of Game 2 from the team of DJ Bean and Mike Petraglia, visit the Bruins team page at weei.com/bruins and the Big bad Blog. 

Even up: Caps get OT winner, tie series

“The World Will be Watching,” pronounces the tagline for “The Hunger Games,” in reference to the reality-show approach to the killing arena in the story's post-apocalyptic future.  but those words were definitely true in the present for the stars of the popular young adult novel’s upcoming adaptation, as talent like Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth walked the black carpet at a world premiere built for a blockbuster.

The event was held outside L.a. Live’s Nokia Theatre, the same place where fans had been screaming for their favorite vampires and werewolves four months earlier at the premiere of “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn –- Part 1.” Monday night, in true "Twilight" fashion, the carpet was lined with fans holding aloft homemade posters bearing the names of their favorite stars.

"Jennifer, can I please have a hug?" read one. "Josh, you make my heart go Peeta-Patter," read another.

But though the movie’s stars are quick to call themselves fellow fans of the books, they’re not so eager to side with Team Peeta or Team Gale –- the two men fighting for the heart of lead character Katniss Everdeen, played by Lawrence.

PHOTOS: "the Hunger Games" black carpet arrivals

"It’s so hard to choose. I can't choose because I know them both so well," said Dakota Hood, who plays a District 10 tribute. "I want to say Peeta, and I want to say Gale, so I'm just gonna leave you at that."

While some were indecisive like Hood, many claimed alliance with another character entirely.

"I'm definitely Team Katniss," said Jacqueline Emerson, who plays Foxface, a District 5 tribute, “because it's not a love story. It's not a love triangle. It's really just Katniss and her battle and her struggle and what she’ll do for the ones she loves."

As for their opinion of Katniss' real-life counterpart, the film’s large cast of new and experienced talent had continual praise for Lawrence's talent and her humor.

"she is 50% Academy Award [nominated] actress and 50% stand-up comedian," said Dayo Okeniyi, who plays District 11 tribute Thresh. "she had the ability to make anyone feel comfortable around her."

Another young actor in the film, Jack Quaid, son of Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid, shared with reporters a story of Lawrence asking a co-star to "remind me to tell you this great fart joke" a mere second before the cameras started rolling and she went into stoic Katniss mode.

For Paula Malcolmson, who plays Katniss’ mother, developing a mother-daughter relationship with Lawrence was nothing new, as she had done just that briefly for a "Cold Case" episode in 2007. but she continued to be impressed by Lawrence, who received an Oscar nomination last year for "Winter’s Bone." Malcolmson described the 21-year-old actress as “savvy” and “just certain of [her] work.”

The premiere was a massive celebration after many months of build-up via various marketing strategies. It was a fan-flanked event (and full of fan-provided sound effects –- yes, there was a lot of screaming) that went beyond the stars' expectations of scope and size, many of the film's fresh faces said. but even young pros now accustomed to fan mania had to stop and take in the moment, like Miley Cyrus' beau Liam Hemsworth, who plays Gale.

"the fans around this thing are so passionate," the Australian actor said. "I’ve just been trying to keep my head on, realize what’s happening right now .… It's a little crazy. It’s extremely crazy actually."

“The Hunger Games” hits theaters March 23 and also stars Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland and Toby Jones.

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twitter.com/EmilyNRome

Photo: Josh Hutcherson, Jennifer Lawrence and Liam Hemsworth at the world premiere of "the Hunger Games" on Monday in L.a. Credit: Kevin Winter / Getty Images

‘The Hunger Games’ premiere: Everyone loves Jennifer Lawrence

The remaining Republican presidential candidates treated Jon Huntsman’s endorsement of Mitt Romney as he bowed out of the race Monday much they way they treated Huntsman during his candidacy — with barely a glance.

“I like Jon Huntsman. I actually got a chance to meet him and his wonderful wife and family and I wish him the very, very best, and he brings something to the table. But this is a race about who’s going to be the strong conservative against Barack Obama,” Rick Santorum told Fox News.

With Huntsman gone and with Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and the South Carolina Republican Party literally setting their debate stage Monday night with one less lectern, many pundits and voters  – and even a candidate — agree that should Romney pull of the hat trick this Saturday in South Carolina and go 3-0 in the early GOP contests, it could be very tough to stop him

The race is down to five now, which means four are tweaking their strategy to undo Romney’s substantial lead in the polls, both in South Carolina and across the nation.

Ahead of Monday night’s pivotal debate in Myrtle Beach, the candidates courted activists at a nearby Tea Party convention and a Faith and Freedom Coalition.

The two groups represent a large segment of South Carolina’s Republican Party — social and fiscal conservatives — and the events offered the candidates plenty of opportunity to smack around the front-runner and one another.

“I need your help to every person across the state to say to them: Any conservative who votes for anyone but Newt helps elect a moderate as the nominee. And therefore we need to get everybody — if every conservative votes for me, we will win on Saturday by a huge margin, it is that simple,” Gingrich told an enthusiastic crowd of about 150 Tea Party Patriots.

“If we are not a moral and religious nation, it doesn’t work,” said Ron Paul, quoting President John Adams in a speech to the Faith and Freedom Coalition. “Where have we ever been taught whether it’s good economics or good religious values or good Christian values that we’re supposed to spend, spend, spend, consume consume, consume, borrow, borrow, borrow and then inflate the currency? The Bible says we’re supposed to have honest currency and that we’re not supposed to print the money.”

Heading into Monday night’s debate, the candidates have difficult tasks ahead. Rick Perry, who’s ranked last in the polling, now that Huntsman has dropped out, is courting evangelicals using the sermonizing skills that made him an attractive candidate before he entered the race.

Grabbing the sides of his head and thickening his drawl, the Texas governor told the forum audience that he would bring religion back to the public square if they help send him to Washington. he also got emotional discussing his wife, Anita, and his future in the race.

“If I had to walk away from all this, if she is walking with me, I’ll be OK,” he said in an unstated acknowledgement that his campaign may not last much longer.

Santorum, who has emerged in a Fox News poll as the “true conservative” to a plurality of voters, is taking an opposite tack. he is not only building his evangelical base, he is arguing that across-the-board, he is best representative of the values Republicans want and can win.

“The case for Romney is that he’s somehow the best to win the general election, as your Fox poll shows. And I’m just saying that’s simply not true. There’s no record of Governor Romney being able to appeal to anybody,” Santorum told Fox News, pointing to polls that show him faring as well as Romney against President Obama in several swing states.

“If you look at the key states, the industrial Midwest, that’s my wheelhouse,” Santorum said, adding that the Iowa caucuses will be certified in the coming day, and it’s perhaps early for Romney to claim a 2-0 win since Santorum was only eight points behind him in the first-in-the-nation vote.

Romney has declared victories in the only two contests of the campaign thus far, the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary earlier this month. Gingrich has conceded that the former Massachusetts governor will likely be the party’s nominee if he is similarly victorious in South Carolina.

Romney is the leader in the public opinion polls in South Carolina, although his rivals hope the state’s high 9.9 percent unemployment rate and the presence of large numbers of socially conservative evangelical voters will allow one of them to slip by him.

Santorum and Perry joined Gingrich in targeting the front-runner, who signaled Monday he will comply with tradition and release his tax returns if he becomes the Republican nominee.

For Romney, he needs to withstand the constant barrage. he attended the faith coalition “tent revival” and hit many of his talking points on social issues, like gay marriage and abortion. 

Whether it went over well could not be determined by the polite applause, something that Tea Party activist Jenny Beth Martin, co-founder of Tea Party Patriots, said is to be expected in the state.

“It’s the South and … we’re just kind of a little more polite, I think,” she said of her group’s refrain from bashing the front-runner, even if he’s not these voters’ first choice.

For the candidates, though, the barrage of TV commercials, mail and other advertising blanketing the state is doing that instead. Santorum complained Monday morning that attacks launched against him by a political action committee supporting Romney was spreading lies. he called on Romney to ask the group to edit or remove its ads from the air.

That attack on Santorum is patterned after one that helped send Gingrich into a nosedive in the polls in the final weeks of the Iowa caucus campaign. Gingrich made similar demands on Romney to rein in his supporters but was ignored. When the tables were turned and a 28-minute film about Romney’s tenure at Bain Capital was released, Gingrich said if anything’s wrong with it, the producers of the film, who are independent of his campaign, should remove any inaccuracies.

The producers have said they have nothing to remove.

With GOP field down to five, four candidates sharpen attack on front-runner Romney

Ron Artest, one of the NBA's most controversial and argumentative players, is searching for a new identity, or at least a new name. Metta World Peace? Cmon Son.

Ron Artest's jersey now says "World Peace" on the back, and presumably he's become an entirely different person since the name change became official. but there's one Artest quality we can still count on: Metta World Peace

Mike Brown told his designated bench spark Metta World Peace after his 0-for-8 shooting outing in the exhibition opener Monday night: “If you're going to shoot that much, you've got to make 'em.”

The hoopster formerly known as Ron Artest has been a joy to behold this year. From prank-calling radio stations to helping reporters with marriage proposals to senselessly clotheslining J.J. Barea to his mastery of the art of

The hoopster formerly known as Ron Artest has been a joy to behold this year. From prank-calling radio stations to helping reporters with marriage proposals to senselessly clotheslining J.J. Barea to his mastery of the art of

Cafe in Philadelphia

This post has been updated:“Dancing with the Stars” was by far the biggest show in Orlando Monday night. it was the most popular program on broadcast television.But Gabby Giffords and mark Kelly know how to draw an audience, too. Diane Sawyer’s interview with the couple was extraordinary and inspirational. The special edition of ABC’s “20/20″ shared revealing footage of Congresswoman Giffords in therapy struggling to recover from a bullet to the brain. The couple promoted their book, “Gabby,” through the hour.The wonderful moments accumulated: Astronaut Kelly told his wife that she had not been beaten; she had just been beaten up. The special revealed how crucial music has been to Giffords’ recovery. Giffords said she doesn’t get angry about what happened to her. “It’s life,” she said. she said she will try to return to Congress if she gets better.The Gifford special drew 12.4 million viewers and won the 10 p.m. time slot. it followed “Dancing,” which averaged 18 million viewers over two hours, according to updated ratings.here are the broadcast averages for Monday prime time: ABC with 16 million, CBS with 12.1 million, Fox with 6.8 million, NBC with 4.1 million and The CW with 1.4 million.But CBS won the 18-to-49 age group with its comedies. Here’s the CBS lineup: “how I Met Your Mother” with 10.4 million, “2 Broke Girls” with 11.8 million, “two and a half Men” with 14.8 million, “Mike & Molly” with 12.2 million and “Hawaii Five-O” with 11.7 million.Fox aired “Terra Nova” (7 million) and “House” (6.6 million). NBC countered with “The Sing-Off” (4.2 million) and “Rock Center with Brian Williams” (3.9 million). The CW delivered “Gossip Girl” (1.2 million) and “Hart of Dixie” (1.6 million).a standout in cable: ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” with 14.2 million viewers. Green Bay beat Minnesota, 45-7.In Orlando, Sawyer’s special drew 218,600 viewers. In the same time slot, “Rock Center with Brian Williams” pulled in 46,300 viewers. on “Rock Center,” Bob Costas interviewed Jerry Sandusky, who is at the center of the Penn State scandal. Sandusky denied that he’s a pedophile.Sawyer was no. 2 for the night; Williams was no. 14.no. 1 was “Dancing with the Stars” with 328,600 viewers. The four remaining celebrities performed three dances apiece. The hopefuls are Ricki Lake, Rob Kardashian, J.R. Martinez and Hope Solo. One will be ejected in the results show at 9 tonight on ABC.Other top programs in Orlando Monday night were “two and a half Men” with 177,400 viewers, ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” with 154,300, “Hawaii Five-O” with 143,700, “2 Broke Girls” with 141,200 and “Mike & Molly” with 137,200.

Gabby Giffords, ‘Dancing With the Stars’ win big in ratings – The TV Guy – Orlando Sentinel

Gabby Giffords says that she is doing “pretty good” in her recovery, but some question whether why she should be allowed to stay in Congress. in her first extended interview on Monday night with Diane Sawyer on ABC, Giffords spoke in short sentences, often repeating words to get her point across. she called the shooting “tough, tough, tough,” and her husband “brave, brave, brave” during the interview. Giffords has made tremendous progress from not being able to speak or walk at all (she survived a shot in the head during the massacre in Arizona), but is she well enough–or will she ever be–to return to Congress?

When asked if she would return to Congress, Gabby Giffords said, “No. better,” indicating that she would like to return eventually but not until she has made more progress. however, will she really be capable of retaining her old job duties? One critic says that despite her progress, she should not be allowed back in. he says of the situation: “Why is it that a woman who has one of our nation’s most important jobs retains her duties despite having severely impaired mental abilities?” he calls her a “remarkable woman,” but says that it is sad that “nobody dares point out the obvious.” he does make a good point. can she really ever perform again at a job with so much responsibility?

Mark Kelly, Gabby Giffords’ loving husband, said that she is “too tough to let this beat her.” one video clip shows Giffords breaking down in tears in the arms of her therapist, but when asked if she is angry about what happened to her, she replied simply, “No. Life.” At this point, she is working on being able to speak again and to smile more. Her story is certainly amazing, but sadly, she will never be the same woman she was. do you think Gabby Giffords will ever be well enough to return to Congress?

Photo and video courtesy of CBS News.

Should Gabby Giffords Still be in Congress After Shooting?