Reply to Carrie Fairfield.com Post

This is my reply as to whether or not a post-op should be able to enter a pageant and still be able to entertain. There were a ton of comments posted, a few were against while many other supported it...so here is what I had to say in regards to the subject.






Does it really matter that Candi is entering AAG? Are people threatened by it? Why else mention it?

I have never had the pleasure of meeting her but have seen her in many videos (and know someone who is very very close to her) and I think she is extremely beautiful, talented, and just a great person. Do I think Candi will win? I am not sure who will win? I do know that after researching this contest a bit, it seems to be a very fair pageant, something I can't say about a lot of pageants. I commend AAG and other systems for allowing post-ops to enter their contest after all its not like Candi or any other post-op can walk into a Miss USA or Miss America pageant or any other "real girl" pageant and compete even though by law she is considered to be female. The world of pageantry will still discriminate against her. Its sad that we would do the same. We have to embrace this. If Candi comes prepared, which I know for a fact she will be, she has just as much of a chance to win as the next person. Good luck to all the ladies

Cheers

Remembering Bea Arthur

I watched The Golden Girls constantly as a kid. It was one of my favorite shows. It still is today. I was really sad when I heard that Bea Arthur had passed away this past weekend. She was a terrific actress, not just on TV but on the Broadway stage also. Tonight the Great White Way went dark in a moment of silence as a way to remember this beautiful lady. You will truly be missed.

Full article courtesy of Playbill.com.....

Broadway to Dim Its Lights April 28 in Honor of Late Tony Winner Beatrice Arthur

By Andrew Gans
28 Apr 2009


Bea Arthur

The marquees of the Broadway theatres will be dimmed April 28 at 8 PM for one minute to pay tribute to the late Tony Award-winning actress Bea Arthur.

Ms. Arthur, who won a Tony Award for her performance as Vera Charles in Mame, died April 25 at the age of 86 following a battle with cancer.

In a statement Charlotte St. Martin, executive director of The Broadway League, said, "We are so fortunate that Bea Arthur's portrayals of memorable roles graced our Broadway stages. With a career spanning so many forms of entertainment, there is no doubt she will be missed by all."


Bea Arthur, Star of Stage and Screen, Dead at 86

By Andrew Gans
25 Apr 2009


Bea Arthur

Tony and Emmy Award winner Beatrice Arthur, who began her career onstage but would later become better known as Maude (on TV's "Maude") and Dorothy Zbornak (on "The Golden Girls") has died, according to the Associated Press. She was 86 and was suffering from cancer.

Born Bernice Frankel May 13, 1922, Beatrice (Bea) Arthur appeared at Off-Broadway's Theatre de Lys in the famed production of The Threepenny Opera, which featured Arthur as Lucy Brown and Lotte Lenya as Jenny.

Ms. Arthur's Broadway career began in 1955 with the original musical Plain and Fancy and continued with roles in Seventh Heaven and Nature's Way, but it was her work as Yente (the matchmaker) in the original 1964 staging of Fiddler on the Roof that won the attention of audiences and critics.

Ms. Arthur won a Tony Award two years later for her performance as the boozy Vera Charles in the original production of Jerry Herman's Mame, which cast Angela Lansbury in the title role. Ms. Arthur would later reprise the role of Vera on film opposite the Mame of Lucille Ball.

Ms. Arthur would return to Broadway only two more times following Mame: in the play The Floating Light Bulb and in her one-woman show Bea Arthur on Broadway, which was nominated for a 2002 Tony Award for Special Theatrical Event.

Broadway's loss, however, was television's gain. Ms. Arthur created two of the more memorable female characters in television history: the women's liberation champion Maude in "Maude" — a character she first created on "All in the Family" — and the divorced substitute teacher Dorothy Zbornak on "The Golden Girls."

She was nominated for a total of 11 Emmy Awards, winning two: one for her work in "Maude" and the second for her work on "The Golden Girls." Ms. Arthur's most recent Emmy nomination was in 2000 for her guest appearance on "Malcolm in the Middle."

In a May 2002 interview with Playbill.com, Ms. Arthur spoke about her acting influences: "My influences were [Lotte] Lenya and Sid Caesar. They affected me very strongly. The thing that she taught me was economy: I used to say, 'What do you do with your arms?' And she said, 'Never do anything unless you can't not do it.' If you're focused on something, really into it, you don't have to worry about what you're doing because it will follow through. Years ago, when I was living in New York and first starting out, I worked on [Sid Caesar's TV] show a couple of times, doing small parts — 'under fives' they called it. If you had under five lines they didn't have to pay you much money. I just watched the man. Such courage! He would do things nobody else had the nerve to do. I learned, 'Yeah, yeah — do it!'"

Ms. Arthur married director Gene Saks in 1950; that marriage ended in divorce in 1978. She is survived by her sons Matthew and Daniel Saks and grandchildren.

Anne Donovan joins Liberty Staff :)

I was really excited to hear that the New York Liberty decided to hire Anne Donovan as Assistant Coach to Patty Coyle. Anne will be an excellent addition to the team. She has a stellar coaching resume: WNBA Championship with the Seattle Storm and most recently a 2008 Olympic Gold in Beijing. For more information read the story below which is courtesy of the New York Liberty.


Anne Donovan Named Assistant Coach
WNBA Veteran & Olympic Gold Medal-Winning Coach Brings Winning Resumé to the Big Apple

New York, NY – April 28 – New York Liberty president and general manager Carol Blazejowski announced today that Anne Donovan has been named assistant coach. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“It is a rare and significant moment for any organization when someone of Anne Donovan's caliber joins its coaching staff, and it is particularly true for the Liberty today," said Blazejowski. "With Patty at the helm, Anne's decades of winning experience and a deep and talented roster, we feel we have assembled the components we need to pursue our ultimate goal – bringing New York the WNBA championship it so richly deserves.”

A Ridgewood, New Jersey native, Donovan’s primary responsibilities with the Liberty will include assisting head coach Pat Coyle in player development, game preparation and scouting, as well as planning practices and individual player workouts.

"I have admired Anne Donovan as a player and coach and am thrilled she will be joining me on the Liberty sidelines," said Coyle. "Anne knows how to teach, motivate and inspire players, and she clearly knows how to win. We look forward to her impact on our franchise and an exciting season for our fans."

Donovan began her WNBA career as the interim head coach of the expansion Indiana Fever in 2000, followed by head coaching positions with the Charlotte Sting (2001-2002) and the Seattle Storm (2003-2007). She amassed a regular-season record of 93-77 (.547) with four playoff appearances in Seattle, including the 2004 WNBA Championship title. Her coaching career began at the collegiate level where she was an assistant at her alma mater Old Dominion for six seasons (1989-1995) before taking the helm at East Carolina University (1995-1998).

“It is very exciting to have the opportunity to return to the east coast and join the Liberty family,” said Donovan. “Since the league’s inception, I have been impressed with how well this organization has been run and I look forward to assisting Pat in putting the most prepared and competitive team on the floor each night.”

Donovan owns a remarkable 132-10 (.930) all-time record on the sidelines for USA Basketball. As an assistant coach, she helped the United States capture gold at the Olympics in 1998 and 2004. While serving as head coach, she led the 2008 U.S. Women’s Senior National Team to gold in Beijing and as a result was chosen with Mike Krzyzewski as co-recipients of the 2008 USA Basketball National Coach of the Year award earlier this year. As a player, she won gold as a member of the 1984 and 1988 U.S. Olympic Teams, 1983 and 1987 Pan American Games Teams, 1986 World Championship Team and the 1978 and 1979 U.S. Olympic Festival East Teams.

A Naismith Award winner and three-time All-American selection at Old Dominion, Donovan was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA on May 15, 1995. She was one of the twenty-six inductees in the inaugural class of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in June of 1999. Additionally, she is a member of the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame, the Old Dominion Sports Hall of Fame and the CoSIDA Academic All-American Hall of Fame.

Miss USA 2009 Results

Wow...what a crazy year at Miss USA. For the past two years the winner has fallen at Miss Universe and if we remember in 2007 our representative was booed and hissed all night long. This year the hex was not at Miss Universe but instead at our national competition when Miss California answered her final question on her opinion on gay marriage. I am not against her response at all, she spoke what was on her mind and unfortunately this ended up pissing a lot of people off, including 2 judges. I don't think the issue was her answer but how she phrased it. She needed to choose her words wisely and that she didn't do. As a gay man I would love the opportunity to get married one day but I am ok with people not agreeing with view. I think a lot of the controversy also had to do with the fact that she was representing the state of California, a state that unanimously voted to over turn gay marriage. She was put in a very tough situation and although I disagree with her answer I have to give her props even though it cost her the crown. I will also admit that California placed high in all of my early polls and in the end like Crystal and the rest of the country thought she had it in the bag.

Here are the official results (the ones in bold were in part of my original poll result 20 back in March)....

Winner: Miss North Carolina USA

First Runner Up: Miss California USA

Second Runner Up: Miss Arizona USA

Rest of Top Five: Miss Utah USA,
Miss Kentucky USA,

Rest of Top Ten:
Miss Arkansas USA,
Miss West Virginia USA,
Miss Tennessee USA,
Miss Texas USA,
Miss South Carolina USA,

Rest of Top Fifteen:
Miss Connecticut USA,
Miss Idaho USA,
Miss Georgia USA,
Miss Minnesota USA,
Miss Virginia USA,



I must say I didn't do that bad of a job. I selected 13 of the 15. 4 of which were in the Top 5.

Good Job Me!!!!

Final words...I don't think, and no offense (ha ha that's was Miss California said), that Miss North Carolina, although beautiful and intelligent, will not be able to compete against the rest of the world. She may make the 15 but 10 or 5 I don't see happening.

Miss USA Best Hair Poll...

Log on to www.missusa.com and cast your vote for the 2009 Miss USA Best Hair Winner...

Here are my choices (in no particular order)

Top 10
Vermont
Texas
Virginia
North Carolina
Louisiana
Maine
Kentucky
DC
Florida
California


Top 5
Florida
Vermont
DC
Louisiana
North Carolina

Miss USA Countdown begins... Glam Poll

I am counting the days until I leave for The Miss USA Pageant in Las Vegas. This will be my 2nd consecutive trip to the national pageant which is set to air on NBA on Sunday April 19. During an earlier blog post I let everyone know who I felt my Top 10 were. I put everything on Miss Tennessee to win it all.

Recently the pageant unveiled their new and totally awesome website where America can sign up and state their mind. There is also a new poll with new photos of all 51 contestants. America can view the photos and also cast their vote on who they think is their favorite Glam Photo.

My Top 10 (no order)

California
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky
Maryland
Nebraska
Tennessee
Washington
Virginia
Wyoming

Top 5
California
Vermont
Kentucky
Nebraska
Maryland

Who will win...

Kia Vaughn coming to NY in the WNBA

The NY Liberty have selected Rutgers center Kia Vanughn in the 2009 WNBA Draft!

Read the full article below....

Article courtesy of by M.A. Mehta/The Star-Ledger at http://www.nj.com/sports/index.ssf/2009/04/new_york_liberty_select_former.html

Kia Vaughn was bouncing all over the place in heels with a trademark smile that let everyone know how downright giddy she was to be staying home.

The former Rutgers center was the eighth overall pick by the New York Liberty at the WNBA Draft at NBA Entertainment studios in Secaucus yesterday.


Vaughn, a native of the Bronx, was selected by her hometown team amid rumors that the Connecticut Sun and Minnesota Lynx might grab the athletic 6-4 post player.

"I was just excited to play anywhere and play for anyone," Vaughn said. "It was a dream to play here, but I had to face reality that anything was possible and anything could happen. But now my dream has come true."

Vaughn will re-united with former Rutgers teammate Essence Carson, who was the Liberty's top pick last season. The Liberty, like most teams, was intrigued by Vaughn's athleticism and her polished defensive skills.

Vaughn, the Scarlet Knights' all-time leader in games played (135), is one of just four players in program history to top 1,000 points and rebounds. She finished as Rutgers' second all-time leading rebounder and shot blocker.

"She brings size, athleticism and toughness that you need to have in this league to win it all," said Liberty head coach Patty Coyle, a Rutgers alum. "When you get a Rutgers player, they're tough, they understand how to win, and I think they're ready to play at the next level."

WNBA general managers were also drawn to Vaughn's pro-ready physique and untapped offensive potential. Vaughn, who averaged 9.9 points and 7.7 rebounds as a senior, shot nearly 56 percent for her career.

"She's going to take New York by storm," said Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer, who was in attendance. "She has the potential to be one of the best -- if not the best -- center in the country. There is nothing that she can't do and nothing that she can't imagine. There's no amount of work that she won't do."

Stringer admitted there wasn't a ceiling to Vaughn's capabilities at the next level.

"She desires to be so good," Stringer said. "She's not lazy. She's a hard worker... In two years, she'll dominate everything. Because she'll grow. She's not going to be satisfied with anything other than that."

Vaughn's entry into the professional ranks came after a roller-coaster season that included a benching midway through the year. She overcame a disappointing couple months by fueling Rutgers' late-season run to the NCAA tournament.

"I've gotten through it," Vaughn said of her uneven senior season. "I believe that now I can get through anything in life."

Vaughn, who will earn $41,574 in the first of a three-year deal with a team option in the fourth year, could make an immediate impact for a playoff team that finished 19-15 last season.

"I can even imagine it," said Vaughn's mother, Aja Ellington. "It's beautiful. ... She's tough. She's strong. And she never gives up."

In the post-selection celebration, it was hard to tell whether Vaughn or Stringer - who now has two former players close to home -- was happier.

"These guys are hard workers and they're winners," Stringer said. "Sometimes you have to hear about that on the other coast. They're right there in New York. I think I'll be going to New York every week."

Vaughn admitted she couldn't wait for the Liberty's season opener on June 7.

"This is a big leap. And it's my life now," Vaughn said. "I'm definitely ready."

NOTES: Angel McCoughtry of Louisville was the top overall pick by the Atlanta Dream... The Liberty selected Duke guard Abby Waner with their second-round pick (21st overall).