Another Country Idol???

Just got this from the Fox News website:



"American Idol" finalist Kristy Lee Cook recently signed a record deal with 19 Recordings/Arista Nashville.

This will be the second time Cook, 24, has signed with the label — as a teen she was signed but was dropped before she recorded anything.

Her album, which will arrive in the fall, is being produced by Brett James, who co-wrote Carrie Underwood's hit "Jesus Take the Wheel." The first single, called "15 Minutes of Shame," will be released August 11.

Cook will record the album this summer while touring with "American Idols Live." The tour kicks off Tuesday in Glendale, Ariz., and runs through September 13.

Beasley- No. 2 in the Draft

This was on the KState Sports website:

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State freshman forward Michael Beasley was selected with the No. 2 pick in the 2008 NBA Draft by the Miami Heat at the NBA’s annual draft event on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Continue reading the article here.

Meanwhile Bill Walker goes in the second round.

Kansas State freshman forward Bill Walker was selected with the No. 47 pick in the second round of the 2008 NBA Draft by the Washington Wizards at the NBA’s annual draft event on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden in New York City

Read the article here.

Will Smith Kisses Dave!!!!!

This was kinda' weird last night when Will Smith went on Letterman and kissed him! I think he might've been hanging out with Tom Cruise too long!

Walker to remain in NBA Draft

Just read this article from KStateSports.com. Thought I would share:

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State freshman forward Bill Walker has opted to remain eligible for the 2008 NBA Draft and will forego his remaining three years of college eligibility.



Walker made the announcement on the final day underclassmen had to decide their intentions for the NBA Draft. He becomes the second Wildcat to declare for the NBA Draft, following fellow freshman teammate Michael Beasley who declared his intentions to forego his college eligibility on April 14.



“Bill has always dreamed about playing in the NBA and now he is close to fulfilling that dream,” said Martin. “We want to thank him for believing in K-State. He was one of the first players to buy into what were doing here and we will always be grateful. He gave us the confidence and the momentum to go out and start the process of building this program. He will forever be a Wildcat.”



Most national observers predict Walker to be an early second round selection in the 2008 NBA Draft, as he is projected as the 31st pick (and first selection of second round) to the Minnesota Timberwolves by www.draftexpress.com and the 40th pick to the New Jersey Nets by www.nbadraft.net. Beasley and Walker could be the first set of Wildcat teammates to be selected in the same NBA Draft since 1982 when three players – Tyrone Adams (3rd round), Randy Reed (7th round) and Ed Nealy (8th) – were drafted.



Walker averaged 16.1 points on 46.5 percent shooting (181-of-389), including 30.7 percent (35-of-114) from 3-point range, with 6.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.5 blocks in 27.3 minutes per game this past season. He ranked second to Beasley in nearly every statistical category, including scoring, double-digit scoring (25), 20-point games (nine), double-doubles (four), rebounding, blocks, field goals, free throws (101) and free throw percentage (73.7). His averages were even higher in Big 12 play, where he averaged 16.6 points on 47.2 percent shooting with 6.1 rebounds in 27.6 minutes per game.



Walker earned numerous accolades after the 2007-08 season, including third team freshman All-America distinction from CBS Sports.com and CollegeHoops.net and freshman All-America honors from CollegeInsider.com. He was named to the All-Big 12 second team by the Kansas City Star, while he was a third team selection by both the league coaches and The Associated Press. He was also selected to several all-district squads, including the U.S Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) All-District VI team and to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District 12 second team.



Walker and company helped Kansas State post a 21-12 overall record in 2007-08, including a third-place finish in the Big 12 with a 10-6 mark. The Wildcats advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in nearly 12 years and captured its first NCAA Tournament win since 1988 with their 80-67 victory over USC in the first round of the Midwest Regional in Omaha, Neb., on March 20.

With Walker's departure, Kansas State will return seven lettermen for the 2008-09 season, including five with starting experience. Sophomore Jacob Pullen will be the team's top returning scorer at 9.7 points per game, while fellow sophomore Ron Anderson will be the returning rebounding leader at 3.6 boards per game. They will be joined by five newcomers, including junior transfer Denis Clemente and redshirt freshman Jamar Samuels. Three of these newcomers - Buchi Awaji, Jordan Henriquez and Abdul Herrera - were added during the spring signing period.


The NBA Draft is scheduled for Thursday, June 26, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes!

Check out this article from the AP:

CHICAGO (AP) - Federal officials hunted for the source of a 17-state salmonella outbreak linked to three types of raw tomatoes, while the list of supermarkets and restaurants yanking those varieties from shelves and menus grew.

McDonald's, Wal-Mart, Burger King, Kroger, Outback Steakhouse, Winn-Dixie and Taco Bell were among the companies that voluntarily withdrew red plum, red Roma or round red tomatoes unless they were grown in certain states and countries.

In addition, officials at the Los Angeles Unified School District - the nation's second largest - said Monday they have "indefinitely suspended" serving uncooked tomatoes.

The FDA is investigating the source of the outbreak, agency spokeswoman Kimberly Rawlings said. "We are working hard and fast on this one and hope to have something as quickly as possible," Rawlings said Monday.

(AP) Mark Roh, U.S. Food and Drug Administration's acting regional director holds a bag of tomatoes...
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Cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, tomatoes sold with the vine still attached and homegrown tomatoes are likely not the source of the outbreak, federal officials said.

Also not associated with the outbreak are raw red Roma, red plum and round red tomatoes from Arkansas, California, Georgia, Hawaii, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Belgium, Canada, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Israel, Netherlands and Puerto Rico.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that since mid-April, 167 people infected with salmonella with the same "genetic fingerprint" have been identified. At least 23 people have been hospitalized.

A 67-year-old cancer patient in Texas who health officials said was sickened by salmonella at a Mexican restaurant is believed to be the first death associated with the outbreak.

The death of Raul Rivera last week has been officially attributed to his cancer, but Houston health department spokeswoman Kathy Barton told the Houston Chronicle in Tuesday's editions that the salmonella strain was a contributing factor.

(AP) Cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes and tomatoes grown on a vine shown at a news conference at FDA's...
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Rivera's wife said he was hospitalized after eating pico de gallo, a tomato-based condiment, in late May while celebrating good news about his cancer treatment.

Salmonella is a bacteria that lives in the intestinal tracts of humans and other animals. The bacteria are usually transmitted to humans by eating foods contaminated with animal feces.

Most infected people suffer fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps starting 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness tends to last four to seven days.

The Food and Drug Administration warned consumers in New Mexico and Texas as early as June 3 about the outbreak. The agency expanded its warning during the weekend and chains began voluntarily removing many red plum, red Roma or round red tomatoes from their shelves in response.

The salmonella causing the outbreak is a very unusual type called salmonella saintpaul, said FDA Commissioner Andrew C. von Eschenbach, who added it was not more virulent than other types of salmonella.

McDonald's, the world's largest hamburger chain, stopped serving sliced tomatoes on its sandwiches as a precaution, but will continue serving grape tomatoes in its salads because no problems have been linked to that variety.

The decision didn't upset Connie Semaitis, a 49-year-old travel agent in downtown Chicago, who bought a cheeseburger and a drink at a McDonald's during lunch hour Monday.

"I'd rather be safe than sorry," Semaitis said.

Tampa-based OSI Restaurant Partners LLC, which owns and operates eight brands including Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba's and Bonefish Grill, said it stopped serving all raw tomatoes other than grape tomatoes on Saturday evening. The company also instructed restaurants to discard salsa and other prepared foods containing raw tomatoes.

Burger King Corp. said it had withdrawn raw round red tomatoes from most of its U.S. restaurants, as well as locations in Canada and Puerto Rico and some other Caribbean islands. Some California restaurants continued using the tomatoes because they buy from growers in states the FDA has said are not involved in the outbreak, Burger King said.

Other restaurant operators that stopped serving most tomatoes: Yum Brands Inc. (YUM), which owns Taco Bell, KFC, Long John Silver's and A&W All-American Food Restaurants; Darden Restaurants, which owns and operates six brands including Red Lobster and Olive Garden; Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG); and Garden Fresh Restaurant Corp., which operates Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes restaurants in 15 states.

Among retailers, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) - the largest grocery seller in the U.S. - is working with federal officials to ensure affected tomatoes are pulled from Wal-Marts, Neighborhood Markets and Sam's Club warehouse stores nationwide, spokeswoman Deisha Galberth said.

Galberth said the company is modifying orders to its stores and putting an electronic block at its registers as an added safety measure to keep the recalled tomatoes from being purchased.

Cincinnati-based Kroger Co. (KR), the nation's largest traditional grocery chain, said it pulled the three types of tomatoes from all its stores in 31 states on Sunday per the FDA advisory. The company had early last week pulled the tomatoes from stores in Texas and New Mexico.

Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. (WINN), which operates 521 stores in five southern states, also stopped selling tomatoes involved in the FDA warning, as did Publix Super Markets Inc. Publix offered refunds to customers who bought the tomatoes before they were removed from shelves.

Trader Joe's, with more than 280 grocery stores in 23 states, also stopped selling the tomatoes in question and offered refunds, according to a statement from spokeswoman Alison Mochizuki.

Giant Eagle, which has 223 supermarkets in western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and Maryland, said it also removed the tomatoes from store shelves; as did SuperValu Inc., which operates Jewel, Shaw's, Cub Foods, Acme and some Albertson's stores.

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AP Business Writer Matthew Perrone in Washington and AP writers Lisa Orkin in Miami; John Antczak in Los Angeles; Ramesh Santanam in Pittsburgh; Gillian Flaccus in Irvine, Calif.; and Maria Danilova in Chicago contributed to this report.

Jenny McCarthy Headed to Kansas!

Jenny McCarthy headed to Kansas
PITTSBURG, Kan. (AP) A southeast Kansas woman is getting some Hollywood help to spread the word about autism. Actress, author and activist Jenny McCarthy is set to speak at the first Kansas Autism Conference later this week at Pittsburg High School. Mandy Commons' 12-year-old son is autistic. She met McCarthy at an earlier conference.

Do I Make You Proud?

I don't know, but I bet you make John Travolta Proud! Here is Taylor Hicks doing his best Danny Zuko in "Grease" on Broadway. Hey I hear they are making a Brokeback Mountain Opera...Just saying.

The New- New Kids on the Block Video

What do you think?

Amy Winehouse...so sad :(

Sanjaya coming to a TV near you!

What American Idol really needed this season to get the ratings back up: Sanjaya!

Here he is on location shooting a commercial for Nationwide Insurance.

Speaking of Beards...

Monique please shave your legs-this is not Europe. Thanks!

JC

Asthon Kutcher and the Scary Beard!!!!

Just say no! Guys never look good with that much beard!