Jay Gruden may bolt the UFL for the NFL

The UFL previously wanted $125,000 for each player who jumped to the active roster of an NFL team. That number was later dropped to $25,000.

For coaches, it remains at zero.

And so former Florida Tuskers coach Jay Gruden, who became coach of the Virginia Destroyers when the UFL pulled the plug on the Tuskers and moved them to Virginia and sent Detroyers coach Joe Moglia to Nebraska to replace Jeff Jagodzinski as coach of the Omaha Nighthawks, could be making the leap to the Carolina Panthers and the still-forming staff of new head coach Ron Rivera.

Jay Gruden, the younger brother of Jon Gruden, is a candidate to become the Panthers’ quarterbacks coach, according to a report that emerged this weekend from the Virginian-Pilot.

“If Jay wasn’t up for an NFL job, then the NFL’s crazy,” Destroyers’ G.M. Doug Williams told the Virginian-Pilot. “I’d be disappointed to lose him. But if he gets the chance to be an offensive coordinator or a quarterbacks coach, I’m gonna be happy for Jay, and so should everybody else.”

So if Gruden leaves, who’ll coach the Destroyers? “If he gets it, maybe I’ll have to come down and get back to coaching,” said Williams, who was the head coach at Grambling before taking a job in the Buccaneers’ front office.

As to Gruden, it’s no secret he’s looking to climb the coaching ladder. In fact, some think that Jon Gruden interviewed with the University of Miami primarily in order to try to put Jay on the Hurricanes’ radar screen.

Jay Gruden previously worked in the NFL as an offensive assistant for Jon Gruden in Tampa. Jay’s interest in jumping back to the NFL without Jon could be interpreted as evidence that no one really knows when Jon may be coming back to coaching.

Hampton Roads UFL team gets new coach: Jay Gruden

Wednesday's coaching shakeup within the United Football League was not unexpected: the league appointed Joe Moglia, the Virginia Destroyers president and coach for two months, to the same positions with the Omaha franchise. Moglia lives in Omaha, which had a week-old coaching vacancy.

But the local franchise was also altered by the UFL's shuttering of the Florida Tuskers, which struggled for an audience in Orlando, Fla., despite reaching the title game in both UFL seasons. Florida coach Jay Gruden was named Destroyers coach, and he can bring with him 26 players from the Tuskers' roster.

The fallout for the UFL in Hampton Roads is dubious, though. Seven months before their first alleged game, the Destroyers have had three presidents, two head coaches and a ballyhooed lead investor who, it turns out, never actually invested.

Still today, the team has no local office and no local phone number.

But does it have a future, or are the Destroyers poised to be another minor-league misadventure in this cynical, seen-it-before marketplace?

With Wednesday's flurry, the answer might be more affirmative than is reflexively apparent.

Certainly, backing off from another blaring announcement looks terrible. First came, "Northern Virginia businessman to own Virginia team!" before Jim Speros backed out, followed by "Wall Street CEO to return to coaching in Virginia!" before Moglia stayed put in Nebraska.

There's no question this upstart operation is making up a lot of things as it goes, such as the fluctuating fees it has charged the NFL to sign UFL players. In letting Moglia stay home, the UFL gave Hampton Roads skeptics another "never mind" moment and reason for more raised eyebrows.

There is an upshot, though: the Destroyers are far closer now as a franchise to playing a real game. They ended Wednesday with a former NFL assistant coach for a head coach and a solid roster by UFL standards, akin to Triple-A in baseball.

Although former Washington Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann carried the titles of owner/president of the Tuskers, he won't be involved here except as a league consultant. Another ex-Redskins quarterback, Doug Williams, will remain Virginia's general manager.

And while the league has returned to five franchises and an eight-game schedule - four Destroyers games are slated at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex - commissioner Michael Huyghue said Wednesday's frantic movement, which could be read as desperate, proves the UFL is no folly.

"We're definitely going to play (next season) or we would not have gone through all these gymnastics to get the thing right in Virginia," Huyghue said. "If we've had some false starts, or we made choices that make sense - in the Omaha case, we hadn't planned on that - we're after the overall health of the league.

"Ultimately, I think the moves we made enhanced Virginia, enhanced Omaha and enhanced the league. If that's the outcome, to me that's a good result."

The UFL didn't believe it could overcome issues with Orlando's Citrus Bowl, so Huyghue said pulling that plug and reaffirming Virginia's fresh market was the wise course.

Similarly, there's little public faith to be gained from the UFL's bumbling, meandering start here. The league, whose organizers at times give off a you-should-be-happy-to-have-us arrogance, has sorely lacked a whiff of a plan in Hampton Roads.

The irony is, if the UFL truly is committed to existing in 2011 - thriving is too much to expect - Wednesday's flux could burn off and reveal the first real hint of local stability.

"We're making changes, but we're making changes where we think we're making the best choices," Huyghue said. "We feel strongly about Virginia or we wouldn't have made this move."

Lunch Robot: Lil Wayne, Steven Tyler, Kim Kardashian

Lil Wayne releases Green and Yellow track, Steven Tyler’s apology airs and Kim Kardashian stuck in the middle of Halle Berry battle.

Steven Tyler’s apology aired last night on “American Idol” and it seems to be a bit ridiculous. Lil Wayne releases Green and Yellow track in honor of the Green Bay Packers’ trip to the Super Bowl. Kim Kardashian finds herself stuck in the middle of the Halle Berry – Gabriel Aubry custody battle.

Last night on the American Idol Austin, Texas auditions, FOX producers issued a special Steven Tyler apology. Evidently somebody didn’t like the F-Bomb that Tyler dropped last week so they decided to apologize for his “outrageous behavior.” Give me a break; you hired a rock star to be a judge not a catholic school boy. I am pretty sure Steven Tyler is single-handedly saving your ratings right now so you should all back off. Granted his comments to underage girls are a little creepy but the dude is pretty damn funny. Tune in tonight to watch the American Idol 2011 San Francisco auditions at 8|7c on FOX.

Rapper Lil Wayne has released the track Green and Yellow to promote his NFL team, the Green Bay Packers. Fellow hip hop artist, Wiz Khalifa has already released Black and Yellow which represents the Pittsburgh Steelers so it was only right that Weezy respond. While Khalifa’s track has become a huge hit, Weezy’s new remix is pretty damn funny. As we gear up for the 2011 Super Bowl XLV on Sunday (Steelers – Packers) we get to enjoy two rappers going at it off the field.

Last but not least are Kim Kardashian and her role in a bitter custody battle. If you remember a while back, Kim K was dating Gabriel Aubry for a short while. It turns out that Aubry’s ex, Halle Berry was not happy at all with their relationship. She claims it wasn’t Kim K she hated; it was the media attention she received. Halle did not want her daughter Nahla exposed to all the cameras when she was with her dad and Kim Kardashian. Nice move Halle Berry, play the “it was for my kids safety” card…just admit you were fuming with jealousy. Right now Halle and Gabriel are in a nasty custody battle for Nahla and Kim K’s name has just been brought up. Way to go Kim, maybe you should screen who you date a little better.

'Last Tango in Paris,' with Maria Schneider, landed director Bertolucci obscenity conviction in 1972

Everett

'Last Tango in Paris,' starring Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider, unleashed a firestorm upon its release in 1972.

The term "controversial" only begins to capture the response the film "Last Tango In Paris" evoked when it was released in the fall of 1972.

A lot of films are controversial.

Very few trigger such a firestorm that their director is sentenced to four months in prison. Very few trigger bomb threats to theaters, angry crowds of picketers and the agreement by both conservative commentators and the National Organization for Women that they are either insidious or just plain pornographic.

Reviewer Pauline Kael said "Last Tango" changed the face of movies, and while that may or may not be true, it did turn out to define the outer limits of a brief trend toward more and more graphic content in mainstream movies.

By the mid-1960s, the major Hollywood studios had finally discarded their adherence to the 1930s Hays Code, which set strict standards for sexual explicitness, language and other "morality" content issues.

Suddenly free, filmmakers and studios began experimenting with nudity, strong language and other "adult themes."

By 1969 the X-rated "Midnight Cowboy" had won an Oscar as best picture, so it was probably not surprising that three years later there would be a mainstream release of "Last Tango," which went several country miles past "Cowboy."

While "Last Tango" nominally had a large cast, its impression came from two characters: Paul, played by the already legendary Marlon Brando, and Jeanne played by relative newcomer Maria Schneider.

Maria Schneider and Marlon Brando in bed in 'Last Tango in Paris.' (Everett)

Paul was a widower, Jeanne an engaged young Parisian. They meet, connect and agree to have anonymous sex, which Paul in particular feels will release all their inhibitions.

Director Bernardo Bertolucci felt the same way, he said in many subsequent interviews, and his camera often focuses on the gratification this arrangement brings to Paul.

The camera doesn't explicitly record all those gratifications, but it captured enough of them to make viewers forget any concerns about whether there was too much butter on their popcorn.

The butter on screen went elsewhere, and even that wasn't as explicit as the sexual dialogue. Somewhere around the time Paul suggests Jeanne have sex with a pig – to prove her devotion to Paul – viewers could feel the new "sexual freedom" limits starting to approach the wall.

New York's NOW chapter denounced "Last Tango" as a "tool of male domination." Conservative writer and TV host William F. Buckley probably tapped a broader vein when he called it "pornography masquerading as art."

"Last Tango" never faced any formal censorship in the U.S., but British censors refused to allow its release without trims to the sexual scenes.

The most strident response came in Bertolucci's native Italy, where he tried for and convicted of obscenity and theaters were ordered not to show the film. In 1976, the Italian Supreme Court ordered all copies destroyed.

Brando and Schneider both turned against "Last Tango" after its release, saying the director and the film degraded them.

"Last Tango" still ended up carving a niche in film history. But this particular tango did indeed turn out to be the last.

Larsa Pippen

Larsa Pippen, The cast includes Larsa Pippen, wife of NBA superstar Scottie Pippen, who Bravo describes as a “snarky Lebanese beauty” who “shares the unofficial title of NBA Hottest Wife” with her friend and fellow cast member Cristy Rice. The series will make its debut at 10 pm ET / PT on February 22 punches the fourth season of The Real Housewives of New York later this spring. So yes, you’ll have to wait until then to catch up with the countess.

Bravo is ready for a new city, new cast and new drama with the newest player in the Real Housewives franchise: sizzling Miami. The Real Housewives of Miami follows six of the most connected and influential women of Miami as they live their lives fully in this sunny city where the party never stops, “said a release from the network.
The Real Housewives of Miami is nearing its official premiere on Bravo and has just 2011 votes! Coming from the most talked about Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, it’s time to head to sunny South Florida. The Real Housewives, which will grace us with their presence in Miami are: Alexia Echevarria, Marysol Patton, Larsa Pippen, Cristy Rice, Leah Black and Adriana DeMoura-Sidi.

Let us half to go to the lovely ladies of The Real Housewives of Miami to meet, shall we?

Alexia Echevarria calls herself the “Cuban Barbie” and is the executive editor of Venue Magazine. Marysol Patton is known in Miami as the head of one of the best in the city PR firms, Patton Group. Two of the Miami Real Housewives’ affiliated with the NBA. Larsa Pippen is the wife of Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen and Cristy Rice recently divorced ex-NBA star Glen Rice.

Known as the leader of the community, Black Lea married to one of the top lawyers in the country, Roy Black. Last but not least, the full-time mother / art curator Adriana DeMoura Sidi-emerging from a traumatic divorce. Adriana has already started, despite the divorce, as you will discover in the show.

Larsa Pippen stars in 'Real Housewives of Miami' along with Cristy Rice, another NBA wife

Majchrzak/Getty

'Real Housewives of Miami''s' real star is Larsa Pippen, Scottie's wife, and one of two NBA WAGs making up the cast of Bravo's new show.

The star of "The Real Housewives of Miami" is no doubt the Larsa Pippen, wife of former Chicago Bulls player Scottie, and the woman once known as "Hottest NBA Wife."

Bravo has revealed the cast of their new show, which premieres Feb. 22, and the six ladies about to take the small screen by storm will have to fight for the spotlight with Pippen.

Competing for screen time will be another b-ball WAG, Cristy Rice, ex-wife of NBA star Glen, who will be seen running her own clothing store while navigating life as a single mother.

Then there’s Alexia Echevarria, who is perhaps the most fashion forward of the bunch. The mother of two is executive editor of Venue magazine, which revolves around couture and pop culture.

Competing with her for the top working woman spot is Marysol Patton, who runs her own PR firm, Patton Group. She often spends time with her mother, a modern-day fortune teller.

Rounding out the sextet are Lea Black and Adriana DeMoura-Sidi. The Texas-born Black, who is married to a lawyer and has a 9-year-old son, is interested in charity events while the newly engaged DeMoura-Sidi takes on the role of Danielle Staub in this mix.

The seventh installment in the "Real Housewives" franchise, "Miami" was originally styled in 2010 as "Miami Social Club."

“RHOM” premieres Feb. 22 at 10 p.m. on Bravo.

(From l.) Alexia Echevarria, Marysol Patton, Larsa Pippen, Cristy Rice, Lea Black and Adriana Sidi. (Bravo)

Obama Triggers Blackouts by Blocking Of New Power Plants

Obama Triggers Blackouts by Blocking Of New Power Plants

The rolling blackouts being experienced across the country, during this spell of extreme cold weather, is a direct consequence of the Obama administration’s agenda to lay siege on the coal industry, according to an article by Alex Jones & Paul Joseph Watson today on the Prison Planet website.

According to the article “Planned power outages conducted by utility companies have caused outrage amongst officials at four major hospitals in Texas, at Parkland, Baylor, Methodist and Presbyterian Dallas.”

They also have reports of street lights and traffic lights being hit by outages, causing build up of traffic and a variety of hazards. The ability of power companies to meet the demand is reported as being a consequence of “Obama administration’s publicly stated goal to bankrupt the coal industry,” according to the article.

The entire article can be found of course on the Prison Planet website for those that may wish to read it. Meanwhile, we would like to know your opinion on the power outages across the U.S. and who you think is to blame for this. Is it down to the Obama administrations policies? Let us know what you think.