Featured Stories
“Rachael Ray” “Red Nose Day” “I Love Lucy Superstar Special”
The story
Letterman and Shaffer bid farewell “Late Show With David Letterman” has its final telecast Wednesday on CBS.
Profiled athlete
Miguel Cabrera
CELEBRITY SPOTLIGHTS
Tyler Christopher Steve Coogan Mariana van Zeller Richard Quest Ree Drummond
WHAT'S FOR DINNER
Featuring: Graham Elliot
JAY Bobbin's movies to watch
And so much more!
Connect to these shows within this magazine!
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Featured
Stories
“Late Show With David Letterman”
Final telecast Wednesday on CBS. p3
“Rachael Ray”
Airs weekdays in national syndication. p 11
“Red Nose Day”
Special guests are slated to appear Thursday on NBC. pp 12-13
“I Love Lucy Superstar Special” Sunday on CBS. pp 14-15
SIX
Celebrity potlights Tyler Christopher
Graham Elliot
p4
p7
Steve Coogan
Richard Quest
of ‘General Hospital’ on ABC.
of ‘Happyish’ on Showtime. p5
Mariana van Zeller
of ‘Breaking Borders’ on Travel Channel. p6
Pictured: Aug. 24, 1965 - New York, NY, LUCILLE BALL arrives at the Idlewild (JFK) airport via TWA ambassador flight from Los Angeles, for a week’s visit to see the shows.
New challenges, contestants, judge for Fox’s ‘MasterChef.’
Checking in. p8
Ree Drummond
is host of Food Network’s hit show “The Pioneer Woman.” p9
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Profiled Athlete Miguel Cabrera pp 16-17
Editor's choice
STORY
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David Letterman and Paul Shaffer end their long weeknight run
Paul Shaffer
By Jay Bobbin If not for his five years in the “Saturday Night Live” band, Paul Shaffer might not have been on David Letterman’s radar. The wry music director for both of the host’s late-night shows – first on NBC, then on CBS – also participated in some “SNL” sketches during his tenure there (1975-80), so when Letterman went looking for an all-purpose on-air comrade, Shaffer got the call. Their weeknight partnership of more than three decades concludes when the longestrunning host in late-night history ends the almost 22-year run of “Late Show With David Letterman” Wednesday, May 20, on CBS. Shaffer has done many other things, such as being the musical director for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony since its inception, and he allows “it was all because of my association with Dave. When they called me for this, they did say, ‘We want somebody that Dave can play off of.’ I don’t know if they ever said ‘sidekick,’ but I said, ‘I’m that guy! Yes! I could!’ “I had gone from being a writer of musical material to a person who did some performing,” Shaffer says, “and in fact, Dave had seen some of my stuff on ‘Saturday Night Live.’ They never really encouraged (Shaffer-inclusive comedy bits) once we were on the air; I just had to sort of start doing it.” Shaffer recalls a story that he notes Letterman tells “with a great deal of irreverence, but it’s absolutely true. We were doing a sketch early in our run at CBS where I was going to put a bag over my head, but they would switch me with a dummy and then he would whack the head with a baseball bat. Well, I was sitting there for real, and he had the bat ... and he was going to take a whack. And he
just thought better of it. He shudders when he thinks of it, because he really could have put my lights out.” On a couple of occasions, Shaffer was asked to fill the main “Late Show” seat, once when Letterman was ill and once when he was absent for the birth of his son. “There’s nothing like sitting in that chair and having the whole weight of the show on you,” Shaffer attests. “My job is a breeze compared to that, but when we go to a commercial break, that’s when I go into action playing for the studio audience. I have to concentrate for a full hour, but one out of 24 isn’t so bad.” With Stephen Colbert set for a September debut on “Late Show” – which has won 16 Emmys – Shaffer is appreciative of the loyalty Letterman has shown his staff, encompassing such other long-timers as executive producers Barbara Gaines, Jude Brennan and Rob Burnett. The chance to cross paths with so many music greats has, expectedly, been a particular bonus for Shaffer. “I’ve been thinking about it as we get nostalgic towards the end,” he reflects, “how Eric Clapton was one of the first guys to sit in with our band all night, and then everybody wanted to do it. I got to do Live Aid because (co-organizer) Bill Graham saw me on this show. I can thank David and the show for all these great experiences.” And as for the future? “I have absolutely no plans,” Shaffer says. “All I know is that I want to keep playing the piano, because that’s my first love. I love to do comedy and I love to do music, but I don’t think I’ll ever get to do them at once again like I have for Dave.”
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CELEBRITY Jay Bobbin’s Q&A
TylerChristopher of ‘General Hospital’ on ABC
As “General Hospital” airs the second of two live episodes Monday (May 18), how much of a help is it for you to be as familiar with the role of Nikolas Cassadine as you are? I‘ve played this guy for 19 years, on and off – mostly on – so I do know him well. I know his tendencies, I know his tone, I know everything about him ... so to be able to put that into a live format, I’m all for it. Everyone’s been doing a great job around here of finding different ways to attract new viewers and keep the ones we have, and I think the intrigue surrounding these live shows will get some new people interested in what we’ve got going on here. The ship is moving forward efficiently and creatively, and everyone’s happy. And this is a great part of that journey. Do you take the live episodes as affirmation of ABC’s ongoing belief in the show? We all know that this is a business, and the bottom line is, “Does the show make Disney (which owns ABC) any money or does it not?” It’s our job to find the ways to keep people interested and stay on our budget, which everyone knows has shrunk over the years. We could have just thrown our hands up in the air and said, “Well, it was a great ride,” but this show has been on the air for 52 years now and there’s a lot of pride around here. A lot of people want to see this show succeed, and ABC is among them, so they give us every opportunity to do that. And in the past three years, we’ve kind of turned things around.
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CELEBRITY George Dickie’s Q&A
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SteveCoogan
of ‘Happyish’ on Showtime What attracted you to your “Happyish” character of disenfranchised ad man Thom Payne? The writing. You know, the writing is so good it’s hard not to do. I wasn’t looking for a TV series but my agent sent me the script and I met with (President) David Nevins from Showtime and he asked me to do it. And then I Skyped the writer, Shalom Auslander, and we had a long chat about the character and the history of the project, which is very well known, and I decided to jump in with both feet. So we did the pilot and the pilot got greenlit, and here we are with the finished series. What did you draw on to create him? I empathize with the character but really it was all on the page. I mean, it’s a lot of Shalom Auslander’s own personal character that’s in the character of Thom, so it’s his voice, really. And all I feel I’m doing is serving his vision by playing the role, although a lot of the views Thom has are views that I myself find it easy to identify with. He’s a very easy character for me to empathize with. You know, I sometimes have the anger that Thom has about certain things in the world, so it felt like a very comfortable fit. Did you get to see the original pilot shot with the late Philip Seymour Hoffman as Thom? No I haven’t seen it. I deliberately avoided looking at it. I decided not to watch it ... because I just wanted to approach it fresh from my perspective. And Shalom rewrote it and sort of tailored it to me, so I decided that was the best approach. I couldn’t follow in his footsteps, as it were, because that’s not the way to approach it, so I had to do it my own way and approach it fresh as a new project.
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CELEBRITY BYLINE’’s Q&A
Mariana van Zeller of ‘Breaking Borders’ on Travel Channel
Your role as moderator of Travel Channel’s “Breaking Borders” looks stressful. Was it? Well, being a journalist traveling around the world to report on sort of hard-hitting stories like I have, I’m used to stress. I think one of my favorite things about this concept is ... the fact that we could actually sit everybody together at a dinner table and allow them to talk in an environment in which – you know, there’s something about the dinner setting and sharing food that allows people to be themselves and open up more, and to do so in front of other people who are from the opposing side and hear them share these views together. And at the end of the day, I think what’s the most inspirational thing, the most inspirational message about the show, is that it’s about finding the common ground. Right? And I think that in almost every single one of these shows, some way or another, the guests were able to accomplish that. And that was amazing. It was quite a surprise for me and quite an accomplishment for the show and for the guests themselves. Did you manage to change anyone’s opinion of the other side? Q: Well, I will say that we managed to find common ground. You know, at the end of the day I think the important message from what I learned from the show was that there is a lot more that unites us than there is that separates us. And it’s all about communication. One thing that I found while doing this is that it’s when there’s a breakdown in communication that conflicts begin. And this is what this show has done so well is that it’s allowed people from different sides to sit together and to communicate and open up their hearts and their minds and, again, try to find something that unites them.
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FOOD George Dickie’s What's for Dinner
GrahamElliot
F
New challenges, contestants, judge for Fox’s ‘MasterChef’ Season 6 of “MasterChef” brings 40 more accomplished amateur cooks and one new pro to the Fox competitive series. Launching Wednesday, May 20, with a two-hour episode, the series welcomes Christina Tosi, renowned pastry chef, owner and founder of New York City’s Milk Bar, to the judges panel, replacing Joe Bastianich. She joins returnees Gordon Ramsay and Graham Elliot in evaluating the culinary work of a field of hopefuls that this season includes an engineer, a chiropractor, a teacher, a fashion designer, a petroleum landman and a drummer, all of whom are in pursuit of a $250,000 grand prize, a cookbook deal and the coveted title of MasterChef. But first, they have to navigate the field challenges, which this season includes creating fare for an amusement park, cooking for Las Vegas jugglers, musicians and dancers, and preparing meals for ranchers and cowboys at a cattle ranch. The challenge at the ranch, shot two hours east of Los Angeles, was an outdoor set with the contestants cooking on grills. But according to Elliot, steak wasn’t necessarily what was for dinner. “Actually they have choices,” the chef explains, “a couple of different proteins, vegetables, things like that. And then they really get to use their creativity and come up with something that’s going to win them over because that’s one of those field challenges where they are the ones that determine the outcome, not us judges. So we can try to give them some ideas but ultimately if they decide to do something crazy with turkey and vegetables, it’s their fault for losing.” As for other things to expect this season, Elliot says, “What’s interesting is the way that the show starts off this time, is that it kind of pits cooks doing similar things against each other from the get-go. “So you’ll have like a taco challenge, a burger challenge, things that people cook for the signature dish, head to head to see who gets into the actual kitchen. And then that is when the show really starts, and you see everything from restaurant takeovers to cooking out in the field to just all kinds of fun, exciting ingredients in the mystery boxes, like seafood and giant crabs, things like that. So really cool and obviously pulling from cooks from all over the country.” What book are you currently reading? “I just finished up Michael Jackson’s autobiography ‘Moonwalker.’ ” What did you have for dinner last night? “Last night, we did salmon with quinoa and I think just a spinach salad with it.” What is your next project? “I’m overseeing the food at the NFL Draft in Chicago ... so that’s fun.”
When was the last vacation you took, where and why? “We had a five-day break from filming about maybe three or four weeks ago and I went to Hawaii. And I spent five years of my life growing up in Hawaii, so I kind of feel like that’s part of where I grew up. So it’s fun to go back.”
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CELEBRITY ay Bobbin’s Celebrity ScooP
RichardQuest
Richard Quest knows that if “500 Questions” wasn’t the sort of game it is, his CNN bosses might not have been as keen on his hosting it. The ebullient British reporter switches jobs and networks for the new ABC contest, which begins a nine-night run Wednesday, May 20 (encompassing repeats of the first two episodes on the Saturday and Sunday). Created by Mark Burnett (“Survivor,” “Shark Tank,” “The Voice”) and former Fox reality-show guru Mike Darnell, the show puts the purported “smartest people in the country” to the title test of answering general-knowledge queries ... but if someone gets three in a row wrong, he or she is gone. “Put this way: ‘You pays your money, you takes your choice,’ as we say in Britain,” Quest says of being invited to host “500 Questions,” which he believes was Burnett’s idea. “Having been asked, I was not about to have a postmortem on what it was they liked about me. They certainly wanted the gravitas and credibility that comes with someone from CNN, where I think they recognized that and were grateful for it.” The host of the weekday CNN International program “Quest Means Business” and a frequent contributor to CNN’s coverage of major stories, Quest maintains the “500 Questions” contestants are “not just bright, they’re super-bright. They’ve got Ph.D.s, they’ve got master’s degrees – so they needed someone to hold this together who, though not in the same league of brightness as these men and women, at least is in the auditorium. “I’ve talked to enough presidents, prime ministers, finance ministers and CEOs so that I’m not over-awed by meeting someone who’s clearly exhibiting a huge amount of brainpower in dealing with this,” notes Quest. “My goal here is to be fair to them, so that they can do their best.” What “500 Questions” could mean for his career: “I’ve been in the public eye for many years with CNN, but I’ve never Birthplace: Liverpool, England been in this arena, so I don’t know what the reaction is going to be. Yes, people Current residence: New York know me from my work internationally as a business journalist, and on news Marital status: Single and aviation stories ... but I don’t know what it’s going to be like when people Previous broadcasting experience: come up to me in the street and say, North American business correspondent ‘10 seconds!’ or, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, for England’s BBC (1989-2001); news prepare for battle!’ (two ‘500 Questions’ director (1983-84) for the radio station at catchphrases). It’ll be a testament to the Vanderbilt University strength of the format.” Birthdate: March 9, 1962
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CELEBRITY CelebritY profile
R e eD ru mm o nd
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Ree Drummond is the host of Food Network’s hit show “The Pioneer Woman” - Drummond was a middle child who grew up on the seventh fairway of a golf course in a corporate town. - On Sept. 21, 1996, Drummond married Ladd Drummond, a fourth-generation member of a prominent Osage County cattle ranching family. Her days are spent wrangling children, chipping dried manure from boots, washing jeans and making gravy. - In 2007, she began writing a series on her blog titled “From Black Heels to Tractor Wheels.” - In April 2008, Drummond held a giveaway contest in the cooking section of her blog “The Pioneer Woman” in which she asked readers to share one of their favorite recipes. - “The Pioneer Woman” blog attracts more than 20 million page views a month and was named Weblog of the Year at the 2011, 2010 and 2009 Bloggie Awards. - Drummond also has a home and garden section on her website where she shows a step-by-step saga of a start-to-finish remodeling project of an old guest house on her ranch, as well as general home tips and photos. - She is also the author of the No. 1 best-selling cookbook “The Pioneer Woman Cooks.” - Drummond’s children’s picture book, “Charlie the Ranch Dog,” which chronicles the adventures of her much-beloved basset hound, also premiered at No. 1 on the New York Times best-sellers list. - She has appeared on numerous national talk shows including “Good Morning America,” “Today,” “The View” and “Fox & Friends.”
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CELEBRITY Celebs’ favorite shows
Bianca Kajlich Cecily Strong
Bob Schieffer
Shantel VanSanten
Set the DVR Cecily Strong of “Saturday Night Live” on NBC “I’ve been doing ‘House of Cards;’ and ‘House of Lies’ – I guess I’m a ‘House of ... ‘ person – and I love ‘Luther.’ I’m into a lot of the British shows. And I’ve really been into ‘Black Mirror’; it’s devastating, it’s so great. And ‘American Horror Story,’ which I think is so campy and so much fun.” Shantel VanSanten of “The Messengers” on The CW “’Friends.’ ” Bianca Kajlich of “Undateable” on NBC “My husband and I are way into ‘Silicon Valley’ and ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘House of Cards.’ And we’re
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totally hooked on ‘The Good Wife’; it’s one of the best shows, if not the best show, on network television. Every character is written perfectly.’ And we can’t wait for ‘The Letfovers’ to come back. I’ve never watched a show that made me experience such a range of emotions in every single episode.” Bob Schieffer of “Face the Nation” on CBS “We’re big fans of ‘The Good Wife’ and ‘Homeland’ and ‘Downton Abbey.’ I’ve seen every episode of those, and some of that is binge-watching. I love TiVo; I think the ability to record these things and watch two or three of them at a time has really changed television viewing, and for the better.”
STORY
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‘Rachael Ray’
heads toward 10th season By Jay Bobbin
The number 10 has a nice ring to Rachael Ray. The popular source on all things kitchen-oriented is unofficially at the end of the ninth season of her syndicated weekday show – new episodes are mixed in with repeats through the summer months – but she’ll be celebrating her first-decade anniversary season starting in September. “Rachael Ray” has won the Daytime Emmy for outstanding talk show (entertainment) twice, in 2008 and 2009.
very, very lucky. Not only are we around, but we’re doing well.” In the course of that, Ray has advanced such personal initiatives as her nonprofit organization Yum-o! (which advocates healthy eating) and her Nutrish line of dog and cat foods. “It’s a community effort,” she maintains. “I don’t like to think of it as being about me. It’s about building a community.
“I have a dog; that’s my child. My mother has 15 rescue cats, and they’re as important to her as her own kids are, “It’s crazy, huh?,” the ever-lively Ray muses about hitting arguably. We rescue horses and goats, too, and I think the 10-year mark during an appearance at her alma mater, that’s what makes our brand more than a brand. If people Lake George (N.Y.) Jr.-Sr. High School, for her annual believe in the same thing you believe in, they spend their benefit cooking show that funds scholarships and district dollars to vote for that way of life or that belief system. projects. “We try to make each season have some special We should all care for one another and share, and on the meaning for us, as a family. We’ve been together a long show, we try to paint a big picture.” time as a team. For Season 9, we did the 9 Million Meals Challenge (to combat hunger in America). Ray will spend the summer as she traditionally does, “I don’t know what we’re going to do for the 10th,” Ray notes, “but we’re starting to talk about it. It’s extremely exciting. We’ve gotten a lot of new ABC affiliates and we’re doing great there, and our demographics are up. We’re
“shooting three different shows” for the channel that helped launch her to wide fame, Food Network. “I like work,” she states. “Even if I’m not at work, I work myself just as hard. I like the feeling of a long day’s work. That’s just the way I was raised.”
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STORY
NBC
goes ‘Red’ Laura Linney is slated to appear on “Red Nose Day” Thursday on NBC. Story on next page
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STORY
Christina Aguilera
By George Dickie A charitable event that has become something of a national holiday in England comes across the pond this week to make its American debut. And its creators hope it can replicate at least some of the success of the original. “Red Nose Day,” a three-hour special airing live from London on Thursday, May 21, on NBC, is actually a variety show of sorts, featuring actors, comedians, musicians and TV personalities performing in skits, songs and appeals to raise money for charities benefiting children and young people living in poverty. At this writing, those slated to perform or appear included Will Ferrell, Matt Lauer, Jennifer Hudson, Laura Linney, John Legend, Christina Aguilera, Gwyneth Paltrow, Blake Shelton, Martin Short, Emily Blunt, John Krasinski and Jeff Goldblum. And that’s just a partial list. It’s the brainchild of filmmaker Richard Curtis (“Bridget Jones’s Diary,” “Love Actually”), who brought the U.K. edition of Red Nose Day to fruition almost 30 years ago and has raised more than $1 billion with it since. “I’ve actually been thinking about it for a long time, coming to the States,” Curtis explains. “And I don’t know if you remember ‘Idol Gives Back,’ but that was a little experiment in the idea. And you know there’s a tide in the affairs of men and we just reached a billion pounds raised here in the U.K., so I happened to speak to NBC about it and Paul Telegdy (president of alternative and late light programming) knows a lot about it at NBC, and so it’s finally happened.”
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“It’s certainly a very well known day and a very public day (in England),” he continues.” I think 65 percent of schools now do something on the day with whatever they do – little plays or fashion shows or just allowing people to wear red noses or dye their hair. And then a lot of offices do things. And then, yeah, we’ve got this seven-hour TV show at the end of the day.” Linney, who worked with Curtis on “Love Actually,” became involved with the project by happenstance after running into the director on a flight from New York to Los Angeles. “He said what he was doing,” the actress recalls, “and I said, ‘If there’s any way I can help you, please let me know.’ And he called and said, ‘There’s something you can do,’ and I said, ‘Great.’ And I roped Jeanne Tripplehorn into coming with me and we went and shot a sweet little sketch based on ‘12 Angry Men.’ ” “You know, it’s wonderful when you get to work with someone like Richard Curtis,” Linney continues, “who you admire and who you have such a great time working with. And then when you really learn what he has actually achieved with this charity, it blows your mind. It’s just a remarkable thing what this one man has done. Granted, with a lot of help from other people but it’s just amazing and it’s incredibly humbling. … He’s an incredibly kind, unassuming, positive, wonderful guy, and you would never think that any one person could accomplish this amount. It’s amazing.”
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STORY
‘I Love Lucy’ resurfaces, newly in color, again Lucille Ball stars in the “I Love Lucy Superstar Special” Sunday on CBS. Story on next page Page 14 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote May 17 - 23, 2015
STORY
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Lucille Ball and William Holden
More love for Lucy again in new CBS special
By Jay Bobbin Is there any doubt the world still loves Lucy? Not on the part of CBS, clearly. In recent years, the network has repurposed one of its most classic sitcoms in a Christmas-season special combining two episodes of “I Love Lucy” and presenting them in “colorized” form. The same concept applies as two more of the original stories are paired by CBS – and presented in color for the first time – in a new “I Love Lucy Superstar Special” Sunday, May 17. The first tale, “L.A. at Last!” (titled “Hollywood at Last!” in 1955), indeed lands the originally New York-based Lucy and Ricky Ricardo (played, of course, by then-real-life spouses Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz) and their friends Fred and Ethel Mertz (William Frawley, Vivian Vance) on the West Coast after a cross-county trek that spanned several preceding episodes. Nightclub star Ricky goes there to make a movie, but Lucy wants to meet already established stars as soon as possible. She heads for one of California’s likeliest spots for such encounters, the legendary Brown Derby restaurant, and it isn’t long before she crosses paths with Oscar-winning actor William Holden (“Stalag 17”). To say the meeting doesn’t go smoothly probably isn’t necessary, thanks to Lucy’s trademark antics that eventually involve a dessert tray and a nose on fire. (Yes, you read that correctly.) Veteran actress Eve Arden also turns up.
The special’s second story is “Lucy and Superman,” famous for – half-hearted spoiler alert here, given that title – teaming two of television’s top personalities at the time the episode debuted in 1957. With Little Ricky’s (Richard Keith) birthday party scheduled directly opposite another child’s, Lucy tries to draw the bigger attendance by promising the Man of Steel will be a guest at her son’s bash. When it appears “Superman” won’t be able to make it, Lucy elects herself as a stand-in by wearing a cape and helmet and intending to make an entrance through a window from an outside ledge. Naturally, things don’t go as planned, including the fact that TV’s actual Superman (George Reeves) does arrive ... and offers one of the most appropriate and memorable closing lines in sitcomepisode history. Also a fun element of “Lucy and Superman”: One of the other guest stars is Madge Blake, who would go on to play Aunt Harriet to another home-screen superhero, Batman. The “I Love Lucy” Christmas special drew very healthy ratings, so it’s no coincidence that its sequel-of-sorts is airing in a ratings-important “sweeps” month. Even without that, the public’s fondness for the series never has waned over nearly 65 years – which makes a new primetime date with Lucy a situation all but guaranteed to generate even more love for her.
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SPORTS
Miguel Cabrera
Story on next page
Full Name: José Miguel Cabrera Torres Born: April 18, 1983 (age 32) Hometown: Maracay, Venezuela Bats/throws: right /right Position: first base, third base
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Uniform number: 24 Teams: Florida Marlins, 2003-2007; Detroit Tigers, 2008-present Honors and achievements: Triple Crown winner, 2012; World Series champion, 2003; AL MVP, 2012 and 2013; All-Star, 2004–2007, 2010–2014; AL batting champion, 2011-13.
SPORTS
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By Dan Ladd Don’t look now, but the Detroit Tigers are once again contending in the American League Central. The reason, along with solid starting pitching, is the consistent offensive production of Miguel Cabrera. The two-time AL MVP and 2012 Triple Crown winner will showcase his talents when the Tigers visit the St. Louis Cardinals Sunday, May 17, on ESPN. Any doubts about the effects of the 13-year veteran’s offseason foot surgery were erased when he took Player of the Week honors to start the season, his 13th time earning that honor. That week he went 13 for 25 (.520) with two home runs, eight RBIs and four runs scored while leading the league in nearly every major offensive category. About the only thing the career .321 hitter hasn’t accomplished is a .400 season, but so far this year he’s closer to that number than .300. His best year for batting average was .348 in 2013. The Tigers lost ace Max Scherzer to the Washington Nationals in the offseason but added Alfredo Simon, who is coming off a career year with the Cincinnati Reds. He joins a staff that already boasts 2012 Cy Young winner David Price and at some point expects the return of 2011 AL MVP and Cy Young winner Justin Verlander from the disabled list. If the pitching can stay in shape and Cabrera continues his hot hitting ways, the Tigers could punch an early ticket to October baseball.
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MOVIES JAY BOBBIN's Theatrical movie review
review
“True Story”
plays with its truth on screen
Jonah Hill Enough true stories have been told in movies that it’s high time a film actually was titled “True Story.”
him tick ... and what he thinks makes his interviewer tick, too.
The irony is that the picture by that name plays around with some of the facts that inspired it, so you have to take it on faith that what it offers has its roots in truth. At the very least, it serves as the sort of cautionary tale that gets journalists denounced by their peers and bosses when they don’t hold to the letter of professional performance, and also as a story of attempted career redemption.
It’s an intriguing premise, especially if you have the right actors in those pivotal roles. Despite such relatively ancillary characters as Hill’s girlfriend, played by Felicity Jones (“The Theory of Everything”), “True Story” essentially is a two-person piece.
Jonah Hill makes his latest bid to move from second banana to star – which, frankly, works better for him in comedies like the “Jump Street” movies – as a real-life journalist (Michael Finkel, whose memoir inspired the film) seen licking his wounds from being caught playing fast and loose with one of his articles, a much-heralded one, getting him labeled a fabricator.
You have to applaud Hill for at least trying some different things cinematically, even if they don’t work for him completely, and this is one of those cases. He and Franco are an interesting but ultimately lopsided combination, since the much-more-versatile Franco seems so much more confident in the skin of his alter ego. Yes, Hill’s character is supposed to be off his game a bit, but the actor doesn’t recover sufficient footing to pull off what the full aim is here.
However, that tainted image doesn’t stop a man (James Franco) accused of slaying his family from trying to adopt the reporter’s identity. He’s found out fairly soon, but the newsman thinks there might be a story in connecting with his would-be impersonator and finding our what makes
Director and co-screenwriter Rupert Goold uses his theater experience cleverly in keeping the focus intently – and often intensely – on the central duo in “True Story,” but ultimately, the payoff doesn’t live up to the picture’s potential. Sad ... but true.
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MOVIES JAY BOBBIN's movie review movies to watch
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“AMERICAN SNIPER” An enormous box-office hit that had added staying power in the public‘s consciousness through muchreported real-life events, director Clint Eastwood’s engrossing drama tells the true story of Chris Kyle (Oscar nominee Bradley Cooper), a rodeo rider who becomes a Navy SEAL assigned to use his shooting expert skills to protect military comrades. He becomes a target of enemy forces, and his multiple tours of duty ultimately take a toll on his relationship with his wife (Sienna Miller), but helping wounded veterans does much to help him adjust to his post-war life. The film, which won an Academy Award for sound editing, was adapted from a book principally written by Kyle. Co-stars include Kyle Gallner, Max Charles, Luke Grimes, Sam Jaeger (“Parenthood”) and Eric Close. ››› (R: AS, P, V) (Also on Blu-ray and On Demand)
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Coming Soon on DVD... “SEVENTH SON” (May 26): A young man (Ben Barnes) is enlisted to succeed a protector (Jeff Bridges) of the general population against supernatural forces. (PG-13: AS, P, V) “THE LOFT” (May 26): Five married men keep a secret penthouse, where they live out their fantasies and find a dead woman there; stars include Karl Urban and James Marsden. (R: AS, N, P, V) “FOCUS” (June 2): A seasoned con artist (Will Smith) teams with a relative newcomer (Margot Robbie) professionally and personally. (R: AS, P, V) Ben Barnes
“JUPITER ASCENDING” (June 2): A young woman (Mila Kunis), leading a rather ordinary life, turns out to be the key to the future of the universe; Channing Tatum also stars in the “Matrix”-veteran Wachowskis’ fantasy. (PG-13: AS, N, V) “THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER” (June 2): Pursuing the stolen recipe for Krabby Patties, SpongeBob SquarePants and his allies enter the world above theirs in this animated tale. (PG: AS) “THE WIRE: THE COMPLETE SERIES” (June 2): The widely praised, Baltimore-set HBO drama series makes its Blu-ray debut; stars include Dominic West and Wendell Pierce. (Not rated: AS, N, P, V)
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John Legend is a performer in the 2015 Billboard Music Awards
Kevin Bacon stars in “The Following”
Chris Packham hosts “Nature’s Weirdest”
SUNDAY 8 p.m. on ABC 2015 Billboard Music Awards Ludacris and Chrissy Teigen are the hosts of the music-industry magazine’s annual honors at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Teigen isn’t likely to be very objective when it comes to one of the nominees, and that’s understandable — since John Legend is her husband. Among the show’s scheduled highlights are performances by Legend, Britney Spears (with Iggy Azalea), Sam Smith, Kelly Clarkson, Ed Sheeran, Meghan Trainor, Nick Jonas and Hozier. New 9 p.m. on CBS Battle Creek Determined to help a woman whose husband was a murder target, Milt
(Josh Duhamel) tosses protocol to the wind — and takes illegal steps involving National Security Agency surveillance — in “The Hand-Off,” the first of two new episodes. Then, in “Homecoming,” the slaying of a football coach takes Milt and Russ (Dean Winters) back to school, literally. Annette O’Toole (“Smallville”) guest stars in the second tale, directed by James Roday (“Psych”). New MONDAY 8 p.m. on FOX The Following As much as characters’ fates are up in the air throughout a season of this show, all bets really are off when it comes to the finale. So it is as the suspense drama ends its third round with the two-hour presentation “Dead
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or Alive/The Reckoning,” placing Ryan (Kevin Bacon) and his FBI comrades in more peril as they close in on Theo (Michael Ealy). Diane Neal (“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”) guest stars. Shawn Ashmore and Jessica Stroup also star. Season Finale New TUESDAY 9 p.m. on BBC Nature’s Weirdest The season finale features a segment that sounds like the headline from a supermarket tabloid, as a virgin snake gives birth in the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, on this side of the pond, a “sea serpent” washes ashore on an American beach and, in Morocco, a dozen goats stand motionless in a tree. Host and naturalist Chris Packham continued on next page
FAVORITE SHOWS explains the “why” behind this assorted weirdness. New WEDNESDAY 8 p.m. on NBC The Mysteries of Laura The investigation is both personal and professional for Laura (Debra Messing) in the show’s season finale, “The Mystery of the Corner Store Crossfire.” Jake (Josh Lucas) is seriously wounded, and as doctors tend to him, Laura and her colleagues seek the shooter ... who is using a very modern weapon, also putting the pursuers at great risk during the hunt. Laz Alonso, Janina Gavankar and Meg Steedle also star. Season Finale New
Marisa Ramirez) to get different partners, too, in “Burning Bridges.” After an officer is outed, reassignments result when his partner refuses to ride with him. Frank (Tom Selleck) runs into related complications. Jamie and Eddie (Will Estes, Vanessa Ray) try to even the score with a detective who unjustly claimed a case as his. Bill Irwin and Heather Burns guest star. SATURDAY 2:30 p.m. on FOX NASCAR Racing Two weeks of festivities at Charlotte Motor Speedway continues today with the Xfinity series’ Hisense 300. A field including Ty Dillon, Chase Elliott, Chris Buescher, Darrell Wallace Jr. and
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Regan Smith will do battle on the 1.5mile quad oval in a race won last year by Kyle Larson. 8 p.m. on HALLMARK When Calls the Heart A visitor from back home prompts Elizabeth (Erin Krakow) to question her growing feelings for Jack (Daniel Lissing) in a new episode called “Awakenings and Revelations.” Elsewhere, Abigail (Lori Loughlin) searches for the best way to help her daughter-in-law, while Bill Avery (Jack Wagner) delves deeper into an undercover investigation. Pascale Hutton, Kavan Smith and Eva Bourne also star. New
THURSDAY 10:03 p.m. on HISTORY Lost in Transmission It’s not unusual to find an old car that has a few bugs in it, but Rutledge and George are confronted with a full infestation by actual insects as they try to fix a 1964 Ford F100 that has been exposed to the elements for four years in a new episode called “Fire in the Hole.” New FRIDAY 9 p.m. on SYFY Bitten As the Council of Alphas reassembles at Stonehaven, the new Spanish Alpha tries to blackmail Jeremy (Greg Bryk) into murdering the Russian Alpha, but the Pack has everything under control until a surprise visit from Savannah upends their plans in a new episode called “Bad Dreams.” Elsewhere, Nick and Paige (Steve Lund, Tommie-Amber Pirie) inadvertently bring danger to a loved one’s doorstep when they try to meet secretly with his mother. New 10 p.m. on CBS Blue Bloods The split-up of a police team causes Danny and Baez (Donnie Wahlberg,
Ty Dillon competes in the Hisense 300
Donnie Wahlberg stars in “Blue Bloods”
George Flanigen (left) and Rutledge Wood host “Lost in Transmission”
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