James Gandolfini dead at age of 51

James Gandolfini, best known for his role as an anxiety-ridden mob boss on HBO's "The Sopranos," died in Italy, possibly of a heart attack, an HBO spokeswoman and the actor's managers said Wednesday. He was 51.

Gandolfini was on holiday in Rome, said Mara Mikialian, HBO's vice president for program publicity.

The actor was scheduled to make an appearance at the TaorminaFilm Fest in Sicily this week, according to the festival.

Gandolfini won three Emmy Awards for his portrayal of Tony Soprano, the angst-ridden mob boss who visited a therapist and took Prozac while knocking off people. "The Sopranos" aired from 1999 to 2007.

"Jimmy was the spiritual core of our Sopranos family, and I am stunned at this devastating loss," said Chris Albrecht, the former president of HBO who gave the green light to "The Sopranos." "He was a great talent, but an even better man. My thoughts are with his family."

Gandolfini was born September 18, 1961, in Westwood, New Jersey, according to Biography.com.

He graduated from Rutgers University and, as the story goes, he worked as a bartender and a bouncer in New York City until he went with a friend to an acting class.

He got his start on Broadway, with a role in the 1992 revival of "AStreetcar Named Desire" with Jessica Lange and Alec Baldwin.

Gandolfini's big screen debut came in the role of a heavy in the bloody "True Romance" in 1993. His breakthrough came on the small screen in 1999 with the role of Tony Soprano.

"He was a genius. Anyone who saw him even in the smallest of his performances knows that," David Chase, who developed "The Sopranos," said in a statement. "...A great deal of that genius resided in those sad eyes."

Gandolfini, who was notoriously press shy, had a reputation in the tabloids for being sometimes difficult.

"He wasn't easy sometimes. But he was my partner, he was my brother in ways I can't explain and never will be able to explain," Chase said.

While Gandolfini was known for sometimes ruthless, often imposing characters, those who worked with him described an actor who put his heart into a role.

"He was just so good at the emotion. A very passionate man and a very, very tender man," Matthew Warchus, who directed Gandolfiniin the 2009 Broadway play "God of Carnage," told CNN. "I really loved him and admired him a great deal."

Gandolfini's acting credits included roles in "The Last Castle" with Robert Redford, "The Mexican" with Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts and "Surviving Christmas" with Ben Affleck.

In recent years, he had starred in several movies, including the Oscar-nominated "Zero Dark Thirty," "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3" and "Killing Them Softly."

Gandolfini showed a softer side, too, voicing Carol, a wild thing, in the 2009 movie adaptation of Maurice Sendak's classic "Where the Wild Things Are."

He also took to the stage to do a reading of Sendak's "In The NightKitchen" to mark the author's 80th birthday.

News of the actor's death spread quickly, drawing shock and sadness from those who had worked with him.

"James Gandolfini was a kind, funny, wonderful guy. I'm so lucky to have worked with him. Sending love to his family. Such a sad, sad day," Olivia Wilde, who starred with the actor in "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone," said in a post on Twitter.

Actor Steve Carrell, who also appeared in the movie, simply said on Twitter: "James Gandolfini. What a great loss."

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie described himself as a "huge fan" of Gandolfini.

"It's an awful shock. James Gandolfini was a fine actor, a Rutgers alum and a true Jersey guy," he said.

Gandolfini is survived by his wife, Deborah, and their 9-month-old daughter, Liliana. He is also survived by a son, Michael, from another marriage.

Source: cnn

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Michael Hasting dies at 33

BuzzFeed reporter and a Rolling Stone contributor Michael Hastings died in a car crash Tuesday in Los Angeles. He was 33.

BuzzFeed's editor in chief Ben Smith posted a statement about Hastings' death on its site.

"We are shocked and devastated by the news that Michael Hastings is gone. Michael was a great, fearless journalist with an incredible instinct for the story, and a gift for finding ways to make his readers care about anything he covered from wars to politicians," he wrote.

RollingStone also posted about Hastings, praising his profile of Gen. Stanley McChrystal, his piece on America's drone war and the interview with WikiLeaks' JulianAssange.

Hastings won a 2010 George Polk Award for his story on McChrystal, titled "TheRunaway General."

"I'm sad that I'll never get to publish all the great stories that he was going to write, and sad that he won't be stopping by my office for any more short visits which would stretch for two or three completely engrossing hours. He will be missed," wrote Rolling Stone'sManaging Editor Will Dana.

Source: mashable

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Russell Brand mocks MSNBC anchors

"Joining me now, he's a really big deal. I'm told this," said MSNBC'sMika Brzezinski in introducing Russell Brand, who was there to tout a new comedy tour, in a Morning Joe segment from Monday that's going viral.

Gawker's headline for the eight-minute interview was: 'Brand destroys MSBNC talk show host for treating him like ---'

Brzezinski, along with panelists Katty Kay and Brian Shactman, asked a few questions, starting with this one, from Kay: "Messiah Complex, that's the name of your tour. Do you have one?"

Brand's response: "No, that's mental illness."

Kay: "Right. And you don't have that either?"

Brand: "I hope I'm here as a fully qualified professional gentleman, free from mental illness."

As the interview went on, Brand tried to stir things up by asking what MSNBC workers were doing over on the side of the studio. "Facebooking," he was told.

About five minutes in, Schactman said that when he listens to Brand on the radio, he "can't understand a single joke" he says.

Brzezinski added, "I think — this is my first Brand experience — it's not listening to him, it's the experience."

Brand said, "You're talking about me as if I'm not here, as if I'm an extra-terrestrial!"

It meandered from there, with a "nervous" Brzezinski, who cringed the whole time, and a take-charge Brand, who controlled it all.

Source: usatoday

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Danielle Bradbery – The Voice season 4 winner

Danielle Bradbery is The Voice.The 16-year-old country singer from Cypress, Texas, triumphed in the fourth-season finale of the NBC singing competition, winning the viewer vote Tuesday over the other two finalists: Michelle Chamuel, 26, and the Swon Brothers, Colton, 24, and Zach, 27. Chamuel finished second and the Swon Brothers came in third.

After her name was announced, Bradbery told host Carson Daly that she was thankful but speechless before closing the show with Sara Evans' Born to Fly. She had performed that song in Monday's competition finale.

More than an hour later, Bradbery described her moment of victory.

"Me and Michelle were holding onto each other, shaking," she said on the post-finale red carpet. "When I heard my name, I could not believe it. It's going to take a while to sink in, but I'm just embracing the moment while it's here."

Bradbery said fans "were all so supportive and hopefully I touched a lot of hearts out there to vote for me and keep supporting me. Hopefully, that worked. They've been sticking by my side forever and hopefully will continue to."

The victory by Bradbery, the second female and the youngest singer to win The Voice, represents the third triumph in four seasons for a member of coach Blake Shelton's team.

"I wanted to make sure that Nashville respected her as much as they could," country singer Shelton said after the show. "Obviously, she's an incredible vocalist, but I wanted them to know that she respects country music and that's why we kept throwing it back to artists from 10-20 years ago ... showing Nashville that she can do that stuff, she can do new stuff. She can perform with Hunter Hayes, she can sing with me. Whatever it is you throw at her she's capable of doing."

He thinks Bradbery has a big career ahead of her. Bradbery said she would like to work with Shelton in the future.

"I see us standing here talking about her 20 years from now," Shelton said. "And I wouldn't say that with this confidence about anybody else that's ever been on this show. Danielle Bradbery is a gift to the music industry and definitely a gift to The Voice."

Shelton said it has been his goal "since Day One" to have a country singer win. That genre was strong in this season's finale, represented by Bradbery and the Swon Brothers, the show's most successful duo to date. Both finalists were under the tutelage of Shelton.

"Country fans are loyal, they are amazing and they like to stick by you through everything. I love it," Bradbery said.

The two-hour finale featured a range of musical stars, including Cher, who sangWoman's World, the first single of her upcoming album, Closer to the Truth. She recorded her performance in front of The Voice studio audience just before Tuesday's live broadcast.

After the show, the legendary singer said her first performance before a TV audience in more than five years was "very exciting and it makes you feel elated but it's also kind of scary. And I'm a big chicken anyway. I like being on it. I just don't like going on it."

She said a show like The Voice can help young performers.

"I think shows like this might help you skirt a lot of the bad stuff that could be waiting for you. It's a great place to go and be seen by everybody and have that feeling that you can actually can do it," she said. "Sonny (Bono) and I used to play bowling alleys and roller skating rinks. And that was hard to keep telling ourselves, 'We were good, we were good, we were good.' "

Pitbull and Christina Aguilera opened the show with a duet and country's Florida Georgia Line and hip-hop's Nelly performed together. Bruno Mars sang his newest single, Treasure, which was taped before the recent death of his mother.

The finalists got their chance to perform with the stars, too. Bob Seger, joined by the Swon Brothers, performed his hit Night Moves. Hayes and Bradbery sang a duet of I Want Crazy and Chamuel and OneRepublic performed Counting Stars.

The Voice switched coaching gears this season, with Usher and Shakira taking over for original coaches Aguilera and CeeLo Green. The two were well received.

Aguilera and Green, who appeared in the first three seasons, will rejoin the show for its fifth cycle this fall, with Usher and Shakira trading off with them for the sixth edition. Coaches Shelton and Adam Levine have been with the show from the start.

The Voice audience is down 1% for Season 4, with an average of 12.4 million viewers, but it beat Fox's longtime juggernaut American Idol among advertiser-coveted young adults. Idol still draws more viewers, but it has experienced sharp erosion over the past two seasons.

The singing competition, which stands out for its blind auditions and spinning red chairs, is produced by Mark Burnett.

Source: usatoday

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Ray Allen nails late 3-pointer to send Heat-Spurs NBA Finals Game to overtime

I believe the saying is, "Jesus saves," right?

With just under 20 seconds remaining in the thrilling, back-and-forth fourth quarter of Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals, SanAntonio Spurs small forward KawhiLeonard split two free throws to give his team a 95-92 lead. The MiamiHeat came up the court without timeouts, and rather than attack the basket in search of a quick, game-extending 2-pointer, LeBron James — who had been huge in the frame, scoring 16 points on 7 for 11 shooting, but had committed a couple of costly late turnovers — rose and fired from 3-point range.

James missed his jumper, but Heat center Chris Bosh — free of opposite number Tim Duncan, who had been taken out of the game in favor of Boris Diaw on the prior possession — grabbed the offensive rebound and kicked it out to the right corner. And if you're talking about the Heat, and you're talking about the corner, you're talking about Ray Allen.

It was Allen's first long-range make of the night, and I think it's fair to say that it couldn't have come at a better time.

Allen's 3-pointer splashed through with 5.2 seconds remaining in the game; the referees triggered an official review, which determined that Allen's feet were behind the line and the shot was worth three points. The Spurs came up empty on their ensuing possession, with point guard Tony Parker missing a 12-foot fade away along the left baseline, sending this brilliant Game 6 to overtime tied at 95.

Allen went on to make a major impact in the extra frame, scoring four of Miami's eight points — including two big final-second free-throws — to seal a 103-100 Miami win that ties the Finals at three games apiece and extends this amazing series to a deciding Game 7 on Thursday.

Source: yahoo

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Datsyuk aggrees to three-year extension with Detriot

The Detroit Red Wings and star center Pavel Datsyuk have agreed to a three-year contract extension.

Datsyuk, 34, has one year left on his current contract. The new deal is reported to be worth $22.5 million with a $7.5 million per season cap hit.

"Based on a couple of brief conversations that I had with Gary Greenstin (Datsyuk's agent) over the last couple of months, I felt that there was an interest in Pav to stay," general manager Ken Holland told the official Red Wings website. "I had my exit interview last week with Pav and we talked a little bit. He called his agent and in the next few days we were able to get the extension done."

Datsyuk was first to confirm the news via his Twitter account, writing:

“Signed 3 yr. extension. Detroit, glad to be here for 4 more yrs.Thanks to our fans, friends and Ilitch family @DetroitRedWings @danmilstein “ – Pavel Datsyuk

He can't officially sign the new deal until July 5, the first day a contract that starts in the 2014-15 season can be filed with the League, but at least now the Red Wings and their fans can rest easy.

There had been reports that Datsyuk would consider signing with a team in his native Russia at the end of his current contract. Datsyuk had 15 goals and 49 points in 47 games this season.

The three-time Selke Trophy winner is one of the top two-way forwards in the League and has been a staple in the Detroit lineup since the team won the Stanley Cup during his rookie season in 2001-02. The Red Wings went back to the Stanley Cup Final in 2008 and 2009, winning again in 2008, and Datsyuk had a career-high 97 points in both of those seasons.

Source: nhl.com

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Bruins stay strong for Boston and each day

When forward Gregory Campbell returned to the Boston Bruins dressing room earlier this week hobbled by his famous broken leg, teammate ShawnThornton welcomed him back by razzing him about his white pants.

"You don't want to give him a break just because he is on crutches," Thornton said. "We are still boys in here. You don't get a free pass."

It was the Bruins' way of showing affection for a player who kept defending on a penalty kill after suffering a broken fibula when he blocked a shot in the Eastern Conference Final. Campbell became an internet sensation as thousands watched video of him struggling to rise to his feet and placing himself between the shooter and the net. He stood on the leg for more than 40 seconds.

"They always give me jabs about the way I'm dressed," Campbell said. "Doesn't matter if I'm playing or not. It was a tough week, not because of surgery, but just because I didn't feel part of the team. You naturally feel a little bit excluded and helpless. So to walk in yesterday and see the guys, that was a great relief for me to know they still recognize me."

The Bruins believe chemistry has played a role in their postseason success, particularly lately when they have won seven consecutive home games.

"We take pride in being a blue collar team," coach Claude Julien said. "We don't care about calling certain guys superstars on this team. We all want to be on the same level."

The roster boasts 17 players who were with the Bruins when they won the Stanley Cup in 2011.

"We are all family in here," said Bruins forward Brad Marchand.

This is a team that very much identifies with Boston. "It's a small, big city," said Thornton who was wearing a Red Sox cap when he met with the news media Tuesday.

Some, like Thornton, live year-round in the city. "Once you get to know people, they'll do anything for you," he said. "So that helps. Sam Adams, too. Harpoon. Good beers."

Boston players don't like to talk about the Boston Marathon bombings, and the impact that it had on the team because it seems wrong to them to discuss sports in connection with the tragedy.

They almost cringe when they are asked if their success helps Bostoniansrecover. "It's a tough question — I'm not going to lie," Thornton said.

He says he only hopes the Bruins' success helps. "We come to the rink everyday, and we love this city," Thornton said. "If it helps, then amazing. We're a pretty tight, good group of guys. If that's helping, we're extremely happy to be giving a little bit."

This is a sentimental group, although you wouldn't know that by the way they roughed up Campbell in his return to the dressing room.

"It's good to see him," Thornton said. "I'm glad he's been working on his tan while we were in Chicago."

Campbell has become the symbol of the Bruins' postseason success because he tried to play on one leg. He had no quit in him, which is how the defensive-minded Bruins like to play. They keep their legs moving and don't give up any ice easily.

"I'm not going to put myself in front of anybody else and say I'm the picture of the Bruins," Campbell said. "This Original Six organization goes back a long way. It represents the city, a blue-collar hard-working city with honest people. When I got traded to Boston, I thought it was tailor-made to my game, the way this team represents the heart and soul of what a hockey player should be made of."

Campbelldoesn't see his play as special, and that offers a glimpse of why the Bruins are chasing their second title in three years.

"There's 18 other guys in that room that would do the same thing," Campbell said. "That's what makes us successful, and makes us a hard team to play against."

Source: usatoday

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