CRAZY Monday Afternoon Goings On

In SHOCKING, NO! REALLY!?!?!?! news (thanks Keith Larson)

Sarah Palin has officially joined the Fox News Network in a variety of roles on the Business and News sides of the network. Fox News said that while Ms Palin would not have her own program, she would appear on the channel on a regular basis as part of a multi-year deal.

Mark McGwire finally came clean Monday, admitting he used steroids when he broke baseball's home run record in 1998.

Simon Cowell has confirmed today that this IS his last year on "American Idol". He's bringing his English show, the "The X Factor" here to the states for Fox. This puzzles me as he already produces the same show formula but as an American version of the show on NBC called "America's Got Talent".

Many news outlets are reporting that the current host of "The Tonight Show" is very upset. Five months after relocating his family, his company, and everything else in his life to Los Angeles, Conan O'Brien is reportedly ready to leave NBC over talks to move Jay Leno back to his old spot on the late-night lineup. I don't blame him. The REAL winner of this is Jimmy Fallon and Carson Daly (yes, he's STILL on TV).

in NOT so SHOCKING! NO! REALLY?!?!?! news:

While (not because of) production on Spider Man 4 is temporarily delayed, Marvel Studios has begun production on Kenneth Brannaugh's "Thor" movie- TODAY actually. Nathalie Portman will play the love interest in this.

Whitney over at USA Today's Pop Candy is reporting that Stan Lee will guest star on The Big Bang Theory

Slash says he has turned down millions to reunite with Guns N' Roses.

Another Star Trek movie concerning the NEW timeline and new kids on the bridge is set for a 2012 release.

In other stuff,

5.China's online game revenues hits $4 billion in 2009. The US in 2009 had about $1 billion

Former NBA star Jayson Williams, his personal life in shambles, took responsibility for accidentally shooting his limousine driver to death eight years ago by pleading guilty Monday to assault and agreeing to serve at least 18 months in prison.

While Marvel sues to keep it's main comic book characters, it's also suing to invalidate the Kirby family's copyright claims. In a lawsuit filed today in New York City, lawyers for Marvel assert that Kirby's work for the company was "for hire," invalidating the claims of the heirs.

Simon Cowell will leave "American Idol": report - Yahoo! News

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Simon Cowell will leave "American Idol": report
Tue Dec 22, 5:56 pm ET

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell has decided to quit the top-rated TV talent show when his contract ends in 2010, according to a report in British tabloid The Sun, which would deal a blow to the Fox network.

Cowell, 50, has been with the TV juggernaut since the start of "American Idol" in 2002 but his contract expires after the end of Season 9, which starts in January and ends in May 2010, and in the past he has hinted at being bored with his role.

His insults to tone-deaf singers are a key factor in luring viewers to the competition that over the past three years has seen its ratings slip, and this season already sees the departure of another original judge, popular Paula Abdul.

Cowell's brother Tony, who hosts a weekly radio podcast called "The Cowell Factor", said in a broadcast on Tuesday that Simon was preparing for his last season of "Idol".

"A press statement is being prepared which will confirm what everyone expected -- Simon will leave 'Idol' at the end of 2010 to concentrate on bringing the American version of 'The X Factor' to US TV in 2011," Tony Cowell claimed, according to Britain's Sun newspaper.

The Sun, like Fox television, is part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp media empire. The podcast could not be found later on Tuesday. The Sun report said Tony Cowell had "blurted out the claim" and that the podcast had since been removed.

Cowell's publicist and the Fox network in Los Angeles, where "Idol" is produced, both said they had no comment on the reports. Cowell, who has his own record label and produces three other TV talent shows, hinted repeatedly earlier this year that he was growing bored with his stint on "Idol".

Abdul quit earlier this year, and she will be replaced on the upcoming season by talk show host Ellen DeGeneres.

While still America's most-watched TV show, "Idol" audiences slipped in 2009 to an average 26.3 million per twice weekly episode from a high of about 30.8 million in 2006.

Cowell, one of the biggest earners on U.S. television, spoke in a British magazine interview earlier this month of his plans to bring his own "The X Factor" British talent show to Las Vegas in a global pay-per-view Internet venture.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)


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