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Matthew Knowles is proud of his daughters, no doubt. His eldest Beyoncé once won a talent competition at the age of seven, singing John Lennon’s “Imagine,” and has apparently gone on to achieve some success in the music and film industries. His youngest daughter Solange’s greatest professional success came when she starred opposite Hayden Panettiere in Bring It On: All or Nothing, moving 750,000 copies in its first week, making it one of the best-selling straight-to-DVD titles ever. But yesterday, when Mr. Knowles mentioned that impressive figure, it was a mere sidebar to the real reason we found ourselves in a Universal Music boardroom with Jay-Z’s father-in-law. Flanked on all sides by Solange glamour shots, Mr. Knowles was there to boast his daughter’s latest and greatest artistic achievement, her upcoming album SoL-AngeL and the Hadley St. Dreams. Unorthodox title, unorthodox record.
When Ashlee Simpson danced a jig to musical stardom, it was in direct opposition to her sister’s assembly-line bubbly pop. But no matter how hard Ashlee tried to rock out of her sister’s shadow, she was always defined by who she wasn’t, not who she was. So when Mr. Knowles told us that Solange’s new album “was for that hipster kid, for that intellectual kid, and for that skater kid,” we were skeptical. No need, jaded journalist, because Hadley St. Dreams surprised on all angles. The album features a “dream team” of production, songwriting, and appearances from visionaries like the Neptunes, Mark Ronson, Q-Tip, Lil Wayne, Bilal, Cee-Lo, Lamont Dozier, and even Scottish electronic duo Boards of Canada. And Solange, who has written songs for Destiny’s Child, has a knack for personal lyrics, crammed into exploratory arrangements. The album is an astral throwback to Motown’s heyday that travels beyond R&B to the farthest frontiers of pop music and beyond. Solange describes the sound of her record as if the Supremes, the Marvelettes, Dusty Springfield, and Minnie Riperton “were making their music today, with a modern touch.” You can listen to the Neptunes-produced first single “I Decided” on Solange’s MySpace page, and look for the video, which features Solange channeling a young Diana Ross, coming soon to a YouTube near you.

blackbookmag.com

North West 200 heartbreak for Martin
Guy Martin was denied his first ever North West 200 victory on Saturday when he was forced to retire from the feature Superbike race whilst leading comfortably around the 8.9-mile Northern Ireland public road circuit. Having qualified in third, the Hydrex Bike Animal Honda rider was in imperious form on the Honda Fireblade but, with a 3-second lead and just two laps to go, a broken radiator hose clip forced him out at University Corner.
It was a mixed day all round for the Kirmington ace but he opened his account for the day with a brilliant 2nd place in the first Superbike race. There was never anything between the leading four riders and Michael Rutter, John McGuinness and Steve Plater all had a chance to win but, on the final lap, Rutter managed to find his way through and Guy had to settle for second, just 0.810seconds adrift.
Seventh in the opening Supersport race followed, where he posted the third best lap of the race as he fought his way up from an initial 12th. Meanwhile, the five lap Superstock race saw him ride even better as he again fought his way through from a bad start. Twelfth on the grid, Guy dropped back to 14th on the first lap but he picked off the opposition one by one and with the fastest lap of the race, a new lap record, he was able to claim a fine 4th place.
The feature 6-lap NW200 Superbike race followed and with a brilliant start this time around, he grabbed the lead and steadily increased his advantage over the next three and a half laps. As he went into the fourth lap, his lead was over 3 seconds but he soon realised his race was over and, with the aforementioned clip having broken, the engine overheated and he was forced to pull to the side of the road. His day then ended on an even lower note in the second Supersport race when he crashed heavily at Black Hill, fortunately escaping with just bumps and bruises.

roadracingworld.com

Duke’s lacrosse team defeated
Johns Hopkins ended Duke’s lacrosse season for the third time in four years and spoiled the last chance for the players stained by a stripper scandal to leave with an NCAA championship.
Johns Hopkins’ 10-9 victory over top-seeded Duke on Saturday put it in Monday’s championship game against Syracuse, which beat Virginia 12-11 in double overtime.
Five Duke players had been granted an extra year of eligibility to make up for their aborted 2006 season, when since-disbarred district attorney Mike Nifong charged three players with raping a stripper hired to dance at a party.
•On the women’s side, Penn and Northwestern meet today in the title game.
Noted marathoner Haile Gebrselassie discovered his old legs can carry him well in the 10,000 meters.
Gebrselassie ran his fastest 10,000 meters in four years at the FBK Games on Saturday at Hengelo, Netherlands. He was within the 27-minute mark he sought to be included on the Ethiopian team for the Beijing Olympics.
Meanwhile, in the 100 hurdles, world indoor champion Lolo Jones of the United States won in 12.87 seconds.
Silver Stars stop Storm
The San Antonio Silver Stars just keep coming out on top of the Seattle Storm.
Sophia Young scored 23 points, Becky Hammon added 20 and San Antonio defeated Seattle 87-72 Saturday to give the Silver Stars their sixth straight win over the Storm.
Swin Cash scored 15 points to lead Seattle. Lauren Jackson, the WNBA’s reigning MVP, had 14 points and seven rebounds in the Storm’s first loss of the season in its fourth game.
•Lindsay Whalen scored 21 points to lead four teammates in double figures Saturday as the Connecticut Sun defeated the Sacramento Monarchs 87-64.
•Pete Gaskill, an Oak Park assistant coach, was hired as the boys basketball coach for Staley High School, the Northland school that will open in August.

kansascity.com

INDIANAPOLIS, Friday, May 16, 2008 - Sunshine returned to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and 36 drivers took advantage of the first complete six-hour practice day since May 6 to turn 2,164 laps on the historic 2.5-mile oval. Scott Dixon, who won the pole for the 92nd Running of the Indianapolis 500 on May 10, topped the speed chart at 223.713 mph.
Team Penske teammates Helio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe were second and third, respectively, with Will Power fourth and Graham Rahal fifth.
1996 Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Lazier turned his first laps of the month in the No. 91 Hemelgarn Johnson entry. He will attempt to qualify for his 16th Indianapolis 500.
Friday’s practice was the final opportunity for 25 drivers who have not yet qualified for the 500-Mile Race to prepare for qualification attempts. Starting positions 12-33 will be determined by four-lap qualifying attempts May 17. Drivers who don’t qualify will attempt to bump their way into the field on May 18.
Friday’s practice was marred by three incidents. E.J. Viso, Will Power and Briscoe were all uninjured in separate incidents and are cleared to drive.
Jim Beam has awarded Ryan Cooledge of Surprise, Ariz., and three guests the exciting opportunity to do “double-duty” by winning the Jim Beam 1100. The promotion allowed consumers and race fans alike to carry out something that a professional driver has not attempted since 2003: participate in the Indianapolis 500 and the 600-mile NASCAR race in Charlotte, N.C., thus experiencing 1,100 miles of racing in the one day.
Cooledge and his guests will receive VIP treatment from the moment they arrive in Indianapolis. Before Race Day, Cooledge will go for a high-speed ride around the historic 2.5-mile oval, and then on Sunday he will go for a ride in the Pace Car and meet two-time Indy 500 champion, Helio Castroneves, and rookie sensation Ryan Briscoe.

backstretchmotorsports.com

Before Saturday’s stadium concert, I had an opportunity to chat with Big Kenny by phone from his home in Nashville, Tenn. My only regret is that I didn’t record it instead of trying to write it all down — he had so much to say!
In January John Rich announced that he was taking a year off to release a solo project. Meanwhile Kenny Alphin (Big Kenny) has had time to focus on healing from a neck injury sustained after being hit by a drunk driver a few years ago. He’s also been able to spend some quality time at home with his wife and son. After years of touring and life in the fast lane building a career, he’s one of the few artists to find that delicate balance juggling family and profession.
He built a studio at the back of his house, which was no small task, and he has been hard at work writing songs. In the past two months he’s written 30 songs, he has two musicals in the works and a possible screen play. One of the songs he wrote was inspired by remembering fun times at home on the farm in Culpeper — “Be Back Home.” Kenny even sang a verse for me. I loved it! I can’t wait for that one to be recorded.
If you saw the video, “Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace,” you probably noticed Kenny’s acting skills. He said it was fun shooting that video and it was easy to take on the role of the character he portrayed. Creativity is definitely one of his talents.
Kenny doesn’t have the words, “Love everybody” on the back of his guitar for no reason. He has a huge passion for helping others. When we first began our conversation he mentioned he was going to be in San Antonio on May 17 at Camp C.O.P.E. (Courage, Optimism, Patience, and Encouragement) to support the children of our military. The camp is designed to help children ages 4 to 18 who have parents serving in Iraq, to cope with the effects of war and frequent deployments, through age-appropriate activities in small groups of their peers.

starexponent.com

The ever-growing non-hetero acronym: LBGT…Q?…hmm…did we already say B?…is there a dollar sign in there somewhere? We’re not homophobic—we’re not even sure which letters homophobia applies to—but this acronym is out of hand. A good, memorable abbreviation should have four letters or fewer. How about just “Misc.”?
Grand Central Bowl: Bowling alleys are supposed to be seedy. The rental shoes are supposed to smell weird. You’re supposed to drink rotgut well drinks and eat Tater Tots that went straight from freezer to deep fat fryer. The owners are supposed to be lumpy, middle-aged men named Lenny with hacking coughs. But at Southeast’s new, swankified Grand Central Bowl, meatheads man velvet ropes, sushi shows up on the menu, bartenders muddle, and the crowd has that same desperately cool leather-jacket-and-$100-jeans look native to the Doug Fir. It’s uglier than Lenny ever could be.
Washington drivers on the Fremont Bridge: Anyone who regularly exits the Fremont Bridge to North Kerby Avenue during rush hour knows and despises these invaders from the north. They cruise innocently down the far-right exit-only lane, past the gridlock on their left that waits to merge onto I-5 North. Only pale blue Washington license plates hint at their sinister intent. Just as they reach the exit-ramp junction and you dare to hope they’re actually getting off, these vile Washingtonians slam on their brakes, flip on their turn signals and begin to force their way over a lane, pinning all the actually exiting drivers behind them. Sure, these drivers are mostly from Vancouver, which is probably punishment enough, but then again, why are they in such a hurry to get home?
Christmas at the Zoo: Seriously? Have you seen this place? Sitting on some of the most expensive retail real estate in Portland, between Burnside and Everett on Northwest 23rd Avenue, this store somehow stays in business year-round selling nothing but Christmas ornaments with animal themes. It’s still better than another Pottery Barn.

wweek.com

Can it really be possible that this was already the fourth of our five post-strike Gossip Girl episodes? I think after next week’s finale, I’m going to be going through major withdrawal, just like Serena will be whenever she kicks her newly reacquired bad habits.
The episode began with a mad search for S, who was failing to answer phone calls from both Dan and Georgina. Dan was waiting outside her hotel when he finally got a call from Serena’s phone, except the voice on the other end was a bartender explaining Serena had walked out of his establishment with a bunch of guys, forgetting to take her phone, or pay her tab.
Dan continued to wait outside the hotel for Serena to show up, but it was Blair who found her first. B summoned the feuding Chuck and Nate to her penthouse for “help” with Serena, who was lying in a crumpled heap in the elevator. The former friends banned together to order the maid to make coffee and draw Serena a bath while they reminisced about the good ol’ days when they all battled hangovers together. But Dan crashed the happy reunion to find Serena and hear her version of what happened the night before. Her explanation? She’d cheated on him. That was enough to send him out the door.
But everyone besides Dan could tell from her twitching and lack of eye contact that Serena was lying. Her friends then insisted on hearing the truth about what was causing her old bad habits to resurface. They reminded her that after all the terrible things they’d done, none of them was in a position to judge. This was Blair, who’d slept with Chuck in a limo; Nate, who’d had sex with Serena at a wedding where Blair was his date; and Chuck, who was, well, Chuck. Seeing that they’d made an excellent point, Serena caved and finally told the story of why Georgina was blackmailing her.

film.com

:(. That was a really, really, really tough game to lose. Especially considering how well LeBron played in the first half and how well the team did in the first half. I was thinking at halftime: “All we need to do is step up offensively and we’ll win.” LeBron was doing great, and who would have thought he only scores 12 points in the second half after a 23 point first half? And no one else beside Delonte West steps up? If we would have won that, you take away the home court advantage that the Celtics had and made them win one game on your home floor, where you have only lost 1 game this post-season and where the Celtics have won zero on the road.
We played so well to start the game…so well. We were up by 10 points at times and we were doing fine on both ends of the floor. But the turning point in the game is when the Celtics went on a run, with around 4 minutes left, to cut the halftime lead down to 2 or so. Without that run, the Celtics probably don’t win that game. That gave them the momentum and the confidence they needed for the second half.
That big spurt was because of Rajon Rondo. When he starts hitting perimeter shots, you’re in trouble. The Cavs could afford to sag off with him being a bad outside shooter because he disrupts the defense once he gets in the middle. But once he started hitting shots, the Cavs had to close out on him hard and that opened up the middle and is what killed the Cavs defensively.
Does Kevin Garnett ever miss a jump shot? I mean seriously… Does he? I don’t think I’ve seen him miss one freakin’ jumper this whole entire playoff series. The guy is just unbelievable.

mvn.com

-Drama Taking its name from a popular anatomy book, Grey’s Anatomy centers around the personal lives of interns at Seattle Grace Medical Center, a fictitious hospital in Washington State. High melodrama is always on the operating table as the doctors of Grey’s Anatomy laugh, cry, fight and make out in-between open-heart surgeries. Engaging characters and a super-hip soundtrack make this one hospital fans can’t resist checking into.
Dr. Wyatt refuses to let Meredith give up on therapy; Alex learns the truth about Rebecca’s medical condition; the Chief insists Erica perform a risky surgery on his mentor.
Ooh Grey’s Anatomy, you’re just starting to get good again. Don’t blame me, even Entertainment Weekly admitted that the show tanked a little in season 4. Now, you’ve got Rebecca’s fake pregnancy, Callie’s sexuality, Meredith and Derek’s close working relationship, George’s friendship with Lexie, and many other things to keep me counting the minutes until Thursday nights. ABC released the episode descriptions for the rest of the season and it sounds like Grey’s will leave us this season with some shocking revelations and storylines that will keep us talking all summer.
On this Thursday’s episode, “The Becoming”, the nurses become fed up with McSteamy’s man-whore ways, and install a “date and tell” policy at the hospital. According to ABC, this leads to some startling revelations. You mean like the fact that Erica and Callie are together? I’m still waiting for it. Meredith and Derek continue to work together on their clinical trial and I’m expecting some more longing moments between them. You know all they really want is to be together! Many Grey’s fans have heard that, on this episode, Callie turns to McSteamy in a time of need but it’s not for what you might think.

buddytv.com

The Jazz hit more low notes than high notes in Game 1, but they did hit every Laker in sight, even Phil Jackson when Ronnie Brewer fell in Phil’s lap.
Percussion? Game 1 looked more like a concussion.
-The Lakers are better than the Jazz and could win the series in five games even if they continue to get murdered on the boards. Wouldn’t be a bad idea, though, to put on the hard hats for Game 2 and push back. A 17-rebound discrepancy is flirting with danger. Heck, LA had only eight more total rebounds than Utah did offensive.
Kobe told the media on Monday: “We ain’t no punks.” Meaning, like Tom Petty, they won’t back down. That’s fine, but they need to body up.
I don’t like Pau Gasol guarding Mehmet Okur on the perimeter. Takes Pau too far from the defensive boards. Put Radmanovic on Memo, Vlad Rad is long enough for that cover.
Okur may be from Turkey but he didn’t play like one, pulling down 19 boards and choking their gizzards on the boards.
-It has Okurred to me that Memo should not be allowed to get 19 rebounds ever again in this series.
-Believe it or not:The scruffy Okur has a hot wife. She’s a former Miss Turkey.
-Do you think playing against D-Will every day in practice for a year helps Derek Fisher in his matchup against
Deron Williams?Fisher’s ability to stay in front of Williams was a huge component in the Lakers’ 11-point win, one pretty overlooked by just about everybody.
The Lakers didn’t box out but one thing they did do was converge on Williams with big bodies once he got into the paint.
Williams looked frustrated. Fish’s six steals were another reflection that after that full year up in Utah, he knows the Jazz almost as well as they know themselves.

sportshubla.com