Real Madrid gets 'La Decima' with thrilling Champions League final win

It was a sad way for the Atletico dream to come to an end, but their season will eternally be worthy of praise and commendation.

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Real's Cristiano Ronaldo lifts the Champion League trophy at a 4-1 win over Atletico. (AP)

Right at the end of one of the greatest seasons in European soccer history there was still time for one more dramatic twist, one that handed Real Madrid the 10th European title it so desperately craved.

Real has spent fortunes on cementing itself as a heavyweight of world soccer and eventually, on an extraordinary night in Lisbon, money spoke – loudly.

After its city neighbor Atletico Madrid had come within two minutes of holding on to win the trophy, Real was able to use the combined forces of the world’s most expensive player, and its best player, to seal the deal.

The ludicrous figure of $124 million the club paid to sign Gareth Bale last summer was much derided at the time and occasionally since, but when the athletic Welshman rose to head home what turned out to be the decisive goal with 10 minutes of extra time remaining, it was worth every penny.

By then, Atletico was done, physically and emotionally, having seen its dream of completing the Spanish league and Champions League double cruelly snatched away when Sergio Ramos’ late equalizer cancelled out Diego Godin’s first half goal.

This was a meeting of haves and have-nots. Real Madrid is called the Galacticos for a reason, embarking each summer upon a quest to sign the best player or players available on the market.

Their global reach is as extensive as anyone’s, with enormous marketing contracts and endorsements ensuring the cash splashed on new talent is quickly replenished.

Atletico, meanwhile, is in the midst of a financial sinkhole, one that makes their superb campaign all 

the more amazing.

For most of the evening in Lisbon, Atletico defended stoutly, holding on to protect the advantage built when Godin capitalized on Iker Casillas’ mistake at the 36-minute mark. If they could have kept Real out for just a few more moments the glory would have been theirs, but Ramos, with a perfectly timed header and in the nick of time, struck to send the game into extra time.

After Bale and Marcelo scored and Ronaldo fired home a penalty to make it 4-1, the frustration boiled over for Atletico coach Diego Simeone, who took offense at the classless and premature celebrations of Real Madrid’s Raphael Varane and rushed out onto the field to remonstrate with him.

This night though, was Real’s, its first Champions League success since 2002 and the one that had come to be known as the mystical "La Decima" among those devoted to the club.

For Ronaldo it was the prize he wanted as much as any, the one he was signed to win five years ago. Coming in the capital city of Portugal, the place where he burst to prominence as a precocious teenager with Sporting Lisbon, it could not have been any sweeter.

For head coach Carlo Ancelotti, who would have found himself under pressure without this victory, it was both vindication of his methods and a remarkable fifth personal Champions League medal.

And for Bale, it will surely mean an end to any question marks about whether that fee was worth it.

Perhaps no man can be truly be worth such an inflated amount, but in terms of a return on investment, Real must feel as though it got the good end of the deal right now.

 

Kim Kardashian, Kanye West married: Couple officially wed in Florence

Happy wedding day! The famous pair exchanged vows in an Italian ceremony Saturday. 

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are officially husband and wife.

Perched on an Italian hilltop, before a massive wall of flowers, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West tied the knot in characteristically excessive style Saturday.
The over-the-top couple’s over-the-top nuptials featured a performance by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli and more designer duds than Paris Fashion Week.
The venue was stunning — and stunningly expensive: The Forte di Belvedere in Florence alone cost the couple $420,000.
Kardashian wore a Givenchy haute couture gown and West donned a matching Givenchy tux, according to Us Weekly.
Even the newlyweds’ 11-month-old daughter, North West, got in on the haute action, rocking her own matching Givenchy dress.
Kardashian walked down the aisle arm-in-arm with her Olympian stepdad, Bruce Jenner, as Bocelli sang "Con te Partiró."
The star-studded crowd — including model Chrissy Teigen, her crooner husband John Legend, and TV personality LaLa Anthony — broke into applause as the couple known as Kimye shared their first married kiss.
“Such a magical, romantic wedding!” momager Kris Jenner told E! Online after the affair. “I feel blessed to have my new son and his family as part of ours.”
Jenner added she’s “beyond bursting with happiness for Kim, Kanye and baby North.”
But it wouldn’t be a Kardashian affair without a healthy dose of drama — and the overexposed family didn’t disappoint.
Disgusted by the ostentatious multicountry wedding festivities, Rob Kardashian reportedly flew back to the U.S. before his sister’s special day.
The final straw for the brother came when Kardashian criticized him for not dropping any weight ahead of her nuptials, X17 reported.

SEE IT: Victims flee from Santa Barbara killer Elliot Rodger inside deli

The I.V. Deli Mart in Goleta, Calif., released security footage of when Rodger shot inside the store and killed Christopher Michaels-Martinez, 20. Rodger killed six people, including his three roommates and two sorority girls because of his struggles being a 22-year-old virgin. Michaels-Martinez's father blamed politicians for not enacting gun control laws. 'They talk about gun rights. What about Chris' right to live?'

Dramatic surveillance footage of a Goleta, Calif., deli shows people cowering for their protection as the 22-year-old madman took off on his shooting rampage Friday night.
Surveillance footage shows the scene at I.V. Deli Mart Friday when Elliot Rodger opened fire. Christopher Michaels-Martinez was killed in the store by his assailant as a female customer remained in the line of fire to try to help him.
The video shows a short line at the counter and then they immediately fall to the ground as the gunfire starts. The victims face the outside of the store where the gunman fired and then crawl their way to the back for safety.
The video also shows bullets hit the glass refrigerator doors
But one girl at the counter in a dark-hooded sweatshirt remained in the front and frantically took out her cellphone and called 911, the station reported. She reached out her arm to Michael-Martinez to help him, the station reported.
He was killed when he entered the store, the station reported. There was video of his death, but CNN declined to air it.
"Chris was a really great kid," Michaels-Martinez's father said at a news conference where he choked back tears and eventually collapsed to his knees in agony. "Ask anyone who knew him. His death has left our family lost and broken."
Michaels-Martinez, 20, was the last of the six people Rodger shot on his Friday night shooting spree that also injured 13 people. He ultimately killed himself after being wounded in a shootout with police.
Rodger, a former student at Santa Barbara City College student, was seeking revenge against girls at the school for rejecting him and men on campus they had sex with instead of him. Rodger died a virgin.
"I'll take great pleasure in slaughtering all of you," Rodger, the son of Hollywood director Peter Rodger who worked on "The Hunger Games," says in the video posted Friday and taken down by YouTube on Saturday with a message saying it violated the site's terms of service.
"I don't know why you girls are so repulsed by me," he says in the video, describing his loneliness and frustration at never having had sex with or even kissed a girl. "I am polite. I am the ultimate gentleman. And yet, you girls never give me a chance. I don't know why."
Of the men he sees as rivals, he said: "I deserve girls much more than all those slobs," and that after his rampage, "you will finally see that I am, in truth, the superior one, the true alpha male."

 

Caroline Wozniacki breaks silence after McIlroy split

Caroline Wozniacki, the Danish tennis player, says on Twitter that she is going through a 'hard time' after her fiance cancelled their wedding 

Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark in action at Indian Wells, 2014 Photo: Rex

Caroline Wozniacki, the Danish tennis player, has spoken of her pain after her fiance, golfer Rory McIlroy, cancelled their wedding just days after they sent out the invitations.

Miss Wozniacki, 23, said on Twitter: “It's a hard time for me right now. Thanks for all the sweet messages!”

The Liverpool football supporter, who lives in Monaco, added: “Happy I support Liverpool right now because I know I'll never walk alone” in a reference to the club’s anthem, You’ll never walk alone.

Tennis player Serena Williams, the world number one, then sent her support to Miss Wozniacki, tweeting: "I'll always walk with you.#friendsforever."

Meanwhile, Chris Evert, the former world number one tennis player, said she was not suprised by the couple's separation.

Kings Rally Past Blackhawks 6-2 In Game 2

CHICAGO, IL – MAY 21: Corey Crawford #50 of the Chicago Blackhawks defends against Jeff Carter #77 of the Los Angeles Kings in the third period of Game Two of the Western Conference Final during the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs at United Center on May 21, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Jeff Carter and the Los Angeles Kings know how to come back in the playoffs. This was no big deal compared to the first two rounds.
Carter scored three of Los Angeles’ six straight goals, and the Kings beat the Chicago Blackhawks 6-2 on Wednesday night to even the Western Conference final at a game apiece.
Tyler Toffoli and Jake Muzzin also scored in Los Angeles’ five-goal third period to help the Kings become the first visiting team to win in Chicago this postseason. The Blackhawks won their first seven home playoff games this year, but the Kings skated right by Chicago after the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks took a 2-0 lead in the second period.
“Just sticking with what we need to do,” Carter said. “You know, we got a good group of leaders in our room. We’ve been through comebacks and whatnot a lot lately. Obviously, not something we want to do. But we stick with it, grind it out, get the job done.”
The early deficit was just a small speed bump for Los Angeles, dubbed the comeback Kings for their play in the opening two rounds.
Los Angeles trailed 3-0 in its first playoff series against San Jose, and won four straight games to eliminate the Sharks. The Kings overcame a 3-2 series deficit in the second round against top-seeded Anaheim.
“We know we can win,” forward Jarret Stoll said. “That’s the bottom line. They’ve got a good team, but we feel we do too.”
Game 3 of the best-of-seven series is Saturday night in Los Angeles.
Nick Leddy and Ben Smith scored for Chicago, which won 3-1 in Game 1 on Sunday.
“The way it turned on a dime like that, I don’t know if we’ve seen a game like that all year where we’re doing everything all right and all of a sudden it was a disaster,” Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said.
Chicago was in position for its fourth consecutive win before Carter redirected Drew Doughty’s slap shot by Corey Crawford to tie it at 2 just 1:37 into the third. Muzzin then had another power-play score at 4:04 that gave Los Angeles the lead.
Once the Kings got going, they appeared to get almost anything they wanted against the sagging Blackhawks. Tanner Pearson set up goals by Toffoli at 8:59 and Carter at 14:44, and Carter added an empty-netter for his seventh of the playoffs.
“We knew the third period was going to be our best period in this series so far,” Doughty said. “We were just adamant in here about coming out, taking the pressure, getting a goal early and we did that.”
It was the first time Los Angeles had five goals in single postseason period since May 7, 1993, against Vancouver, according to STATS. Wayne Gretzky had two of those goals and watched Wednesday’s game from a suite at the United Center.
It was the most goals allowed by the Blackhawks in a playoff game since a 6-1 loss to Detroit on May 24, 2009.
“Obviously, things unraveled during the third,” Chicago forward Patrick Sharp said. “We’re not happy. And we’re looking forward to getting on the plane and making up for it in Game 3.”
Jonathan Quick made 23 saves for the Kings, including a big stop on Brent Seabrook with Chicago trying for a 3-0 lead in the second.
The Blackhawks got off to a strong start, using their speed to draw four penalties in the first period alone. Brandon Saad was responsible for two of the calls, making a pair of nice moves that ended with Matt Greene in the box for hooking and Doughty sent off for holding.
Leddy put Chicago in front with a power-play goal at 14:16 of the first, and Smith beat Quick on a line change to make 2-0 at 1:40 of the second. It was Leddy’s second career playoff goal. He also scored on April 21, 2012, at Phoenix.
The Blackhawks had another prime scoring chance when Kris Versteeg made a nice pass to Seabrook on a 2-on-1, but Quick got over to make a nice stop on the defenseman’s shot.
“Just trying to get it over the post,” Quick said. “Fortunate to get a piece of it.”
Quick’s play on Seabrook provided more time for the Kings to get back in the game, and they took advantage when Mike Richards’ pass to the crease went off Justin Williams’ right skate and past Crawford with 1:46 left in the second.
Williams’ sixth goal of the playoffs cut Chicago’s lead to 2-1 after two, and the Kings carried the momentum over to their big third period.

Rory McIlroy Discusses Breakup With Caroline Wozniacki

Rory McIlroy spoke to the news media Wednesday in advance of the BMW PGA Championship. Credit Ian Walton/Getty Images

VIRGINIA WATER, England — Appearing at times on the verge of tears, Rory McIlroy kept his date with the news media Wednesday in advance of this week’s BMW PGA Championship, the European Tour’s flagship event, holding a news conference the same morning that he announced the end of his five-month engagement to the tennis star Caroline Wozniacki.

In a statement made public by his communications team, McIlroy said, “The wedding invitations issued at the weekend made me realize that I wasn’t ready for all that marriage entails.”

He added, “I wish Caroline all the happiness she deserves and thank her for the great times we’ve had.”

McIlroy, 25, looked as if he wanted to fold into himself during the question-and-answer session that lasted 6 minutes 40 seconds. His arms were crossed and his gaze kept returning to his hands. “Yeah, obviously quite a difficult time for Caroline and myself,” he said, adding, “It was mutual and amicable and we both thought it was the best for us, the best for both of us. Time to move on and I think I’ve said all that I need to say.”

Rory McIlroy and Caroline Wozniacki at a tennis tournament in Eastbourne, England, during happier times last June. Credit Jan Kruger/Getty Images

Was he tempted to pull out of the tournament to escape the public eye as he mourns the end of a romantic relationship that, from their first meeting in 2011 at a championship boxing match, played out in the fishbowl that is social media?

“No, I didn’t think there was any reason to do that,” McIlroy said. “There’s no good time to sort of end a relationship, I guess.”

He added: “The European Tour has been very good to me over the last number of years, and I thought it was my duty to come back and play in this event. You know, once I gave my word that I would, I wasn’t going to go back on it.”

Asked how tough a decision it was to break off the engagement, McIlroy struggled to maintain his composure. “Look, I’m no different than anyone else,” he said. “Everyone has been through breakups and it’s obviously very, very difficult.”

The moderator asked if there were any questions for McIlroy about golf. “At least you’re at a golf course that you love,” one journalist began, which made everyone in the room, starting with McIlroy, laugh.

“Yeah, look, I’ve enjoyed my times here,” he said.

McIlroy, a former world No. 1 whose ranking has fallen to 10th, acknowledged that it was going to be tough to keep his mind on golf. “I’m not going to lie,” he said. “It’s going to be very difficult. But at least when I get inside the ropes, just try and concentrate on the shot at hand.”

His afternoon pro-am pairing promised to offer McIlroy the refuge he seemed to be so desperately seeking. He was paired with Teddy Sheringham, Peter Schmeichel and Phil Neville, three legends from Manchester United, his favorite soccer team. In 1999, all three were in the squad that defeated Bayern Munich in the Champions League final, a result that made McIlroy, then 10 years old, very happy.

'The Shield' actor Michael Jace charged in wife's shooting death

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Michael Jace, who played a Los Angeles cop in TV's "The Shield," has been arrested in the fatal shooting of his wife, police said Tuesday.

Police found April Jace, 40, shot to death in her south Los Angeles home Monday night, Los Angeles Police Det. Lyman Doster said.

Michael Jace, 51, called 911 to report that his wife had been shot, Det. Dean Vinluan said, adding that he "was on the phone with the operator." Neighbors who heard gunshots also called 911, he said
"At this moment, the motive of the murder is believed to be domestic violence," a police statement said.

Investigators detained Jace at the couple's Hyde Park-area home Monday night and booked the actor on a homicide charge early Tuesday, according to Doster.

Jace was booked into a Los Angeles jail with bail set at $1 million.

CNN has been unable to find the name of any lawyer Jace may have hired to defend him in this homicide case. He is not expected to appear in court before Thursday, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney said.

Two children were in the home when their mother was shot, Vinluan said. The children, whose ages he would not reveal, were taken to a police station and then handed over to a representative of California's Department of Children and Family Services, he said.

Investigators have found no reports of domestic violence between the husband and wife at their south Los Angeles residence, LAPD Det. Iasparro said.

A woman described as a close friend of his first wife said in a sworn statement that she witnessed Jace physically abusing his wife in 1997. The declaration was in court records from Jace's 2005 custody case concerning his son with Jennifer Bitterman.

Jace "choked and hit" his wife and "slammed her against the wall while (their infant son) screamed in his crib next to her," Maria De Le Vegas said in the sworn declaration obtained by CNN.

Jace "was raging and out of control, and seeing the extent of his anger was one of the most terrifying things I have ever seen," she said.

Jace appeared to be suffering severe financial strain in recent years, according to court documents obtained by CNN. The actor filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in March 2011, citing $500,000 in debts and an annual income of around $80,000 from residuals from his TV and film work, the documents said.

Jace had defaulted on the $411,000 mortgage on the south Los Angeles home where his wife died, according to the documents. His bankruptcy case is still active, according to his lawyer.

He married April Jace in June 2003, a year after divorcing his first wife, with whom he shared a son who is now a teen.

The FX police drama "The Shield" was the biggest and longest-running role in Jace's 22-year acting career. He appeared in 89 episodes as Julien Lowe, who started as a rookie officer in an inner-city Los Angeles police precinct in 2002 and rose through the ranks to become a detective before the series ended in 2008, according to the Internet Movie Database.

Malik Bendjelloul dies: 'Searching for Sugar Man' director was 36

Aug. 20, 2012: Swedish Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Malik Bendjelloul appears in this file photo.AP/TT NEWS AGENCY

Malik Bendjelloul, the Swedish director of the acclaimed "Searching for Sugar Man" documentary, was widely known for his enthusiasm, kindness and high spirits — so the news Wednesday that he had taken his own life shocked colleagues around the world.
Bendjelloul's brother Johar Bendjelloul confirmed to The Associated Press that his 36-year-old younger brother committed suicide Tuesday. He told daily Aftonbladet that his brother had struggled with depression for a short period.
"Life is not always simple," Johar Bendjelloul was quoted as saying, adding that receiving the message that his brother had committed suicide was the worst thing he had ever experienced.
"I don't know how to handle it. I don't know," he said.
Police would not comment on the cause of death but said they suspected no foul play.
Bendjelloul rose to international fame in 2013 when his debut feature film, "Searching for Sugar Man," won an Oscar for best documentary. The film tells the story of Detroit-based singer-songwriter Sixto Rodriguez, who had flopped in the United States but became a superstar in apartheid-era South Africa without even knowing about it.
"He made a great film and will be missed," U.S. documentary film maker Michael Moore wrote on Twitter.
British film producer Simon Chinn, who produced "Searching for Sugar Man," said he was shocked and deeply saddened by the news of his friend's passing.
"It seems so unbelievable," Chinn told the AP over the telephone. "He had everything to live for."
Chinn said he saw Bendjelloul only two weeks ago in London.
"He was so full of life, hope and optimism and happiness, and looking forward to the future and future collaborations," he said. "The idea that he is no longer is just too hard to process."
The soft-spoken Bendjelloul worked as a reporter for Sweden's public broadcaster SVT before resigning to backpack around the world. He got the idea for "Searching for Sugar Man" during one of his trips, but it would take him more than four years to complete the film.
He reached out to Chinn when the film was 90 percent finished, but his main sponsor had withdrawn support, saying the film was lousy.
"He just kind of came in with his bounce of enthusiasm and charm and smiling eyes and I was completely won over by him," Chinn recalled Wednesday.
"He had found this amazing story and was completely determined to do it justice," he said. "The fact that no one else believed in it didn't seem to deter him, he just kind of pursued it with incredible passion and tenacity that I hadn't really ever seen before in a filmmaker.

Van Gundy to coach, run front office

Stan Van Gundy will return to the sideline as coach and president of basketball operations for the Pistons, according to sources.

The Detroit Pistons have signed Stan Van Gundy to a contract make him their new coach and president of basketball operations, according to sources with knowledge of the talks.
The team is expected to announce the deal later Wednesday and will hold a news conference on Thursday.
Sources told ESPN.com on Tuesday night that Van Gundy and the Pistons had verbally agreed to a five-year pact worth an estimated $35 million, with an official announcement expected as early as Wednesday.
Despite strong interest from the Golden State Warriors, who sources say had established Van Gundy as their top target to succeed the ousted Mark Jackson, Detroit managed to trump Van Gundy's hometown team with the offer of personnel control on top of coaching duties.
Sources indicated earlier Tuesday that the Warriors were resigned to Van Gundy accepting Detroit's substantial offer, which, prompted Golden State officials to immediately head to Oklahoma City to make one last attempt to convince Steve Kerr to walk away from his expected deal to coach the New York Knicks.
But sources told ESPN.com on Tuesday night that, despite the Warriors' last-ditch press, negotiations between Kerr and the Knicks have been in "the final stages" for more than a week, with one source close to the talks saying he'd be "shocked" if the TNT broadcaster didn't wind up as the first coach hired by new Knicks president Phil Jackson.
The Pistons have been looking for their own new face of basketball operations for the first time in more than a decade after Detroit legend Joe Dumars left his post in April. After also firing first-year coach Maurice Cheeks just 50 games into the season, Pistons owner Tom Gores settled on Van Gundy and elected to give him final say over basketball decisions -- despite Van Gundy's lack of front-office experience -- to trump the lure of going back to his native Northern California to coach the Warriors, who won 51 games during the regular season and sport a more attractive overall roster headlined by established superstar Stephen Curry.
Van Gundy instead will take over a team that boasted some of the worst chemistry in the league this past season but features top young big man Andre Drummond as a player to build around. The fate of Pistons interim coach John Loyer was not immediately known, but Loyer is under contract with Detroit for one more season.
With Van Gundy bound for Detroit and Kerr still widely expected to land in New York, Golden State is at risk of missing out on its top two candidates to replace Mark Jackson. ESPN.com reported shortly after Golden State's first-round playoff loss to the Los Angeles Clippers that Kerr and Van Gundy were the Warriors' two preferred targets.
Although the Warriors continue to hold out hope that they have a shot at Kerr as long as he remains unsigned by New York, sources close to the situation continue to express confidence that the Knicks ultimately will come to terms with the broadcaster. Kerr still is believed to be the only candidate under consideration by Phil Jackson.

Chinese Tesla Model S Customers to Receive Free License Plate Worth $15k

Each Chinese buyer of the Tesla Model S, which recently began sales in the booming Asian nation, will receive a free license plate. While that may not sound like anything noteworthy, in China at least, it is quite significant.
As part of the local government of Shanghai’s attempt to crack down on the number of new cars hitting the already congested roads, they require motorists to bid on license plates at government-organised auctions. Some people are so keen to get a license plate that they’re willing to pay up to $15,000 for them!
However, electric cars are exempted from this rule and typically receive a license plate free of charge. But that is typically only for locally made electric cars. Now, the Shanghai government has confirmed that it will grant special exemption’s to foreign made electric cars like the Tesla Model S.
The only catch is that the special exemption is only valid for 3000 cars from an electric automaker. Consequently, once 3000 examples of the Tesla Model S are sold in China, the Californian based automaker will have to apply for more exemptions from the Shanghai government.
Tesla confirmed the news in their Q1 2014 financial release stating, “Model S drivers in the city will be entitled to free license plates, thereby avoiding the usual public auction price of $10,000 to $15,000 per plate.”

David West Rips Indiana Pacers, Says 'We Didn't Show Up to Play' Game 5

Shooting streaks come and go, refs can call everything or nothing, but the one controllable part of professional sports is effort.

Frankly, the Indiana Pacers showed none of it in their humiliating 102-79 loss to the Washington Wizards Tuesday night. Pacers forward David West brought more intensity to his fiery postgame rant than his team displayed in a game that could have secured Indy's second consecutive Eastern Conference Finals appearance.
"We didn't show up to play," West said, via Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star. "I don't know if we thought we were just going to come in here and these guys were going to roll over...I just don't know where we were tonight."

First look at Ben Affleck in 'Batman vs. Superman'

The announced casting choice of Ben Affleck to play Batman in the upcoming "Man of Steel" sequel stirred lots of debate and produced the Twitter trend #BetterBatmanThanBenAffleck. Here's a look at those who could have played Batman on the big screen ...

(CNN) -- And we thought Christian Bale's Batman was buff.

Director Zack Snyder showed off his version of the crime-fighting superhero Tuesday on Twitter with the first images of Ben Affleck as Batman in the upcoming sequel to "Man of Steel."

Snyder teased on Monday that a reveal of the Batmobile was coming, but he snuck in a look at Affleck as a surprise.


project, which is being referred to as "Batman vs. Superman," is the first time the two superheroes will be on the big screen together.

Henry Cavill, who bore the "S" on his chest for "Man of Steel," will again play the man from Krypton.

Given how controversial Affleck's casting was, it's no surprise that critics have been eager to weigh in. But to some, it wasn't as bad as they thought it would be.

Frontier Airlines launches new non-stop flights from Dulles

Frontier Airlines jetliners sit at gates along the A concourse at Denver International Airport. (David Zalubowski/ AP)

This post has been updated and corrected. Frontier Airlines announced Tuesday that it will begin non-stop service to 14 new destinations, including Chicago, Las Vegas and Tampa, from Dulles International Airport. The expansion is a boost for Dulles, where the number of domestic flights has steadily decreased over the past few years, leaving some deeply concerned about the airport’s future. The number of domestic passengers traveling through Dulles decreased to 14.7 million between January 2013 and January 2014, a 6 percent drop. While some blamed weather for the decline in travel, the number of passengers at Dulles has been declining for several years. “The addition of Frontier to the Dulles family represents a significant, positive development for passengers interested in additional low-cost domestic travel options to and from the National Capital Region,” said Jack Potter, president and chief executive officer of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which manages Dulles and Reagan National airports, in a written statement. “With the Washington area economy growing and the Metrorail Silver Line on its way, Dulles will continue to fill the expanding air travel needs for the region and these new options from Frontier will play and important role.” To kick off the new flights, the airline is offering special $15-each-way fares (note the price does not include taxes and fees) taxes and fees included from Dulles to the new destinations. Travelers who want to book flights need to move quickly: The sale will only be on for 12-hours and applies to travel through Nov. 19.  Additional introductory fares as low as $39 each way (again, this doesn’t include taxes and fees) will be available for booking through May 17. And have patience — when we tried to access the website (hey, we like cheap fares just as much as anyone) we were unable to access it. When we tried again at 12:45 p.m. the site appeared to be back online. But others say they are getting error messages. A Frontier Airlines spokeswoman said they are aware of the problem.
Direct service to Atlanta, Charlotte, Orlando, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Chicago and Tampa will begin in August. Service to Cincinnati, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas, Memphis, Fort Myers, St. Louis and St. Augustine/Jacksonville (Fla.) will begin in September. One might wonder how Frontier is able to offer such low fares. It turns out the airline recently changed its fare structure, so that travelers may find themselves paying a la carte for services that used to be free. For example, the airline is now charging as much as $50 for placing bags in the overhead bin depending on which fare you purchase. See details here.  Frontier is a Denver-based low-cost carrier. It also offers service from Reagan National and Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall International airports.

Bruins call on experience

Before the playoffs began, the Bruins were the overwhelming favorites to represent the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup finals. They chewed through the second half of the regular season in a way few Bruins teams have, and they earned home-ice advantage throughout the postseason.
Tonight’s Game 7 at the Garden is the perfect opportunity to prove themselves as a top seed and erase memories of Game 6 in Montreal, where the Bruins appeared to be crumbling under the weight of that imaginary crown worn by favorites. And they will have to do it against a Canadiens team that now has the confidence of plucky underdogs who truly believe they have the giant on the ropes.
The two teams, of course, are a lot closer in strength and talent than David and Goliath, but it’s clear the Habs are running with that role.
“We’re going to have to win Game 7 to fully get Boston’s respect,” Canadiens winger Dale Weise said in the aftermath of Monday night’s 4-0 pummeling of the Bruins.
Weise has done everything possible to knock the B’s — namely Milan Lucic — down a peg. After scoring to give the Habs a 3-0 lead in Game 3, he mocked Lucic’s chest-thumping goal celebration. And then there was his Game 6 biceps-flexing, mimicking Lucic from the B’s winger’s Game 5 confrontation with P.K. Subban.
Tonight, the B’s have to ignore that noise. They also have to forget about Andrei Markov’s stick shot to Zdeno Chara’s groin that started a ruckus at the end of Game 6.
When you are the better team — and the Bruins are, however slim the margin — that stuff accomplishes nothing. This is Game 7. The only thing that matters is the hockey.
“You go in there, you give it your best shot, as a coach, as players, as a team, and you go from there,” B’s coach Claude Julien said yesterday. “We’ve been through those many times, and you hope that your experience is going to help you get through.”
The Bruins already have played eight Game 7’s in the Julien era, winning four. One of those victories came at the expense of the Habs in overtime in 2011, and the B’s went on to win the Cup. The winners of tonight’s contest can rightly believe they have a legitimate shot of capturing Lord Stanley’s giant beer mug, perhaps even more so than in 2011 when the teams met in the first round.
For that team to be the Bruins, something has to happen. The young defensemen have to regain the composure they’ve displayed during these playoffs but went missing Monday, and Tuukka Rask cannot fail to make the easy saves.
Most importantly, the B’s need better from their trusted veterans. Up front, they have relied too heavily on Carl Soderberg’s line. The trio (with Loui Eriksson and Matt Fraser) has played admirably in this series, but the strain began to show in Game 6.
David Krejci’s line has taken the most flak in this series, and deservedly so. It has been a shell of itself, and it would help if Lucic could get past his case of the yips.
But the Patrice Bergeron line, with Reilly Smith and Brad Marchand, also had a bad night Monday. Perhaps the team’s most consistent line in the postseason, it looked like a unit that was overthinking, sending ill-fated passes into occupied lanes and letting promising plays die on the vine.
And after a good performance in Game 5, the fourth line of Gregory Campbell, Daniel Paille and Shawn Thornton was not able to bring the energy it normally delivers.
Now is the time for everyone to play like favorites. And it wouldn’t hurt if captain Zdeno Chara picked up his game after being beaten for the game-changing Max Pacioretty goal Monday.

Consequences in Pittsburgh: What next for Penguins after losing Game 7 to Rangers?

PITTSBURGH — The last gasp of these Pittsburgh Penguins came late in the third period Tuesday night. Facing a one-goal deficit, facing elimination, facing the great Game 7 goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, they did what they were supposed to do. They went to the net, and they did it with desperation.

James Neal walked out in front and tried to score. Save. Kris Letang fired from the slot. Block. Paul Martin threw a backhander at the net. The puck skidded along the ice and hit a discarded stick near the knob right at the lip of the crease, and it ricocheted up, like a bad hop in baseball. Lundqvist had lost his own stick. Yet somehow, some way, he trapped the puck between his right arm and his body, and he held onto one of his 35 saves.

The Penguins suffered a 2-1 loss to the New York Rangers, and they lost in the second round after taking a 3-1 series lead, and there will be consequences. The only question is what they will be. The general manager? The coach? Part of the core?

Coach Dan Bylsma was asked afterward if he would think about the “inevitable” – a clear reference to a firing – and he could only laugh at the use of the word. Since winning the Stanley Cup in 2009, the Penguins have not been back to the final. They have been eliminated by a lower-seeded team five years in a row.

“The expectations are high here, as they should be,” said defenseman Matt Niskanen, a pending unrestricted free agent who might have priced himself out of Pittsburgh. “We all know that. And it comes down to performance and results. Right now just trying to comprehend what went wrong and how this happened. We’ll see what happens in the next couple days leading up to the next couple weeks.”

But say GM Ray Shero keeps his job, and he fires Bylsma, and he hires Barry Trotz, with whom he once worked as assistant GM of the Nashville Predators. And say Trotz instills more discipline and installs a tighter defensive system. And say they replace Marc-Andre Fleury with a new goaltender, too. Will that make the difference in the playoffs? Because when you look at why the Penguins were eliminated the past two years, the reason wasn’t just discipline or defense or even goaltending ultimately.

It was also, of all things, offense.

Even though they had MVPs and scoring champions in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, even though they had Neal and Letang and Chris Kunitz, even though they were one of the NHL’s highest-scoring teams in the regular season, they could not score against the Boston Bruins last year and could not score against the Rangers in the end this year. They scored two goals as they were swept by the Bruins in the Eastern Conference final – two. They scored three goals as they lost three in a row to the Rangers – three.

Crosby will win the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player in June, hands down. He ran away with the scoring title this season with 36 goals and 104 points – 17 points more than anyone else. He was one of the best possession players in the league through the first two rounds of the playoffs. When he was on the ice, the Penguins controlled 61.6 percent of the shot attempts, an outstanding amount.

Yet he had one goal and nine points in 13 playoff games – and his goal drought stretched to one goal in 18 playoff games. For the first time in his career, he did not average a point a game in the playoffs. For the first time since 2007, when he had five points in five games in his first run, he did not average more than a point a game in the playoffs. He did not record a point as the Penguins lost their last three games.

Crosby said he was healthy, so if he’s telling the truth, it wasn’t because of an injury. He doesn’t seem to go to the net as hard or as often as he did before he suffered concussion problems, but that didn’t stop him from producing in the first two rounds last year. He had Kunitz on his left, and he had Malkin on his right often in this series, so it wasn’t a lack of wingers, either.

Firefighters wary of hot winds fanning San Diego-area wildfire

A helicopter drops water near the Rancho Santa Fe neighborhood of San Diego on Tuesday, May 13. A wildfire forced the evacuation of more than 20,000 homes in Southern California, officials said, as a high-pressure system brought unseasonable heat and gusty winds to the parched state.

(CNN) -- Hundreds of firefighters were battling Wednesday to contain a San Diego wildfire, concerned that California's so-called devil winds would ignite flareups, authorities said.

Authorities were concerned that hot, dry gusts called Santa Ana winds would set back their efforts since Tuesday morning to contain the wildfire, which improved overnight to 25% from 5%, said Cal Fire incident commander Ray Chaney.

The fire has burned 1,584 acres and prompted an evacuation Tuesday of 5,000 homes in San Diego and selected areas, authorities said. By Tuesday night, those residents had an "orderly return" to their homes, San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman said.

As of Wednesday morning, no structures were damaged, and only two minor injuries -- for smoke exposure and heat-related illness -- were reported, Chaney said.

In addition to the Santa Ana winds, 350 firefighters were expecting single-digit humidity, Chaney said.

"It does put us on edge," Chaney said of the forecast. "The weather is a very big concern for us."

Added Rancho Santa Fe Fire Department Chief Tony Michel: "The winds are going to be a problem."

"The battle isn't over," said San Diego Mayor Kevin L. Faulconer. "We have had crews out there that have worked all night."

The cause of the blaze, called the Bernardo Fire, is still under investigation, he said.

At one point Tuesday, parents were told to pick up their children from three elementary schools because of the fire.

"It has been, to say the least, a very challenging day for local fire agencies and law enforcement agencies," San Diego Fire Chief Javier Mainar said. "It is unusual in May to have wind-driven fires like this that prove to be such a challenge to contain."

Michel agreed, saying there's a long, hot summer ahead. "This is going to be a pretty severe fire season," he said. "We're in a prolonged drought."

The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for areas around San Diego through 8 p.m. Wednesday. As the agency noted, "a red flag warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now or will shortly," with strong winds, low humidity and warm temperatures feeding into "extreme fire behavior."

What happened on the controversial out of bounds call? (USATSI)

More postseason coverage: Playoff schedule, results | Latest news, notes
The controversy at the end of the Oklahoma City Thunder's 105-104 Game 5 win over the Los Angeles Clippers was palpable.
As Reggie Jackson drove the lane in a sudden transition opportunity, Matt Barnes swiped at the ball, made contact with the left hand of Jackson, and the ball popped loose and went out of bounds. The ruling on the floor by the officiating crew of Bennett Salvatore, Tony Brothers and Tom Washington was that the ball was off of Barnes and it would be Thunder ball on the baseline. Since we were in the last two minutes and video review was available, the officials went over to the monitor.

EyeOn

Basketball

Trying to make sense of Clippers-Thunder out of bounds call

By Zach Harper | NBA writer

May 14, 2014 2:21 am ET

What happened on the controversial out of bounds call? (USATSI)

More postseason coverage: Playoff schedule, results | Latest news, notes
The controversy at the end of the Oklahoma City Thunder's 105-104 Game 5 win over the Los Angeles Clippers was palpable.
As Reggie Jackson drove the lane in a sudden transition opportunity, Matt Barnes swiped at the ball, made contact with the left hand of Jackson, and the ball popped loose and went out of bounds. The ruling on the floor by the officiating crew of Bennett Salvatore, Tony Brothers and Tom Washington was that the ball was off of Barnes and it would be Thunder ball on the baseline. Since we were in the last two minutes and video review was available, the officials went over to the monitor.
Here's the play one more time:
There are some rules and guidelines at play here, but first we should get to why Brothers and his crew decided it should remain Thunder ball. After the game, Brothers released a statement on the controversial ruling that has Clippers fans (and fans of teams who probably don't want to face the Thunder later in the playoffs) so incensed.

When the ball goes out of bounds, the ball was awarded to Oklahoma City. We go review the play. We saw two replays. The two replays we saw were from the overhead camera showing down, and the one from under the basket showing the same angle but from a different view. And from those two replays, it was inconclusive as to who the ball went out of bounds off of. When it's inconclusive, we have to go with the call that was on the floor.

Um ... what?
I'm going to watch the replay again. Yep, it's quite conclusive what happened. Jackson had both hands on the ball and Barnes swiped down. Barnes made contact with the left hand, causing the ball to come loose from Jackson's grasp. The ball went out of bounds off of Jackson's right hand, which is causing the controversy here.
Rule 8 Section II - c of the NBA rulebook states:

If a player has his hand in contact with the ball and an opponent hits the hand causing the ball to go out-of-bounds, the team whose player had his hand on the ball will retain possession.

There are two ways this is being interpreted on social media right now. One side of the argument is saying that since Jackson had both hands on the ball, Barnes slapping one of the hands and the ball going out of bounds is within the rule for the Thunder retaining possession of the ball. It doesn't matter which hand is being hit because both were in contact with the ball, regardless of him being in the process of transferring the ball strictly to his right hand.

Ralph Waite: Mark Harmon talks about Waite’s death, says ‘bye dad’ on ‘NCIS’

The prolific actor worked in television for decades, but is most famous for his role as the father figure on the iconic '70s TV show.on.aol.com

Ralph Waite “was a man's man,” says Mark Harmon about the incredible man who played his “NCIS” dad Jackson Gibbs. Ralph Waite touched the hearts of many as John Walton, Sr., on the 1972–1981 CBS TV series “The Waltons." He was part of the "NCIS" team beginning in season six. During the show's season finale on Tuesday, Mark Harmon and the rest of the cast will say their final good-byes to the beloved man. “Though NCIS season finales are known for being action-packed cliff-hangers, the final episode of Season 11 may have fans reaching for tissues rather than sitting on the edge of their seats,” reports The Randolph County Herald Tribune on May 12.
Ralph Waite’s death on Feb. 13, 2014, was unexpected to those who saw the American actor perform as a strong man on “NCIS.” For Waite’s longtime friend Jerry Preece, however, it was more of a matter of nature taking its course, reported The Desert Sun. Preece used to spent a lot of time with his friend eating at different restaurants and going to the movies. On Feb. 13, when he arrived at the 85-year-old actor’s Palm Desert home around 11 a.m., he was met by ambulances and Waite’s wife Linda.
“She just told me she thought he’d passed,” Preece said. “We had talked a lot about it ... he had been ill on and off lately and had a couple of spells in the hospitals. Everything was just wearing out. This last year or two, he had really gotten closer to realizing that his body was wearing out.” Preece said his friend died of a “tired heart.”
Mark Harmon plays Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Jackson Gibb’s (Ralph Waite’s) son on “NCIS.” Like Waite’s friend Preece, Harmon also saw the signs of age in the 85-year-old man. “He loved being here [on location], and we loved having him.” But off camera, Harmon says that “you’d see little crinkles, little skips, little different things – nothing too bad. But when someone said, ‘Action,’ and the camera got turned on, you’d better be bolted to the floor, because he was going to take you into the next country.”
Like Preece, Harmon found out about Waite’s death from a family member. “I got a call from Liam, Ralph’s son,” he said. He then told the show’s creator Gary Glasberg and the other cast members. “The loss is big,” said Harmon following the news of Waite’s death, “but the other part is the gift we had for as many years as we had him here.”
For Harmon, loss has become a part of his role as Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Sasha Alexander, who had played Kate, left, and so did Cote de Pablo, who had played Ziva. With fans being divided about the newbie character of Ellie Bishop (Emily Wickersham), it is somewhat questionable how long she will last. Many fans miss the chemistry that existed between Harmon and Cote de Pablo. As for Waite, there will be no replacement for dad. In the “NCIS” finale, Gibbs is “dealing with the realities people deal with when they lose a loved one,” says Glasberg.

Alien designer HR Giger: 'I am afraid of my visions'

His human-machine fusions, with weapons, teeth, and occult symbols – a visual aesthetic at once unreal and recognisable – changed film monsters for ever. What more could we ask for?

Part crustacean, part deformed reflection of us' … an Alien sculpture at the HR Giger museum, Switzerland. Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images

As Ian Holm tells the crew of the Nostromo before sputtering out of juice, the Alien is the "perfect organism". "It's structural perfection is matched only by its hostility … I admire its purity." He had a point. The creature in Alien and its many spin-offs was, and still is, one of the most genuinely alien things the movies have ever given us – the perfect movie monster.
Up to that point in 1979, screen horrors were still very much of this earth: psycho-killers, werewolves, spirits, sharks, that sort of thing. Suddenly, here was a creature both incomprehensible and relatable. It had a biological credibility, with its acid for blood and its bizarre, parasitic life cycle. It looked like an egg, then a sort-of crustacean, then, ultimately, one of us. Or a hideously deformed reflection of us, with its oversized head, its spindly limbs, its lack of eyes, its telescopic jaw. Like every great monster, Alien chimes with our deepest fears – death, sex, bodily violation, all iced over with the chill of the uncanny.
It took an out-there imagination to dream it up, and HR Giger was undoubtedly the man for the job. Apparently even other crew members were spooked on set by this softly spoken Swiss man, who dressed all in black and preferred to loiter, Dracula-like, in the shadows. There were rumours he kept the bones of his dead wife, Li Tobler, in his studio. They turned out to be untrue, though Giger was very much in touch with the dark side. As a child, he claims to have been beset by regular nightmares. Tobler, the model for many of his early works, had committed suicide in 1975, after an apparently tumultuous and bohemian marriage. That only fed further into his disturbing visions. Alien's co-writer Dan O'Bannon later recalled meeting Giger for the first time, in a Paris hotel. Giger offered him some opium. O'Bannon asked why he took it. "I am afraid of my visions," Giger replied. "It's just your mind," O'Bannon said. Giger responded: "That is what I am afraid of."
Before Alien, Giger primarily considered himself an artist. It was at an exhibition in Paris in the mid-1970s that he was spotted by another psychedelic visionary, Alejandro Jodorowsky, and co-opted into the movie industry. The story of Jodorowsky's unmade Dune project is the stuff of legend (and documentary – Frank Pavich made an entertaining film about it last year). Before it fell apart, Jodorowsky had assembled a host of talents including French comics scion Moebius, British sci-fi illustrator Chris Foss and writer/special effects Dan O'Bannon. Not to mention a cast including Orson Welles, Gloria Swanson and Salvador Dalí.
It was O'Bannon who brought Giger on to Ridley Scott's movie, and the rest is movie history, but Giger's commercial success all but destroyed his credentials as a fine artist. By the 1970s, he had established an aesthetic he never deviated from: disturbing, obscene fusions of machine-like parts, women's bodies, skulls, bones, weapons, teeth, tentacles, occult symbology. Not a particularly novel iconography, you could say, but it was really about the execution. He's often associated with surrealists such as Dalí or doomy symbolists like Arnold Böcklin (Giger once did a homage to Böcklin's famous Isle of the Dead), but Giger's precisely detailed, airbrushed, colour-leached style was all of its own, bringing to mind ancient temple carvings, the elegant lines of art nouveau, and modern technical drawings.
Giger's imprint can be seen in countless subsequent attempts to imagine aliens and alien worlds, but the movies have yet to come up with anything as bracingly terrifying as Alien. His iconography has also been adopted wholesale by gothic subculture, which has diminished its impact somewhat. Rather than the dark reaches of the human psyche, Giger's imagery is now more likely to bring to mind tattoo parlours, fetish clubs and 1990s cyberpunk. In his later career, his work also devolved into semi-pornographic self-parody, it must be said. But having created an aesthetic unique enough to earn its own adjective, it would be unfair to demand more of Giger. He's done plenty enough. He seems to have genuinely gazed into the abyss. What he brought back was mercifully filtered through a refined visual sensibility. "Sometimes people only see horrible, terrible things in my paintings," Giger once said. "I tell them to look again, and they may see two elements in my paintings – the horrible things and the nice things."

Magic Johnson in CNN exclusive: I'm going to pray for Donald Sterling

Magic Johnson: I was just blown away

(CNN) -- Magic Johnson has some advice for Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling: Sell the team, take the money and enjoy the rest of your life.

A day after Sterling appeared on CNN slamming the NBA legend's character, his battle with HIV and his community outreach efforts, Johnson said Tuesday that he feels sorry for the 80-year-old billionaire.

"It's sad. It really is. I'm going to pray for this ... man," Johnson told CNN's Anderson Cooper in an exclusive interview.

Sterling's explosive CNN interview that aired Monday night was the first time he had spoken publicly since audio recordings surfaced last month of him making racist remarks. Reaction to the taped remarks came fast and furious, and the NBA responded with a lifetime ban for Sterling.

Johnson became an involuntary figure in the controversy after Sterling named him in the leaked recording.

"Admire him, bring him here, feed him, f**k him, but don't put (Magic) on an Instagram for the world to have to see so they have to call me," Sterling is heard telling friend V. Stiviano.

Johnson told Cooper he is still waiting for an apology from Sterling for getting roped into Sterling's fight with Stiviano, and Johnson called the Monday interview -- in which Sterling directed another tirade at the NBA legend -- "disturbing."

"What's really sad is, it's not about me," Johnson said. "This is about the woman you love outing you and taping you and putting your conversation out here for everybody to know. ... This is between you two, but then he wants to include me."

Johnson said he had only met with Sterling three or four times, and most of those discussions had focused on basketball. Johnson couldn't say if the Clippers owner has slipped mentally

Sterling "seems like he's all there," Johnson said. "But the problem is, he's living in the stone ages."

Johnson: Sterling called me

Sterling went on the offensive in his interview with Cooper when Johnson's name came up, blaming the basketball Hall of Famer for Sterling's delay in apologizing for the racist remarks that have him now fighting to keep his team.

"Wait, be patient, I'll help you, we'll work it out," Sterling said the NBA legend told him.

Not so, Johnson said Tuesday.

In fact, Johnson told CNN, Sterling called him recently and asked him to appear alongside him in an interview with ABC's Barbara Walters.

"I said the number one thing you need to do which you haven't done is apologize to everybody, and myself," Johnson said. "(Sterling replied) 'I'll get to that. I'll get to that.'"

The former NBA star told Sterling that the billionaire businessman needed to consult with attorneys, stressing that the controversy was bigger than Sterling realized.

Johnson said Sterling was adamant about Johnson doing the interview, even reaching out a second time. Johnson said his attorneys advised him not to have any further conversations with the embattled owner.

Sterling never did the interview with Walters.

"I'm really disturbed by the fact that when he called me he should have said, 'Magic, I'm sorry,'" Johnson said

Actor Alec Baldwin arrested after riding bike wrong way

Alec Baldwin is taken into custody by New York police after allegedly riding his bike the wrong way on Fifth Avenue on Tuesday, May 13. It's not the first time the "30 Rock" star has found his personal matters aired in public.

New York (CNN) -- Actor Alec Baldwin was arrested Tuesday and issued two summonses -- one for disorderly conduct -- after riding a bicycle the wrong way on a New York street, police said.

The "30 Rock" star allegedly became angry and started yelling at police after they asked him for identification to give him a summons, police said. The other summons was for riding a bike against the flow of traffic. Baldwin is to appear in court July 24.

"Police stated that he got belligerent and started arguing with them and using profanity," Deputy Chief Kim Y. Royster said.

Baldwin was not carrying identification and police took him into custody, police said.

The actor reportedly became angry at the officers, yelling "Give me the summons already," a law enforcement official said.

After his release, Baldwin took to Twitter, posting the badge number of the officer he said arrested him and saying, "photographers outside my home ONCE AGAIN terrified my daughter and nearly hit her with a camera. The police did nothing."

In another tweet, he lamented, "New York City is a mismanaged carnival of stupidity that is desperate for revenue and anxious to criminalize behavior once thought benign."

Once in custody, Baldwin was taken to a nearby precinct, where he reportedly asked the desk supervisor: "How old are these officers, that they don't know who I am?" according to a law enforcement official.

Baldwin was stopped for riding a bicycle the wrong way on Fifth Avenue and 16th Street, police said.

In a statement, a representative for Baldwin said, "He is back home with his family."

This follows an incident last year that sparked media attention.

In November, Baldwin made headlines after chasing a photographer outside his Manhattan apartment and using an anti-gay slur toward the man, according to TMZ.

"Get away from my wife and the baby with the camera," said Baldwin, who could be heard yelling on video taken of the incident.

Baldwin later posted a statement on MSNBC's website saying, "I did not intend to hurt or offend anyone with my choice of words, but clearly I have -- and for that I am deeply sorry. Words are important. I understand that, and will choose mine with great care going forward."

Last August, Baldwin was photographed holding a photographer's arms behind his back and pinning him over the hood of a parked car. Baldwin and the photographer called 911, but no charges were filed.

In 2012, a New York Daily News photographer accused Baldwin of assault. Baldwin said the photographer bumped him with his camera.

'X-Men' producer says Channing Tatum will play Gambit, teases other spinoffs

Channing Tatum had earlier said he was in serious talks for an "X-Men" role

(EW.com) -- "Days of Future Past" promises to fit more X-Men into an "X-Men" movie than any "X-Men" movie ever before. Naturally, the curious moviegoer is led to ask: Could the next "X-Men" movie possibly feature even more X-Men, as we evolve towards the ultimate singularity moment when life will be measured not in time but in unconfirmed "X-Men" casting rumors?

EW: Channing Tatum is in talks to play a very famous X-Man

Current franchise steersman Bryan Singer has told French magazine Cine Premiere that he'd like to fit Gambit and Nightcrawler into 2016′s "X-Men: Apocalypse." Now series producer Lauren Shuler Donner has kinda-sorta-completely confirmed that Gambit will be joining the franchise...and that he'll be played by Channing Tatum.

Talking to TotalFilm in a video interview, Shuler Donner is very bullish that Tatum is involved. (The "21 Jump Street" star previously told MTV he was in serious talks for the role.)

EW: 'X-Men' - Could Jennifer Lawrence's Mystique get the next spin-off film?

"He's a rogue, Channing. He's a rascal." Shuler Donner doesn't specifically say how Tatum would join the franchise, nor does she even come close to mentioning how Tatum's Gambit will be different from Taylor Kitsch's Gambit in that movie that never happened. (Worth pointing out that this could still be a pre-contract almost-definite thing, not a fully contracted definite thing.)

But there appear to be a few options for bringing Tatum into the fold. Besides "Apocalypse" and 2017′s "Wolverine" threequel, Shuler Donner tells TotalFilm that she is still pulling for a "Deadpool" movie and an "X-Force spinoff. "X-Force" is fascinating," says Shuler Donner. "It allows us to be a little grittier."

And We Lucked Out With The Blacklist

Did you catch the amazing season finale for The Blacklist? Liz and Red were awesome together! Sounds like it's an off-screen thing, too.

You made it through The Blacklist's Season 1 finale. Are you breathing again yet? If you love the show as much as we do, you're no doubt counting the days until the Season 2 premiere. You've spent the entire season watching as Liz and Red bounced off each other: first as enemies, then as accomplices. You've also no doubt believed all along that Red was most likely Liz's father despite his inability to come out and say so. Despite the fact that Red once again refused to share the info with Liz, your beliefs were confirmed by the burns all over Red's back at the very end of the finale. Despite sensing that all along, we still totally gasped.

Megan Boone chats about the action-packed season finale >>

With such an interesting on-screen relationship, we wondered how Megan Boone (Liz) and James Spader (Red) got along together. Do they get along? What's Spader like in person? Luckily, we got our answers.
"We've gotten closer throughout the season," Boone shared. "I've learned, as you do with co-workers, you learn more about the person so you can be of service to them more. And that was always important to me. I wanna be of service to James because I'm grateful for his presence."
What a great way to look at the relationship between two co-stars. There would probably be a lot more hit shows if everyone treated their off-screen relationships the same way Boone does. She seems truly impressed by Spader, too. She expounded on her appreciation for him.
"I think he's an incredible actor," Boone said. "And I feel honored to be his co-star, I think anyone would be on a show like this. And I think that really is the driving force in my approach to our relationship."

Sweet! The Blacklist is picked up for Season 2 >>

Just how much of a stand-up guy is Spader? It turns out he's pretty freaking spectacular. Boone shared that Spader even takes time off-camera to get to know his co-star and offer up words of wisdom to the actress. She's by no means an amateur, but she's still newer to the business than Spader, and it sounds as if he's sort of taken her under his wing.
"The lighter moments for me have been when he will come by my dressing room and just sit with me and talk to me about the life of being an actor," Boone said. What do they talk about? "How it's more important to be a good person than to be caught up in the artist's mystique. You know, being an artist can make you think I can be any way I want to to my wife and any way I want to to my kids. And none of that matters, I can treat people around me the way I want because I'm a great artist. But he holds it very dear to him that it's more important to be good to people, and that's clear in the way he treats people on-set and the way he treats me."
True story: We're wishing we could hang out with Spader and let him impart some of that kindness and wisdom onto us. Boone is in an amazing and unique position to get to act alongside him and she recognizes that.
"I got lucky, guys. I feel like I got really lucky with him," Boone said. "I feel like if he ends up being my co-star for years to come, I think that that would be a wonderful situation. It already has been. It's been one of the most memorable experiences in my life so far this year on The Blacklist."
We feel like we got pretty lucky, too. Between our time with Boone and the chance to see her and Spader on-screen together, we think karma seems to be smiling down on us. We can't wait to see what's in store for them in Season 2.

Dolly Parton Talks 'Blue' Album, Gay Fans and Willie Nelson's 'Dork' Days

"They know I understand what it's like to be me, and to fight for being myself," Parton says of why she's always had a large following in the LGBT community

Dolly Parton doesn't really do "small," and that trait has informed her genre-spanning 42nd studio album "Blue Smoke," which is out today. The legend recently hosted a press event in Nashville to talk about the new album -- which covers about as much musical ground as any she has ever released.

She told Billboard that the diverse mix of music on the album was intentional. "I didn't know what I wanted to do as far as a record right now," she admitted. "It's so hard to know, as I don't usually get played on the radio so much anymore. So, I don't really try to tailor make things for radio. I try to do things that I think my fans would want to hear, and things that mean something to me. I thought 'Well, I've been around this long, and I've had the chance to do some of everything. I just wanted to put together a record, and I wrote in the liner notes that I felt this was a culled assortment of all of the things I had done through the years. I'm a girl of many colors, and this was an album of many colors. I think it touched on the bluegrass, the gospel, the more pop things, and the rock things. I think it just has a good variety, and that was on purpose."

Parton said the title of the album has been floating around inside her psyche for a while now. "When I first started doing my bluegrass stuff, I always thought that would make a great title for a bluegrass band. I didn't do anything with that, but I loved the title. So, I thought 'I need to write a song about 'Blue Smoke' of some kind, and wondered what that would be. I thought maybe a train, so I wrote it a long time ago. Then, when I put together a tour and an album, that song kept coming back to me. Of course, it also represented the blue smoke that rises off the Smoky Mountains. It was just one of those things where it kept coming around and coming around, plus the other part of it was there were so much bluegrass influences. It just seemed to fit all those things."

The album also contains a pair of collaborations with artists that Parton has a deep connection with -- the Grammy-nominated "You Can't Make Old Friends" with Kenny Rogers, as well as "From Here To The Moon And Back," a cut with Willie Nelson that originally appeared on last year's "To All The Girls" disc.