 February 21st, 2012  Stub.com
 It sure is going to be a long four months waiting for Christopher Nolan’s final Batman film, entitled The Dark Knight Rises. And it’s going to be an even longer period of time after summer 2012, as Hollywood scrambles to find another director capable of delivering the same explosive, exciting thrills as the last two Batman films. If you’re feeling low in spirits then take heart–not only will Batman soon return to Gotham City, but Batman is coming straight to you! What’s that, you say? Batman is stalking you? Yes, yes he is…and he’s appearing live and on stage for “Batman Live.”
It is exactly what it seems like. Batman, the Joker, the Penguin. Catwoman, Poison Ivy and a few other familiars are going to be starring in a new, live-action arena adventure and they’re touring all around the world! The Batman Live World Arena Tour is currently touring the U.K., but the producers have announced plans for the production to come to the U.S. sometime in 2012. You can keep track of dates by visiting the Batman tickets page on Stub.com.
Is this part of the “real” Batman anthology or is it a kids’ flick? Much like Christopher Nolan and Tim Burton’s vision of The Dark Knight, this is serious Batman stuff, but it remains appropriate for all ages. And these British fellows are not skimping when it comes to visual effects! The Batman World Arena Tour is a multi-million pound stage production rivaling the successful Spiderman musical, but without the lyrics and singing. (In case you didn’t know, Batman doesn’t sing out in public!)
You can expect a show well beyond just Adam West Batman soliloquizing. There are stunts, acrobatic acts and special effects created just for the production. It is also based on a story written exclusively for the stage, and involves famous Batman sets you have longed to see in person–like the Bat cave, Arkham Asylum and Wayne Manor. And you have to expect the producers are smart enough to include all of your favorite villains, sidekicks and characters or else hardcore Batman fans would riot.
The year 2012 may be the end of the Batman trilogy films, but it’s just the beginning of a new age for the Batman mythos!
February 18th, 2012 Stub.com
 Time means a lot during an NHL game, and it’s never meant more to the Columbus Blue Jackets than it does now.
It was on February 1 that the Blue Jackets ran into their first problem with the time clock. Playing against the Los Angeles Kings, the clock was winding down just as Drew Doughty of the Kings put one into Columbus’ net. It looked like there was a fraction of a second left on the clock, but it was later found out that the clock had malfunctioned. Doughty’s goal should never have counted. This caused a stir throughout the league, with even talk that the timekeepers should be viewed as somewhat suspect, as it’s their responsibility to make sure that they can keep the clocks in good working order. Or at least notify someone if they’re not; preferably before the game and preferably before someone scores a post-game goal.
Colin Campbell, senior vice president of hockey operations in the NHL, started an investigation immediately; both of the clock at the Staples Center where the original incident took place, as well as all the other arenas in the league. Soon after he released a statement saying, “We have initiated a number of steps to ensure there will be no clock issues in all arenas of the NHL. We are observing all “last minutes” of each period to make sure there are no ‘blips’ or ‘pauses’ in the last minute in the video booths upstairs.” Campbell also said in the emailed statement that the clock’s manufacturer, Daktronics, had looked at the clock and found nothing wrong with it. Wanting to undo any talk of wrongdoing, Campbell was also quick to say that “the off-ice crew working that game had been interviewed,” and he was “completely satisfied with the clock operator.”
But not being met with an answer to their problem wasn’t the last of it for the Blue Jackets; they had another time clock problem this past Sunday night. This time thankfully, the consequence of the problem was felt by their opponents, the New York Rangers. Already up by a goal, Michael Del Zotto for the Rangers scored a goal late in the second period, hoping to put his team up by two. Instead though, it was found that time had expired and the goal was waved off. This time though, neither the clock nor the crew could be to blame. That goal was due to the “burn in clock,” which is the one viewers see when they’re watching the game. The official clock in Toronto though had indeed run out, and so the reason for the official call.
Hopefully that will be the last of it for the Blue Jacket’s clock troubles; and hopefully for the rest of the league. With playoffs fast approaching, time is more crucial now than ever and many teams are just trying to make sure they don’t run out of it.
February 15th, 2012 Stub.com
 Jeremy Lin is the pride of the New York Knicks and is arguably the hottest superstar in an ultra competitive NBA season. Lin, at the tender age of 23, is already a Harvard graduate, an ABA Club Championship MVP winner, and a two-time All-Ivy League First Team member. Of course, his fame is only helped by the fact that he is one of the few Asian Americans in the league currently, and throughout all of NBA history.
His story is truly a rags to riches tale, despite the Harvard credit. In fact, Jeremy Shu-How Lin never received an athletic scholarship after graduating high school. He’s was also undrafted even out of college. The Harvard deal was a partially guaranteed contract courtesy of the Golden State Warriors. Even after arriving in the NBA, he was waived by both the Warriors and the Houston Rockets in the preseason.
And all professional accolades aside, Jeremy Lin may very well be the reason the Knicks are a major contender this season. Lin practically came out of nowhere and helped the New York Knicks (proverbial NBA losers) gain seven consecutive victories this season. He also gave a 38-point performance and won Player of the Week. And people are definitely taking note of Lin’s abilities. Sports writers (including Bleacher Report) say “the kid is superman”, while even noted NBA gods like Kobe Bryant and Bernard King state that he is an amazing performer. More than a few analysts compare him with greats like Magic Johnson and Walt Frazier.
His devoted following and many wowed sports writers aside, there are still some who are not yet ready to name Lin the best in the business. They note that while Lin is helping the Knicks, they are still falling short of the Philadelphia 76ers and even the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference. For that matter, what about the competition the Knicks have been facing? Purists still claim that Lin’s success record is not that great, considering he helped his team best the likes of the New Jersey Nets, the Washington Wizards, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Toronto Raptors and the Sacramento Kings–AKA the worst teams in the NBA.
Perhaps time will tell how far Lin’s success story goes and even there is an NBA MVP prize in his future. In the meantime, he’s enjoying his success and is publicly dissing Kim Kardashian, whom he says (probably to the delight of many female fans) is not his dating type. The talk of the NBA and keeping way ahead of the Kardashian’s–you can’t climb much higher than this!
February 13th, 2012 Stub.com
 The powerful voice of Whitney Houston has been silenced; and while that has been hard enough for the world to deal with over the weekend, the fact that it might be weeks before we know exactly what happened in that Beverly Hilton Hotel room on Saturday afternoon.
What we do know is that at some time on Saturday afternoon, Ms. Houston was in her hotel room, preparing for Clive Davis’ annual pre-Grammy party. She spoke with her mom and during the conversation she seemed fine, according to a long-time friend, “just normal mother-daughter, casual chit-chat stuff.” Her entourage, also with her that afternoon, said too that she appeared to be fine. She went into the bathroom to take a bath, and that sadly was the last time anyone saw Whitney Houston alive.
After she had been in the bathroom for much longer than normal, people in the room began to grow concerned about her safety in there. While it’s unclear as to who exactly found Ms. Houston in the bathroom, she was found fully submerged in the bathtub. She was removed from the bath when firefighters and a bodyguard all performed rescue CPR for about twenty minutes. Tragically, those efforts were not enough and at 3:55 p.m. Whitney Houston was pronounced dead in her hotel room.
Due to Whitney’s long fought battle with drug addiction and depression, rumors started almost immediately that it was most likely a drug overdose. However, nothing is known conclusively at this point, and might not be for weeks. While an autopsy was performed on Sunday, security and police investigators can choose to withhold the results, especially in high-profile cases. And the chances are good that nothing will be released until the toxicology reports come back; something that could take weeks. Authorities have said that there was no indication of foul play in the hotel room, although they declined to say who exactly was in the room or what condition the room was in. They have also said that while there were no illegal drugs present, there were a number of prescription drugs including Xanax, Lorazepam, Valium, and sleeping pills.
Amidst the many reports, it’s also been said that Whitney’s family has allegedly been told by L.A. County Coroner officials that there was not enough water in her lungs to conclude that she had died from drowning; this would mean that she had died before going underwater.
While it’s sad that rumors and reports of toxicology reports are going to be the focus of Whitney Houston’s death for at least the next few weeks, it is important to remember that while the voice of Ms. Houston has been silenced, her music and the song of her soul will live on forever in the hearts of fans. And hopefully Ms. Houston can finally be at peace.
February 10th, 2012 Stub.com
 Not to be overshadowed by any obscene gestures courtesy of MIA at the Super Bowl, Madonna has just announced the dates for her world tour, which will begin on May 29 in Tel Aviv, Israel. Not only will this be her ninth tour, it’s also her biggest tour ever. While her last “Sticky and Sweet Tour” made 85 stops over the years of 2008 and 2009, the upcoming “Madonna 2012 World Tour” will top it with 90 total stops — giving the Material Girl a chance to top another one of her tour records.
After the tour kicks off in Israel there will be a total of 26 European dates before Madge brings her presence to the States. There, the tour will pick up again on August 28th at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. During her time in North America Madonna will mix it up with different stadium stops, outdoor venues, and arenas. And in the mix of dates, Madonna will also travel to Australia for the first time in 20 years! For a full listing of tour dates you can check out the Madonna tickets page. Tickets for the European dates go on sale on February 10, with any North American show tickets being available February 13.
The tour might not just be her biggest tour ever when it comes to the number of stops either. Her “Sticky and Sweet Tour” was the highest-grossing tour ever by a solo artist; and the third-highest grossing tour ever, grossing a total of $408 million. And with five more stops, Madonna will have plenty of time to top that number.
February 9th, 2012 Stub.com
 There are a lot of different people that determine the outcome of a hockey game, but some individuals that should never contribute to a win or a loss for a particular team are the referees. NHL referees are there for one thing — to make calls based on the actions of the players. Penalties should never be the ref’s fault, but just a call that was made in consequence of an action. And referees will never score a goal, but they will make the call when one is made. Lately though, it’s been a different story on the ice, and players and coaches are starting to get upset.
Bad calls have always been an issue in the NHL, and will be until they can figure out a different, completely unbiased method of calling hockey games – so for a little while longer at least. But lately it’s seemed to have gotten to the point of ridiculous. At the end of January, Burrows made a statement to the press about referee Stephane Auger, saying that Auger had told him in the pre-game skate he was going to penalize him for an incident in a prior game, and Auger received two crucial penalties that game. After an investigation by the NHL, it was found that not only had Auger done nothing wrong, but Burrows was fined for making the statement.
Also in the past few weeks, the Ottawa Senators have been having a problem with referee Dan O’Rourke. O’Rourke was the referee for a string of Sens’ games at the end of January and beginning of February. All the games O’Rourke refereed for, the Senators lost and at the end of each game, questions were raised about calls made on the ice. Still, even with fans and critics asking questions, the NHL backed up their ref, saying that he was a “Stanley Cup, top-notch official” and that they were certain he had “an impartial perspective.”
Most recently when the New York Rangers played the New Jersey Devils Tuesday, a Rangers’ goal was waved off by the ref, saying that Anton Volchenkov had interfered with goaltender Marty Brodeur. Volchenkov’s stance is that the call was unfair and the goal should have counted, because he was pushed into the goalie by Jersey forward Marian Gaborik. The Rangers ended up losing that game 1-0.
So the question is, how can the NHL make the referees more accountable for their actions? Or do they even want to? It certainly doesn’t seem fair to the players, having to take unfair calls that determine outcomes of close games, and then aren’t even allowed to say anything about it for fear of consequences by the NHL. If the NHL won’t allow players to answer questions about bad calls made, why doesn’t the NHL make the refs responsible, and put them in front of the microphones after the games?
February 7th, 2012 Stub.com
 For two years Fanilows have been able to head on over to the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas to see Barry Manilow perform some of his own classic songs, as well as some of the songs from his albums highlighting the best of each decade. Now though, Barry’s got something big in the works, and he’s taking to the road to celebrate!
Barry Manilow has already left Las Vegas, on his way to New York and Chicago for extended stays in each city through until the end of February. After those visits he will travel to Omaha on February 29, where he’ll kick off his world tour in promotion of his latest album, “15 Minutes.” The album is a new concept for Mr. Manilow, depicting the story of a young man’s rise to fame and his trials, tribulations, and victories in the music industry.
Including the opening show on the 29th, Manilow will put on a total of 25 performances around the United States, finishing up on July 14 in one of the cities where it all started — Chicago, Illinois (a date rescheduled from early February.)From there, Manilow will take off overseas for 5 different shows in and around Europe. For a full listing of American tour dates, check out the Barry Manilow tickets page at Stub.com.
You know that Barry Manilow wouldn’t leave his sweet Las Vegas gig unless it was for something really great — and this concert is certain to be that! So get your tickets today; it could be magic!
February 6th, 2012 Stub.com
 It was déjà vu as the New York Giants faced off against the New England Patriots at the Super Bowl yesterday and the Patriots were hoping that this time around, the story would have a different ending. Instead, the game played out in eerie synchronicity to the game of four years ago — right up to the suspenseful finish.
The New York Giants came onto the field at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis yesterday ready to win the game. With an early safety penalty that put them up two nothing within minutes of kickoff, it looked like it might just be a matter of watching the clock run out. With the Patriots making uncharacteristic mistakes and a touchdown by Eli Manning, the Giants were up 9-0 at the end of the first. And let’s remember, this is a team that wasn’t even supposed to be in the playoffs this year.
But the New England Patriots apparently shook it off in between quarters, as it was almost a different team that came out onto the field in the second. Not even at the halfway mark, Stephen Gostkowski put the Patriots on the board with a field goal; and with only eight seconds left in the quarter, Tom Brady threw the ball four yards to Danny Woodhead for a touchdown, putting the game at 10-9, this time for the Patriots.
It was during the second half of the game though, that the two teams looked the most evenly matched, with both putting in their very best efforts. On the side of the Giants, Lawrence Tynes got two field goals, putting his team up to 15; and Tom Brady’s touchdown pass to Aaron Hernandez put the Patriots ahead to 17. And it looked as though the Patriots were going to rewrite fate after all.
With New York down by two points, the fourth quarter of this game has got to go down as one of the most exciting of all Super Bowls. With the Patriots having possession, Wes Walker fumbled the ball at the 20-yard line, turning the ball over to Manning and the Giants – what came next is already being called one of the greatest Super Bowl moments of all time.
With nothing but sheer accuracy, Manning threw the ball 38 yards to Mario Manningham, who had two Patriot defensive backs barreling down on him. Taking the hit from the Patriots’ defense, and with most of his body going out of bounds, Manningham managed to keep both feet within legal play, even if it was just by a toe or two. It was a move that was very reminiscent of the time David Tyree kept the ball on the Giants’ side by trapping it against his helmet while bending backwards. Still, Manningham’s catch counted, and at a time when the Giants needed it to the most.
And just like four years ago, momentum was back on the Giants side and if they could avoid mistakes, the game would be theirs. But not without some quick calculating by Bill Belichick. He figured that his team could almost lead the Giants into the end zone and let them have the field goal. As Ahmad Bradshaw made his way, he understood what was happening and nearly sat down on the 1-yard line in order to keep the clock running.
Nope, didn’t work and Brady gets the ball. And he’s going to have to be more Brady than ever. Unfortunately for the Patriots, Brady got sacked once before making one last attempt to try and hike the ball into the end zone. It did make it into the end zone, but it met a gaggle of Patriots offense and Giants defense before being knocked around to the ground.
The pass is called an incomplete, and the Giants win the Super Bowl against the Patriots. Again. And now, with two successful Super Bowls under his belt, there’s no longer any question as to whether or not Eli Manning is an elite quarterback.
February 3rd, 2012 Stub.com
 “Rent” is one of those shows that is universally known and loved, as it’s been taken from a book, transformed into a Broadway production, and has even inspired a movie. Now, it’s coming to Chicago with a fresh face brought to it by respected director, David Cromer, who’s worked extensively (and who is respected greatly) around Chicago, as well as in New York.
Co-producing the show are the American Theater Company (ATC) and About Face Theatre, and it’s set to run from April 27 — June 17. The ATC has said that “Director David Cromer will bring a staggering reality to this landmark musical,” and that’s probably true. Cromer is known for his work in “The Cider House Rules,” and “Angels in America,” both which take difficult subject matter and present a new side or perspective on it. Those who saw “Angels in America” might have a good idea what to expect, as “Rent” also focuses on AIDS during the 80s. The ATC also notes about the upcoming play, “a group of Bohemian artists struggle to find life, love and art in a brutal economy and the height of the AIDS crisis.”
With a show that has already received many awards, and for which original author, Jonathon Larson was awarded a posthumous Pulitzer Prize for, there’s no doubt it’s going to be just as great in Chicago. And with a resident stay of just under two months, there’s plenty of opportunity for those who have never seen it before, and for those who just want to see it again!
January 30th, 2012 Stub.com
 The Pro Bowl is a game that generally doesn’t get a huge audience every year. Fans are too busy getting ready for their Super Bowl parties (and if they were honest, somewhat enjoying the break from football.) And while this year’s game didn’t fare much better in the way of ratings, it did hold some interesting storylines for those who were watching.
One of the biggest was that of Cam Newton, who was dubbed “the most exciting player to watch” this season by many and was making his first appearance in the Pro Bowl. Unfortunately, he did not bring the performance he undoubtedly hoped to, repeatedly getting sacked by AFC’s defense and throwing an interception. But, one needs to remember that it’s only the Pro Bowl after all, and the ‘boos’ he received from the crowd were probably unnecessary. And he play wasn’t abdominal; he did score a touchdown after all.
Rookie quarterback Andy Dalton may have not gotten nearly the headlines that Cam Newton did over the course of the year, but he’s certainly all anyone was talking about this game. With a nearly flawless game, Dalton’s probably one of the only players wishing this game actually had some merit to it. He ended the game completing seven of nine passes for 99 yards and two touchdowns.
For those who were looking for excellent plays during this game got it late in the third quarter when Brandon Marshall caught the throw from Andy Dalton. After what looked like it would end up being a fumble on Marshall’s part, the ball bounced off his leg, up into his arms, all while he happened to be properly positioned in the end zone. Truly heaven sent, along with Marshall’s record for the game: catching six passes for 176 yards and a total of four touchdowns — all of which are probably all reasons why he was chosen as the 2012 Pro Bowl MVP.
In the end, with the AFC taking a 59-41 win over the NFC, it was the second-highest scoring game in all of Pro Bowl’s history; the first was in 2004 when the game garnered a total of 107 points.
The backdrop of the game was of course, beautiful Honolulu as the game was played in Aloha Stadium, as it is every year (with the exception of 2010, when the game was moved to Miami.) That in itself was a storyline, not only because it made for great shots of paradise going to commercial break, but also because the state might no longer be playing host to the Pro Bowl after this year. The proposal to move it out of Hawaii comes from Governor Neil Abercrombie who thinks that the tune of $4 million (what the state paid to host the game this year) is too much for a football game, and that the funds could be better used for a state that has so many worthwhile causes, such as education, to tend to. Players are strongly vying to keep it in Hawaii, as many feel that it’s a well-deserved break for those who have played hard all year but not made the playoffs.
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